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THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH
Lesson 8, Chapter 4 Continued

This fifth vision/oracle that opens chapter 4 is primarily about Zerubbabel, the
Persian King Darius’s choice to govern the province of Yehud, the former
Judah. This vision organically connects to the one of chapter 3 that was all
about Joshua the High Priest. When taken together we understand that in
God’s eyes the leadership over those Jewish exiles that were allowed to return
to their former homeland legitimately rests in the hands of the 2 men Joshua
and Zerubbabel, who govern in a co-operative fashion, but in reality it is
Joshua that wields more power.

To close the prior lesson we discussed that how, exactly, a prophet like
Zechariah was able to cognitively obtain these sorts of communications from
Heaven that we clumsily call visions and oracles is mysterious and pretty hard
to explain in words. A “vision”, for instance, doesn’t necessarily mean
something that you actually see with your eyes, like you do with the
appearance of an apparition. When we think about it, the way the human eye
works is to receive light waves in varying frequencies and wavelengths and
intensities that have bounced off of physical objects. Then, the optical nerve
converts them into electrical impulses that are sent to a certain part of our
brain called the Visual Cortex where electrical impulses are reassembled into
something that goes on internally within our mind that gives us the sense of
“seeing”. But, that is not how a vision/oracle from Heaven seems to work.
There are no light reflecting or emitting physical objects involved so the eyes
and the optical nerve are bypassed because they serve no purpose. I suppose
we could liken a vision/oracle to what happens when we dream; but at the
same time, a dream is our subconscious at work as we sleep in a deep state,
whereas a vision is a God created and initiated communication that happens
when the receiver of it is in an awake state and quite aware. We are told here
in Zechariah that the Prophet was actually in a heightened state of perception.

In a reappearance of the Interpreting Angel, he inquires of Zechariah what it is
that Zechariah sees. It’s a kind of rhetorical question for the purpose of
establishing a dialogue and teaching a lesson because the Angel of course
knows what it is that he sees, but wants Zechariah to describe it. Zechariah

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responds that he sees a lampstand and then gives a somewhat detailed
description of it. He says he also sees 2 Olive Trees, one standing on each side
of the golden lampstand. That this is a representation of the Temple menorah
is rather plain to grasp except that this is not actually in the form as it is
described in the Torah for use in the wilderness tabernacle. It is the precise
description of this menorah that we need to work through in order to
disassemble the symbolic elements, examine them, and then reconstruct the
picture in a totality in a way that leads us to the intended symbolic meaning or
meanings.

Let’s begin by re-reading Zechariah chapter 4.

RE-READ ZECHARIAH CHAPTER 4 all

There are some basic things to understand about this golden lampstand.
Typically, this is called a menorah. Yet, the menorah as a term that is casually
used by both Jews and the Bible is actually a composite of several functional
pieces. Technically, the menorah is literally ONLY the lamp stand portion, but
does not include the lamps themselves. Thus, as we follow the vision
description of verse 2, we find it spoken of as consisting of 4 pieces. This is
somewhat different than the original golden menorah for the Tabernacle and
I’ll explain why that is in a moment.
Besides the stand itself (referred to here as menorah), we read of a bowl at
the top of it. In Hebrew this bowl is called a gullah. Then, we are told of 7
lamps (nerot) at the top of the stand, with 7 tubes or spouts (mutsaqot)
leading from the bowl, 1 to each lamp. So, the idea is that the lamps are
where the wicks are placed to be set alight and oil is burned to produce light.
The oil is placed in the bowl where it acts as a reservoir and so, it is gravity-
fed by tubes of some sort to constantly replenish the oil in each of the lamps.

Here, however, is what God told the Israelites that the Wilderness Tabernacle
menorah is to look like and how it is to be made.

CJB
Exodus 25:31-40
31
"You are to make a menorah of pure gold. It is
to be made of hammered work; its base, shaft, cups, ring of outer
leaves and petals are to be of one piece with it.
32
It is to have six

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branches extending from its sides, three branches of the menorah on
one side of it and three on the other.
33
On one branch are to be three
cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a ring of outer leaves
and petals; likewise on the opposite branch three cups shaped like
almond blossoms, each with a ring of outer leaves and petals; and
similarly for all six branches extending from the menorah.
34
On the
central shaft of the menorah are to be four cups shaped like almond
blossoms, each with its ring of outer leaves and petals.
35
Where each
pair of branches joins the central shaft is to be a ring of outer leaves
of one piece with the pair of branches - thus for all six branches.
36
The
rings of outer leaves and their branches are to be of one piece with the
shaft. Thus, the whole menorah is to be a single piece of hammered
work made of pure gold.
37
"Make seven lamps for the menorah, and
mount them so as to give light to the space in front of it.
38
Its tongs
and trays are to be of pure gold.
39
The menorah and its utensils are to
be made of sixty-six pounds of pure gold.
40
See that you make them
according to the design being shown you on the mountain.

Immediately we see the differences between Zechariah’s vision menorah and
the original physical one prescribed in the Torah. And, one of the chief
differences is that while the Tabernacle menorah is to be a single integrated
object made from one large lump of hammered gold, Zechariah’s menorah is
made up of a few separate pieces. Why these differences?

Of the several likely reasons for this disparity, there are two most logical ones.
First, the Exodus description that we find in our Bibles is itself quite
problematic. Scholars would call it a textual transmission issue. That is, while
we certainly have very ancient documents to research, going back to earlier
than the time of Christ, the reality is that the exact meaning of the various
Hebrew terms for describing what the menorah actually looked like are quite
uncertain. The technical description of the menorah has no modern-day
analogue, nor even one from 1600 or more years ago. And, since the
Tabernacle menorah was long ago lost and likely melted down by the
Babylonians, and later its replacement suffered the same fate at the hands of
Rome, then we don’t have a definite or detailed picture of what it looked like.
Thus, as is the way we all operate, the humans doing the Bible translations

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(even translations from many, many centuries ago) pictured this object on the
basis of similar things found in their own culture. Even more complicating is
that the same Hebrew terms that are meant to describe the same exact things
often change. That is, the Bible can call the menorah simply a lampstand
saying that it holds 7 lights, but then turn around and call it all a light (in the
singular) as though there was only 1 lamp. It doesn’t mean that at some point
6 or the 7 lamps went missing, it is just another way to talk about the same
object that people of that particular era understood, but people of eras well
into the future would have a more difficult time discerning exactly how to
visualize it. We find the same thing in the New Testament when, for example,
the terms Passover and Unleavened Bread are used interchangeably, yet
technically they are 2 separate events.

The second reason for the different descriptions is that the Bible itself shows
how the menorah in different eras seemed to have been envisioned and then
fashioned, after each time it was taken and melted down by an invader or lost
for some other reason. For example, even though the Torah prescribes but 1
menorah for the Wilderness Tabernacle, it seems that when Solomon built the
Temple they increased that number to 10 simply because they decided to.

CJB
2 Chronicles 4:7 He made the ten menorahs of gold in accordance
with their specifications and set them in the temple, five on the right
and five on the left.

But, after Solomon died and a civil war ensued that split united Israel into two
separately ruled kingdoms (Judah and Ephraim/Israel), we find that around 50
years later during the reign of Aviyah King of Judah, the Temple now housed
only1 menorah.

CJB
2 Chronicles 13:11 …they burn to ADONAI every morning and
evening burnt offerings and sweet incense; they arrange the
showbread on the pure table, and they prepare the gold menorah with
its lamps to burn every evening. For we observe the order of ADONAI
our God. But you have abandoned him.

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What the menorah looked like when a newest version of it was made after the
Jews returned from Babylon, and then later still when Antiochus Epiphanies
plundered the Temple and Judas the Maccabee came onto the scene, it is likely
that the menorah was not even the one from Zerubbabel’s time. Bottom line:
what exactly the menorah looked like is kind of up in the air and also
depended on what time in Bible history we’re talking about.

But then we also have to factor in that Zechariah’s description is coming from
a vision, and not from him standing in front of the actual Temple menorah,
seeing it with his eyes and describing it from that. Zechariah’s menorah is
meant as a symbolic representation coming from God in order to communicate
a message. It is not real or tangible, it is imaginary, but at the same time it is
close enough to be totally recognizable as a Temple menorah. And,
considering when Zechariah lived, and the reality that a Temple menorah was
always housed in the secretive front chamber of the Temple, which no other
than just certain of the priests were ever allowed to view, then there is no way
that Zechariah ever saw it in person even if he may have been alive before the
Babylonian conquest of Judah happened and he had gone to the Temple in his
youth to observe sacrifices and ceremonies.

Now, I spent this extra time of explanation in order for you to get the idea that
there are a number of situations like this in the Bible that translators must
deal with. This is a difficult challenge that accounts for the different words we
can find in various Bible versions for the same verses, and why we must be
careful to allow for when certain details can be reliably taken as precise,
versus when they can only be approximate, or even when they are simply best
guesses. The result of ignoring this reality is often for a denomination to
create fanciful and rigid doctrines that have no historical basis, or to assume
an erroneous belief that the Bible contains a number of inaccuracies. Let’s
move on.

Verse 3 explains that on each side of the lampstand there is an olive tree. The
meaning of these 2 trees and the lampstand is not obvious to Zechariah who
asks the Interpreting Angel, “What are these, my Lord?” First: it is interesting
that in the CJB and a few other Bible versions, we’ll find the word “Lord”
capitalized. And, when we find that in a Bible, it is the translator saying that

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this is God. And we all ought to understand by now that for many centuries,
among Christians the term “the Lord” is meant to be synonymous with Jesus
and Christ. So, the translator of the CJB and some other versions is saying
that this Interpreting Angel is Jesus. I cannot accept this and neither should
you.

In Hebrew the word is adon and indeed it does mean “lord”, but only in a
generic sense that was used in the same way we might say “sir”. It has no
spiritual or divine element to it; it is just a term showing deference and
respect. Thus, the majority of Bible versions will use the word “lord” but
without capitalization (which is the correct way to look at it).

Second: what do these 2 olive trees actually represent? The Angel’s response
to that question doesn’t help much. Especially since he expected Zechariah to
quickly understand the meaning with having it explained to him, the answer
the Angel gives is truly cryptic. He says:

CJB
Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered me, "This is the word of Yehoveh
to Z'rubavel: 'Not by force, and not by power, but by my Spirit,' says
Yehoveh-Tzva'ot.

As we examine the response from the Angel, it becomes clearer that it really
wasn’t so much about the olive trees but rather about everything described…
the lampstand, bowl, lamps, spouts and the trees… all together as a single
symbolic representation. In the next several verses the Angel goes on to say
more, which we’ll discuss, but the first part of the answer in verse 6, then,
isn’t really so much about the identity of the olive trees as it is a personal
message to Zerubbabel that Yehoveh is with him and will help him to govern
in difficult circumstances. More pointedly, Zerubbabel is to understand that in
whatever the results of the work he undertakes it won’t be according to his
human strength or efforts that matters, but rather it will be by the Spirit of
God. I can imagine that Zerubbabel had felt himself between the proverbial
rock and the hard place. He was a Jew, his heart was with the Jewish people,
but he served as governor at the pleasure of a Persian King. His hope
(however distant and unrealistic it may have seemed at the time) was for
Judah to be reinstated as an independent Jewish state with a Judean king from

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David’s dynasty. Yet, Zerubbabel had utterly no means to advance such a
hope. He had no army under his control, his overall authority was limited, and
so Yehoveh is telling Zerubbabel that He doesn’t want him to rebel and fight
Persia. Rather, God’s message to Zerubbabel is one of reassurance.

Verse 7 continues the dialogue between Zechariah and the Interpreting Angel.

CJB
Zechariah 4:7 'What are you, you big mountain? Before Z'rubavel
you will become a plain; and he will put the capstone in place, as
everyone shouts, "It's beautiful! Beautiful!"'

What is this big mountain? If we’re going to understand this in the way that
Zerubbabel was expected to, then, again we need to climb into our Way-Back
Machine and think of this in terms of how life was in his era.. the 6
th
century
B.C… and where this scene was taking place. On the surface, the big (or
great) mountain likely refers to Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. After all, the first
several chapters of Zechariah focus on rebuilding the Temple, which seems to
be the overriding context, and Temple existed on Mt. Zion.

High places and Temples always went together. Yet, you had to have a flat-
spot… a plain, if you would… to build that Temple upon. There were a lot of
reasons that mountains were where Temples were built, chief among which
was because of the belief that the gods lived up in the heavens… the sky. And,
mountains reach up to the skies and thus came closer to the gods. In
Mesopotamia and Egypt, two of the very earliest locations on planet earth
where civilization arose and flourished, there were not high mountains for the
most part so they built artificial mountains out of soil and mud bricks in the
north, and they used large stones to build pyramids to the south in Egypt. We
read of the Mesopotamian Nimrod and the high mountain (the Ziggurat) that
he built with the idea that he would climb up and be nearer to God to
challenge Him, thus being essentially His equal. But, in Israel, mountains were
available, and Jerusalem with its mountains was where God chose to put His
name, so the issue wasn’t constructing the high place, it was in preparing it
(preparing the mountain) to build a Temple on it by creating a flat platform
area to lay the foundation.

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Where this interpretation of the big mountain as Mt. Zion and how it will
become a plain for Zerubbabel as the necessary place to build it runs into
trouble is that, in Zechariah’s time, the Judeans were rebuilding a Temple
upon an already existing foundation. So, the enormous and expensive effort
required to level a mountain top (to create a plain) and then build a foundation
for the Temple was of no barrier for Zerubbabel. This thought brought about a
2
nd
and alternative theory. Mountains also represent power (like military or
imperial power). So, some like Luther, Kimchi, the Church Father Jerome and
others believed that this big mountain was referring to a great power that
stood in the way… as an obstacle… to rebuilding the Temple on Mt. Zion. That
is, an empire whose leaders prevents it. But, this too presents problems
because by all accounts the Persians of Zerubbabel’s time… the colossal
imperial and military power of the day… were actively encouraging Zerubbabel
to rebuild the Temple; they were anything but obstacles to it even if they
didn’t offer the Jews funds and materials to do the rebuilding with.

A third interpretation is that the mountain represents general but large
troubles… a widespread and general barrier of chaos and resistance… to the
rebuilding of the Temple. To smooth the mountain into a plain, then, is not
literal but rather is symbolic of that barrier of chaos and resistance being
swept aside such that it is no longer a problem. An offshoot of this
interpretation is that tzemach, the branch or shoot, will be the one to fight
through these barriers to bring about the perfect Temple. This also
incorporates the view that Zerubbabel is the current earthly representative of
the coming future branch or shoot from the House of David, and this future
branch will appear at the End of Days. I think this notion of Zerubbabel himself
as symbolic of the re-establishment of Davidic rule and even of the future king
of God’s worldwide kingdom is a basic premise and feature of Zechariah’s
prophecies. So, what we are encountering is what seems to be on the surface
a few competing ideas of what the prophetic utterance means when it is
fulfilled; and as is typical, theologians line up in favor of one idea as the only
correct one, and are therefore discard all the other possibilities as not correct.
I think this is rigid, shortsighted and misses the mark.

It is my sense of it that the prophetic utterance of verse 7 will, as is typical of
Bible prophecies, have multiple fulfillments taking place at different times in

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history under different circumstances. The truth is that each one of the
possible symbolic meanings I described has merit. But, if you try to make one
of the solutions fit multiple fulfillments of the prophecy, it quits working. The
one fulfillment solution that has the most merit to be directly connected to the
time of Zechariah is the one that says that the big mountain is symbolic of the
general chaos and resistance that has been experienced at every turn in the
attempt to rebuild the Temple, even causing the work to cease for 15 years!
One of the chief instigators of this trouble was the Samaritans that had moved
in and settled parts of Judah after the Judeans had been captured and hauled
off to Babylon. When the Jews returned, the Samaritans weren’t thrilled at the
idea of a new Temple being built according to what the Jews wanted and they
caused a great deal of turmoil that seemed insurmountable. So, God promises
that the big mountain of troubles will be squashed down until it is but like a
flat plain…symbolizing that the chaos and resistance have been dealt with and
the Temple can be swiftly completed without opposition (which is more or less
what happened). It was in the 6
th
year of King Darius’s reign, under the
governorship of Zerubbabel, that indeed the Temple was rebuilt and
consecrated back into operation as solid evidence of this particular symbolic
interpretation.

The 2 other symbolic meanings we discussed could both work at a later time of
yet other fulfillments, and in fact either or both could easily apply to a Temple
of the future, perhaps even the Millennial Temple when tzemach… the branch
or shoot…. comes to rule over God’s Kingdom on earth for 1000 years.

The next part of that prophecy concerns a cap stone, or a top stone, or an
excellent stone, or even a headstone according to various Bible versions’
interpretations. The prophecy is that Zerubbabel (or perhaps later another of
the family of David whom Zerubbabel typifies) will provide this stone. If you
recall, we talked a little about this stone, or perhaps it was a different one,
during our study of chapter 3.

CJB
Zechariah 3:9 For look at the stone I have put in front of Y'hoshua:
on one stone are seven eyes; I will engrave what is to be written on
it,' says Yehoveh-Tzva'ot; 'and I will remove the guilt of this land in
one day.

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The stone from chapter 3 had a connection to Joshua, while the stone from
chapter 4 has its connection to Zerubbabel. The one we’re looking at now in
chapter 4 makes no mention of the 7 eyes as was associated with the stone
from chapter 3, so I have to think we are encountering two different symbolic
significances. I think this stone in chapter 4 has directly to do with the
construction of the Temple, and it probably represents that the associated
person (first, Zerubbabel) will be the one who has the honor to bring about the
completion of the Temple and the laying of a symbolic final stone
commemorating that completion, or something along those lines. To be clear:
assuming that I’m correct, Zerubbabel is the first Davidic ruler to bring about
this prophetic fulfillment will be the man in charge when the Temple is
completed and ceremonially put into service. And then a long time into the
future, an End-Times Davidic ruler will do the same with yet another Temple.

The final words of verse 7 are the exclamation of the regular people who are in
attendance of the Temple completion ceremony. They shout (in Hebrew)
“chen, chen!”. This Hebrew term is translated several different ways from
“right, right”, to “grace, grace”, to “beautiful, beautiful” and a couple of others.
So, how do we choose what exactly is the intent and sense of it? A favorite
biblical Hebrew idiom is “to find favor in the eyes of”, with the word favor
being the Hebrew chen. That said, this verse in Zechariah is the only place in
the Bible that we’ll find this word repeated (chen, chen) to form a special
exclamation. The bottom line is that just as shalom is a condition of well-
being that comes only from God, so is chen, chen something that denotes
favor that comes only from God. Thus, what is being expressed first and
foremost is that the people recognize that the new Temple that stands tall and
gleaming in front of them is the result of God’s grace, and not the efforts of
man. Because this is an audience response coming from a religious ritual and
ceremony, then we could even say that it is not unlike a modern-day excited
expression within Evangelical Churches of “Amen, amen!”.

So, what we can take from it all is that this is a prophecy that says there will
be a completion of the Temple, God will Himself be sweeping the obstacles of
resistance out of the way (when it would seem humanly impossible for this to
happen), and many people will be coming in gratitude and with overwhelming

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joy to a completion and consecration ceremony. It happened as predicted for
Zerubbabel. And it will happen again at least once more, in the End Times
when it is Yeshua, the branch, of the same Davidic line of Zerubbabel, who will
come as both king and high priest to get that Temple of God built and put it
back into service. And many will come and be praising God for it!

As we move into verse 8, the person to whom the prophecy is directed
changes. In the first 7 verses it was to Zerubbabel. Now it switches to
Zechariah when we read:

CJB
Zechariah 4:8 This message from Yehoveh came to me:
It then continues with:

CJB
Zechariah 4:9 'The hands of Z'rubavel have laid the foundation of
this house, and his hands will also finish it.' Then you will know that
Yehoveh-Tzva'ot sent me to you.

Verse 9 deals with the ongoing conundrum and just plain weirdness that
surrounds the rebuilding of the Temple as far as the everyday Jews are
concerned: it is the lack of an Israelite king to direct and preside over it. I
have spent time, today, explaining to you the Near Eastern mindset of
Temples, the high places they are built on, and in earlier lessons about this
direct association made between kings and Temples. Israel’s only real
variation on this theme is that they have but one God, and they have but one
Temple. Otherwise, you couldn’t slip a piece of paper between what the
Judeans thought about gods and god systems and Temples versus what other
cultures and societies in their region of the world thought about it all. So, the
Judeans had been uneasy about this whole Temple -but-with-no-king business.

Despite him not being a king in the eyes of the world, nonetheless it is
Zerubbabel that laid the re-founding stone of the Temple, and it will be
Zerubbabel that finishes the job says Yehoveh. Therefore, it is Zerubbabel’s
Temple just as much as the Temple built by Solomon was called Solomon’s
Temple, and way into the future the Temple rebuilt and greatly expanded by
King Herod was thought of as Herod’s Temple. God is making it clear that
Zerubbabel was to be regarded of as if he were a king and that is how the

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people are to mentally deal with it regardless of the actual circumstances of
him technically being only an appointed Persian civil servant.

Because a Temple is all about an associated god, and a god is all about an
associated king, then the triad of king, Temple, God is completed when
Yehoveh says that it was He who sent Zechariah to Zerubbabel with this
message. Problem solved, resolved, and put to bed as far as God is concerned.

But, say’s verse 10, what about people who won’t accept this edict the way
God demands it be accepted?

CJB
Zechariah 4:10 For even someone who doesn't think much of a day
when such minor events take place will rejoice at seeing the plumbline
in the hand of Z'rubavel. So, these seven are the eyes of ADONAI that
range about over all the earth."

As I mentioned, a switch has occurred and God is addressing Zechariah
directly. Before we go further to better understand what is meant with this
verse, I must disagree with the way the CJB interprets the Hebrew, and draw
your attention to what the most scholarly of Bible translators and biblical
Hebrew experts say. It is this: the way that the CJB and the majority of Bible
versions translate it cannot work within the rules of Hebrew grammar. Rather,
this verse needs to be taken more in the way that the Jewish Publican Society
approaches it:

TNK
Zechariah 4:10 Does anyone scorn a day of small beginnings?
When they see the stone of distinction in the hand of Zerubbabel, they
shall rejoice. "Those seven are the eyes of the LORD, ranging over the
whole earth."

Worded this way, this verse is far more understandable and makes more
sense. That is, the verse starts with a rhetorical question, with the expected
and implied answer to be, “no they don’t”. That is, no one scorns a day of
small beginnings. I’ll say this differently. No one who as the goal of
accomplishing something extraordinary despises the day when the necessary
series of small steps that will be needed to reach that goal, begins.

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How many times have we seen pictures of officials of some organization with
golden shovels in hand, turning over that first spade of dirt as a ground-
breaking ceremony for a momentous project. It isn’t anywhere near complete,
but the mere fact that the first step to its fruition is happening is reason
enough for great joy and heightened expectations.

God has made Zechariah confident that Zerubbabel is the appropriate person
to both begin and complete the Temple project. Now Zechariah’s job is to take
this message to Zerubbabel so that he understands that even if the people
aren’t so sure about it right now, in the end they will gather together and
rejoice. It is said that the impetus for the people finally seeing it God’s way is
when they see the “stone of distinction” in the hand of Zerubbabel. The
Hebrew words being translated here as stone of distinction are ha-eben
habbedil. Literally it means “the tin stone”. This refers to some type of
measuring device probably operating similarly to what we today call a plum
line. That is, a string with a weight so that walls can be made vertically
straight up and down. But the point is that Zerubbabel is to be regarded as the
builder of the Temple (again, in a similar way that Solomon was), and when
the people see the chief builder at work, they will rejoice even though
traditionally this person would be a king and not a civil servant.

The “seven” that introduces the final part of verse 10, are said to be the eyes
of Yehoveh. In the context of this overall vision/oracle, this is referring to the
7 lamps on the lampstand. This probably also corresponds to the 7 eyes on the
stone that has to do with the High Priest Joshua in Zechariah chapter 3. We’ve
already seen other symbols used to represent the all-seeing nature of Yehoveh
in the 3 horses that roam the earth in chapter 1. What this is really meant to
do in addition to highlighting the omniscience and omnipresence of Yehoveh, is
to point out the presence of God as well as His supreme favor in the Temple
building project, and in Joshua and Zerubbabel leading that effort.

We’ll stop here for today, and begin next time when again the matter of the 2
olive trees and their meaning is brought up again because Zechariah still
doesn’t understand it.