Minor No.14 Zechariah 3&4

Come and praise Him, royal priesthood. Come and worship, holy nation. Worship Jesus, our Redeemer.

He is precious, King of glory. Our Father, we just bow our heads in your holy presence this evening. We worship you.

You are our God and we adore you. We recognize your ultimate and your absolute sovereignty over your children and the affairs of this world. We praise you that you work your purposes out through the bizarre circumstances that often are part and parcel of the human drama.

Father, we thank you that you have your own people, an elect people around the world, a people drawn from every tribe, from every tongue, from every nation, who confess the lordship of Jesus Christ. And we just ask that as we look into your word this evening, so we might be even more mindful of the international character of the people of God. And we pray, Father, where your church is weak, that you will strengthen her where she's lost her vision, that you will cause her gaze to be refocused upon what is your plan for her.

And we pray for ourselves that as we look into your word, we may not be detached in our studies, but enable us to be confronted with your truth and give us the will to want to put this truth into action. Now hear our prayers and continue with us. Illuminate our minds because we ask this for Jesus' sake.

Amen. Please be seated. And let's turn to the prophecy of Zechariah.

And we're going to read the third chapter and also the fourth chapter rather quickly. I'm assuming that you have already read this passage of scripture at least once, so you have some information about the contents. And then immediately I'll go into the exposition as I believe the Lord would have me give it tonight.

And if there's opportunity at the end, if there's time, then we'll have some questions. So, Zechariah in chapter 3, The angel said to those who were standing before him, Take off his filthy clothes. Then he said to Joshua, See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.

Then I said, Put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him while the angel of the Lord stood by. The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua.

This is what the Lord Almighty says. If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here. Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come.

I am going to bring my servant the branch. See the stone I have set in front of Joshua. There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it.

Says the Lord Almighty. And I will remove the sin of the land in a single day. In that day, each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree, declares the Lord Almighty.

Then the angel who talked with me returned and wakened me as a man is wakened from his sleep. He asked me, What do you see? I answered, I see a solid gold lamp stand, with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.

I asked the angel who talked with me, What are these, my Lord? He answered, Do you not know what these are? No, my Lord, I replied. So he said to me, This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty. What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.

Then he will bring out the capstone to shout, God bless it, God bless it. Then the word of the Lord came to me. The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple.

His hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you, who despises the day of small things. Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.

These seven are the eyes of the Lord which range throughout the earth. Then I asked the angel, What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand? Again I asked him, What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that poured out golden oil? He replied, Do you not know what these are? No, my Lord, I said. So he said, These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.

Well, let me remind you, those who weren't present on previous occasions, that in looking at the opening chapters of Zechariah, we are confronted with what someone has rather beautifully called an octave of visions. These dreams took place in the course of one night, and it must have been the most remarkable night and morning that Zechariah ever spent in his life. And the first half, or roughly so, of the chapters in the prophecy of Zechariah are given over to a description of these visions, these dreams.

Now, just to pause for a second, some of you were present when I was speaking at some length three Thursdays ago about the way New Testament writers handle Old Testament truth. Now, it seems to me that whenever you study the Old Testament, you must have in mind the New Testament. If you don't, then I think that you will likely go astray, particularly in your understanding of prophecy.

It's not always easy for people with the Old Testament alone to work out actually what the purposes of God were, and indeed are, in Jesus the Lord. The example of that, for instance, is the scribe or the Pharisee. They had the Old Testament, but they made an absolute mess of grasping the significance of the teaching in regard to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus they rejected him. They were looking for a figure, and he didn't fulfill their anticipation. So I'm saying to you that we today, having a complete Bible, must start with the New Testament in understanding the Old Testament, and we have anchor points, if you please, in the New Testament which help us to understand what it is that the Old Testament prophets are referring to.

So, if you get a New Testament passage of Scripture and it relates back to the Old Testament, then you can say, well, this is what fulfills that. It's your anchor point, you see. You must always bear that in mind, or else I claim you will get yourself immersed in a bog in your understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures.

Now let me give you an example of what I mean from last week, and then we'll proceed to look at these two visions that are in store for us today. Last week, when we were looking at chapter 2, we saw a man going off to measure Jerusalem. And we had eventually, having described what is found in chapter 2, to try to make some New Testament appraisal of what it was all about.

And you remember in our questionings that followed afterwards, one or two people particularly raised remarks, raised issues concerning the fulfillment of chapter 2. Well, do you remember, those of you who were present last Sunday morning, how in a Scripture reading from Matthew's Gospel, reference was made to the daughter of Zion. Now, where do you find the daughter of Zion referred to in Zechariah? Well, at the end of chapter 2, and the 10th verse. Shout and be glad, O daughter of Zion, for I am coming.

If you were to move on to the 9th chapter, the 9th verse, you get exactly the same thing, or more or less. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, daughter of Jerusalem.

See your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Now, if you went to Matthew chapter 21 and verse 5, you remember that there you discover the crowd singing their praises to the Lord Jesus, the daughter of Zion, reflecting upon the fact that the Messiah has come into Jerusalem. So, you've got an anchor point.

In chapter 2, the daughter of Zion is referred to. The acclamations of the daughter of Zion, verse 10, are very clearly underlined. And so, one could say if that is an anchor point, then there is within the context of chapter 2 also certain teachings, principles, which would find fulfilled in the ministry of the Lord Jesus.

And indeed you do. For instance, what are we told will happen when the daughter of Zion rejoices because the Lord comes? Well, look at verse 11. Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day.

Now, what did Paul say was Christ's great achievement on the cross of Calvary? Well, he broke down the middle wall of partition, and both Gentile and Jew are brought together as God's people. Added to the elect of God are men and women from Gentile nations. And amongst the people of God, who lives? Who takes up residence? Well, according to verse 11 here, you've got the promise, I will live among you, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.

Now, what did Jesus say to his disciples? Matthew 18, where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst. Matthew 28, in the last two verses, go into all the world and preach the gospel, and lo, I am with you always. What ultimately will be the outcome of the proclamation of the gospel throughout the world? Well, Jesus Christ will return.

And when he returns, what will happen? Everyone will recognize the greatness of God. They will be absolutely astonished. They will be taken aback by the grandeur of salvation, and ultimately confess the lordship of Christ.

Christ in effect, verse 13, be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. Well, all I'm arguing is this, that you would expect to discover the principles of fulfillment from chapter 2 of Zechariah wrapped up in the ministry and the consequences of the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. You've got the anchor point.

It helps you to understand the second chapter. Well, all that was just a little additional information thrown out with no extra charge whatsoever. Let's now move into the third and fourth chapters.

And in the middle of this vision, we now discover that the prophet has moved his vantage point. He was in the brook Kidron, and he was looking across the valley and seeing some rather strange things happen, including this young man going off to measure Jerusalem. Now he's no longer there.

Where is he? Well, from the context of the third and fourth chapter, he is obviously somewhere in the temple precincts. And in the temple, certain things are shown him. In the third chapter, he's shown someone who he recognizes immediately, and therefore he has no need to ask any question at all, as he does in the opening visions.

He discovers a man by the name of Joshua, well known to him, the high priest. In the fourth chapter, the vision has changed somewhat, and yet he's still in the same location, in the temple area. And the thing that's dominant in the vision in the fourth chapter is a candlestick, or if you're following with the NIV, it is a lamp stand.

So these two things, a man and an ornament, are central to the two visions. What does a high priest do? Well, you've just been singing that lovely little chorus, that lovely little scripture song, come and praise him, royal priesthood. Come and praise him, holy nation.

What does a priest do? He serves God. What are you if you belong to the Lord Jesus? You are priests. What does a lamp stand do? Well, it gives out light.

But can it give out light of its own accord? No, it needs empowering, it needs illumination. And to illuminate a lamp stand, you require oil. Can you serve God just from your own qualification? No, you can't.

You can be a priest to the Lord, appointed as a priest, but you need something else. You need, if you like, oil. You need empowering.

You need the gift of the Holy Spirit. So you're beginning to see, and we've hardly looked into the third and fourth chapters at the moment, the way how Zechariah peers forward to gospel times, and he will begin to show us how we can become priests, ministering before the Lord, and how we can be empowered in the service that we offer the Lord Jesus. So let's look more specifically into the third chapter.

And first of all, I want to take you into the content of the vision, and then I'll try and interpret it for you, with the aid, of course, of Scripture as my guide. It was thought by some Jews that the temple area was actually a reproduction of heaven. Now, don't take that thought too far.

I'm only suggesting that this is what was reckoned by some Jews. If you move into the epistle to the Hebrews, it does seem as though there is some sort of correspondence between the temple and the heavenly precincts themselves. Again, it's metaphorical language, we're not taking it too literally.

But I'm mentioning that because when you move into the first verse of the third chapter, you discover Zechariah being introduced to, or certainly seeing, Joshua, and they are standing together in some heavenly courtroom. It's really the temple, literally speaking, but spiritually, we're into the presence of God. And that's basically what the temple stood for in any case.

Now, in this heavenly courtroom, there are three or four characters, or groups of characters, that we have to bear in mind. First of all, not in order of importance, there's Joshua, the high priest. The word Joshua in Hebrew is Yeshua.

In Greek, it's Iesus. And it gives us the word salvation, which I think is very significant in both the Hebrew and the Greek language. The second person that we're introduced to is the angel of the Lord, who seems to be exactly the same person as referred to in the second verse, only just this time called the Lord.

The third person, or being, that we're introduced to is Satan, verse two, which means adversary in the Hebrew language. And then, later on, in the fourth verse, reference is made to a number of beings who are to minister to Joshua. But let me stop there for a moment and fill in the details.

You've got a courtroom, and Joshua is on trial. And there is someone who is bringing accusation, and it's none other than Satan himself. Satan is known as the accuser of the brethren.

He is the one who tries to make our sin, who endeavors to compel our sin to prevent us from entry into the presence of God. He accuses us for having broken God's law, and as a result, having forfeited a right to enter into the presence of the Lord. On our side, for it's Joshua representing mankind, I believe, who's in the dock, on our side is none other than the Lord himself, verse two.

And the Lord says to the adversary, the Lord rebuke you, Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. And then, there is used a proverbial expression.

You know what a proverbial expression is? Well, we have metaphors today that we use quite a lot, don't we? And here in Hebrew, we've got, isn't Joshua a burning stake snatched from the fire? And that's a reference that is also discovered in Amos. What is here being put across in this heavenly courtroom is that Joshua has been saved by the elect purposes of God. Representing the rest of the Hebrews, I would argue, representing all saved sinners, Joshua is as someone who's been taken from a fire and has been saved.

It's interesting that in the book of Deuteronomy, when reference is made to the Hebrews coming out of Egypt, it is in terms of people being delivered from an iron fiery furnace. And so Joshua's taken out, not of the exile of Egypt, but out of the more recent exile of Babylon, and he's brought back into Jerusalem. And when Satan is accusing Joshua, the Lord says, no, hands off that man.

He's a burning stick snatched from the fire. As you are, and I am, who have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and responded to his saving work. The charge brought against Joshua, the charge brought against us is that we're utterly unfitted to serve God.

Look at verse 3. Joshua's dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, take off his filthy clothes. And the idea, of course, is that Joshua is unfitted to act as a servant of the Lord because of his personal and his people's corporate guilt.

So the angels are directed by the Lord to take off the filthy garments of the high priest. And instead, he's given something that's more appropriate. Look at the latter part of the fourth verse.

See, I have taken away your sin and I will put rich garments on you. And notice Zechariah gets so involved in what he's seeing that he chips in too. Verse 5, and he says in effect, don't just put on his garments, but give him a turban.

Give him the headpiece of the high priest. Let it all be done properly. And let him be clothed in right apparel to stand in the presence of God.

So we read, they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him while the angel of the Lord stood by. Well, let's go on, for I find this quite fascinating. Here is Joshua undressed and now reclothed.

And the man who was unfitted to serve the Lord is recommissioned in his service. Look at verse 6. This is what the Lord Almighty says, if you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you can function as a priest and have charge of my courts. And I will give you a ministry amongst all those who stand here.

Now look at verse 8. Because here is an indication that what is happening in this remarkable vision has significance, not only during Zechariah's ministry, but in the centuries that are to come. Listen, oh high priest, Joshua, and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come. In other words, what is happening to Joshua, witnessed by Zechariah, and it will be proclaimed to all the priest colleagues of Joshua, has significance then and also in the generations yet to be.

Now we move on. And we're introduced to two rather interesting things. They both seem to be utterly disassociated, the one from the other at first glance.

But if you follow through what I'm saying, you'll find that they have quite a significance and quite a measure of overlap. I am going to send into this world someone called the branch. Now just take it from me for a moment.

That's a messianic title. It's a title that anticipates the role of the son of God when he comes on this earth. And not only are we confronted with the picture of a branch, but also, interestingly enough, a stone.

God is going to bring a branch into the world, branch signifying his servant, and he will do something which is indicated by the image of a stone. And then, as a result of the ministries of this man yet to be born, God will remove the sin of the land in a single day. All right, that's more or less the vision.

Interesting. Towards the end, for those who are first-time readers, so baffling that the time's crossword puzzle seems to be easy by comparison. But this is the beauty of Bible study, particularly the Old Testament.

If you give it time, by the Holy Spirit's power, the secrets are unlocked. And your admiration for the power of the Word of God and its inspiration becomes that much more pronounced. Let's quickly interpret the vision.

Joshua, of course, well, that's easy to say, to see what this refers to. What he refers to, he is symbolizing all the people. That's what a priest does, he stands on behalf of all the people.

And in the presence of God, how do you feel if you were not? How would you feel if you had not had your sins forgiven? You would feel absolutely uncomfortable, would you not? The soul that sins, it shall die. Our God is a consuming fire. You can't come into his presence without getting burnt if you're an unforgiven, unregenerate person.

Now, remember when Jesus was on earth, on occasions he told delightful parables. And one parable in the 22nd chapter of Matthew refers to someone who comes to a wedding feast, he's been invited, he really had no right to come along, and he is such a slovenly character that at the wedding feast he refuses to put on the right sort of garment. And ultimately he's thrown out of the banquet.

Do you remember the story? I wish I had time to read it to you, but time's at a premium. He's out of the feast because he's not rightly dressed. And Jesus said that that's an illustration of people coming into his Father's house, taking place at the banquet when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to this world and when we're all taken up to be with the Lord and not having the qualification of salvation.

He's expelled because he doesn't have the wedding garment on, because he doesn't have the right dress on. You see how familiar this is to Zechariah? You remember Paul when he's writing to the Corinthians, he says of the Lord Jesus, he who knew no sin became sin that we might become the righteousness of God in him. In other words, you're like Joshua.

You've had your sins stripped away and you've had a new garment made available to you so that you can stay in the presence of God. You're a forgiven man accepted in heaven ultimately itself. So that's what the high priest stands for.

Joshua indicates forgiven sinners. But what about the branch? Well, do you remember that our Lord Jesus Christ, when he traces his ancestry or when it's traced for him in Matthew's gospel and also in Luke's gospel, it's traced right back to Jesse. Who was Jesse? Well, he was the father of David.

And you read in Old Testament scriptures that from the lineage, from the line of Jesse, from one of his descendants would be born the Saviour. Turn to Isaiah chapter 11 and verses 1 and 2, but particularly verse 1. Isaiah chapter 11 verse 1. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse. From his roots a branch will bear fruit.

The prediction that the Messiah will come from the lineage from the ancestry of Jesse. Now, if you check this in Matthew's gospel, chapter 1, and in Luke's gospel, I think it's chapter 3 or chapter 4, you will discover that our Lord's family tree goes back through Jesse. Now, when Jesus was born on the earth, there was no king on the throne at Jerusalem.

You remember the Romans occupied Palestine and the descendants of David seemed to be no longer in existence. You couldn't spot them anywhere. You ever walk through your garden and suddenly you find a shrub started to grow.

It was chopped down one year and you thought it was no more, but there was still some life in the root. And there you see it, this new spring, and a shoot just come up from the ground. And the Bible says that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he was that shoot.

He was a branch from the lineage of Jesse, from the loins of David. The house seemed to be absolutely dead. There were no descendants or so it appeared.

But then at Bethlehem, a shoot came forward. The branch of David's ancestors or David's descendants. If you turn to Revelation and chapter 5 and verse 5, references made to our Lord Jesus Christ.

And how is he described? Well, in terms that I've just argued. I read from the fourth verse. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.

Then one of the elders said to me, do not weep. See the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.

And the New Testament references made to our Lord Jesus as the branch or the root from David's line. Now what happened the day that Jesus died on the cross of Calvary? Well, it was the end of the high priestly. In fact, it was the end of the temple ceremonies of sacrifice.

No further lamb, no further offering was necessary for the forgiveness of sins. Why? Well, Hebrews makes it very clear, does it not? God in one day, through one sacrifice of his one son, put away sins forever. And we discover in the third chapter of Zechariah's prophecy, the Lord God saying of the branch, the root from David's line that would come, I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.

Incredible anticipation, incredible fulfillment. Jesus, the branch. But there was another metaphor that was used to describe the Messiah.

Not just the branch, but also the stone. Look at the ninth verse. See the stone I have set in front of Joshua.

There are seven eyes, seven indicating perfection. Eyes indicating the omniscience, the all knowledge of God. Now when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, what in effect was he doing? He was laying a foundation stone.

A stone of what? Well, a stone of this spiritual temple. Because you realize from my past explanations of Zechariah, that the temple that the Old Testament is referring to in the later prophecies, is not a literal temple. It's the temple not made with hands.

It's the temple made of living stones. It's the temple of the church of Jesus Christ. Now who is the foundation stone of that temple? It is none other than our Lord Jesus.

Thus Ephesians chapter 2, making it very clear that our Lord Jesus has put down the foundation stone of the temple. The church is built on the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the holy apostles and prophets. Now, go to the tenth verse here.

And what do you find? Well, there's another proverbial expression. How do you think a man might describe being really satisfied today? What would he want? The sort of typical Britisher. Well, he'd like his own castle, wouldn't he? Sort of semi-detached.

And a motor car. A job. A little bit put by for a rainy day.

Pension. And maybe if his employer is very kind, membership of Bupa. Now, isn't that a sort of reasonable illustration of the average content Britisher? Now, 50 million people are not in that category, but about 10 are.

And I'm not, because I'm not in Bupa. Now, there's an equivalent sort of picture that the Hebrews had for contentment. What was it? Well, it's often used in the Old Testament, and you'll find it in one of the minor prophets.

But you'll find it particularly in this minor prophet, Zechariah. Verse 10. In that day, each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree, declares the Lord Almighty.

He'd have his own bit of land, his own vine, his own fig tree, his own shelter, his own safety. And he'd be able to invite you to have some fellowship with him. That, in agricultural terms, was the equivalent to the picture that I've just spelt out in modern terms.

Now, how would the Old Testament Hebrew know this sort of security? Well, the Bible says he'll only know it when the branch has come. He'll only know it when the stone has come. He will only know it when one has come into the world to do for everyone what has symbolically been done for Joshua.

Sin taken away. Righteousness put on the individual. And the peace of God stealing into the heart, and the rest of God, and the security of God, being part of the consequences of being saved.

Now, all that's locked up in Zechariah 3. And I think it's phenomenal. But let's move on. From that vision of the priest being qualified to serve, into the fourth chapter, you discover a picture of this lampstand.

Now, remember, Zechariah is still in the temple area, literally speaking, and there are certain things in the temple that indicate not only heaven, but the service of God on earth. What was the first thing that you ever saw if you walked into the temple on the altar of incense? Well, you found just to the side of it this lampstand. It's well described, isn't it? When the question is put in verse 2, what do you see? Zechariah answers, I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it.

So there are seven branches. And on the top of each branch there is a light. Now, these are not candlesticks.

So forget the idea of a candlestick stuck into the hole. The actual fuel is not from wax, it's from oil. And interestingly enough, and here, of course, we're way beyond any literal understanding of this vision, interestingly enough, on either side of the candlestick you've got two olive trees.

One on the right of the bowl and the other on the left. And later on you will discover that oil is running from these two trees into the little receptacles at the top of the seven branches of the candlestick. Now you've got the idea.

It's easy to imagine, although it's a little strange to think it through literally. Verse 4. Zechariah's a little baffled. Well, we'll forgive him that.

I asked the angel who talked with me, what are these, my Lord? And he doesn't get a straight answer to his question. Like one interviewer interviewing our Prime Minister earlier today. Not quite a straight answer to the question.

Ultimately maybe she got round to it and ultimately Zechariah will get the interpretation of these two lamps, of this lampstand. Brought onto the scene is the name of someone else. Let's go down to the sixth verse.

And reference is made to a message. A message that has to go to a man by the name of Zerubbabel. So he said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel.

I'm going to answer your question in a bit, but you get this in mind. Not only the message of the lampstand, or its signification, but also the communication to Zerubbabel. Now let's ask ourselves for a moment, and you all know the answer to the question by now if you've been coming along regularly to these studies on the minor prophets.

Who was Zerubbabel? Isn't that a lovely name, Zerubbabel? Sort of rolls off your lips. Well, Zerubbabel was the governor of Jerusalem. Remember he's just come back from Babylon.

And in effect, though he's never been anointed king, he's standing in the place of king. And indeed if you go to the genealogy in Luke, you will find that amongst the ancestors of the Lord Jesus are not only Jesse and David, but also Zerubbabel. Now Zerubbabel's got a big problem.

He's got trade unions, you see, that are creating a little bit of difficulty in his day. There's nothing new in modern times that's not been anticipated in ancient times. You see, the bricklayers, and the masons, and what have you, were not too happy about building the walls around Jerusalem and rebuilding the temple.

You know that expression that we have, the proverbial expression, we use it in the north of England, I'm alright Jack, pull up the ladder, I'm in a dingy. Well that means that I'm looking after myself. My wife, my kids, nobody else.

As long as we four are alright, well that's fine. Now that was more or less the attitude when these people came back from exile. And Jerusalem's in a mess, they started to build the walls, they started to build the temple.

But you know what it is, the vision goes a little bit blurred, and you start to think about yourself first. And so enter the Billy Graham of that day, whose name is Haggai. And you remember Haggai got some response as he said, this is disgraceful, get your priorities in order.

And the first man who was influenced by the ministry of Haggai, you remember from our study there, was Zerubbabel. And he says, alright fellas, let's get to work on this wall and on this temple. It's a massive task, you've got to clear away all the rubble first.

And you've got to keep the interest of the people going. One of the great problems on OM in India is just keeping the young fellas and girls in their teams with a vision. Keeping them excited, motivating them.

And it's difficult to motivate people for any length of time. You can always do it for a one off, you can't do it week by week. You can always get someone to drive the bus for a Sunday, but try and get them to drive the bus 52 weeks out of the year.

Or a Sunday school class to look after that, or so on and so forth. Not too easy to get that discipline, day by day, dogged routine, week by week, availability. Well Zerubbabel's got the problem.

And well might he get a little bit depressed. So God sends him a message. Zerubbabel, if you're going to be successful, remember this.

It's not just by your own initiative, although you're quite a bright chap. It's not by might, it's not by power, it's by my spirit, says the Lord. And this great mountain, verse 7, it doesn't mean that literally.

The mountain of difficulty, the mountain of challenge, it will become level ground. And ultimately you will live to hear people say, God bless it, God bless it, as you put the final touch to the building of the temple. The word of the Lord, verse 8, came to me, the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple, his hands will also complete it.

And just in case there are those who say, well it's not what it used to be like, you know. You get those people around today, don't you? Oh, if you'd only have heard Dr. So and So in the 1920s, and been along in that church, and so on and so forth. It was all so marvellous, but in the 1980s.

Well, you know, it's second rate really, it's all hat. It can be very discouraging. Christian people can, can they not? And it's human nature all the way down the line.

So verse 10, you get an illustration of this. Who despises the day of small things? Men will yet rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. And then you get another reference to seven eyes, the eyes of God, ranging throughout the earth.

Now you might be asking yourself, well alright, I understand that bit. But what about those two olive trees, and the oil going into the lampstand? Well, the interpreting angel has not forgotten, neither has Zechariah. So he puts up the question again, verse 11.

Then I ask the angel, what are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand? And what are those two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil? And the angel says, well don't you really know what they are? And he says, no I don't. So he said, verse 14. These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.

Now let's try and work that one out, shall we? Who were the two anointed to serve God in the immediate ministry of Zechariah? Our friend Joshua, the priest, and Zerubbabel, in effect the king. You had to anoint a priest before he could become high priest. And a king usually had to be anointed, though whether Zerubbabel had been at that time is a point that no one can be certain of.

But in the ministry of a king that he was typically fulfilling, that's what would have happened. What does a priest do? Well a priest serves the people. A priest stands in the place of the people and comes before the Lord in a holy intercession.

What does Zerubbabel do as a king? Leads the people and ultimately in this instance is successful in achieving the purposes of God. In building the temple of the Lord. When Jesus came into the world, what three ministries did he fulfill? He is the prophet, he spoke the word of God.

He is a priest, he stood on our behalf and interceded before the Lord. And he's a king, he established a kingdom. And in the Old Testament those two last ministries particularly are dominant.

The ministry of the king and the ministry of the priest. Ever heard of the Qumran community? Very interesting, the Qumran community. You may have heard of the Qumran scrolls.

The Qumran community were a community of religious men, not Pharisees, not Sadducees. But of that order who lived outside Jerusalem down towards the plain of Megiddo. The high plain of Megiddo in the Jordan wilderness.

And in that little community they had their own rites, their own rituals and their own library. Some of their libraries were quite fantastic. And indeed you may recall the Dead Sea Scrolls when they were found.

They were part of the library of these people. Now if you were to check their literature you would discover that when Messiah came in their expectation. There wouldn't actually just be one Messiah, there would be two Messiahs.

There would be the king and there would be the priest. They didn't realize that these two ministries which are so dominant in Old Testament scriptures.