 |
| For who has despised the day of small things? What do we look at and consider insignificant – in ourselves, in others, in resources? Are we looking at the lack and giving up there or rising above and overcoming these through the unconquerable power of His Spirit within us? |
My Meditations on Today’s Reading
(Ellipses are mine
and are used for contemplation.)
Key Words / Phrases: The
golden lampstand with a bowl on top of it, seven lamps, 7 pipes, and 2 olive
trees on each side; not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit; for who has
despised the day of small things? a flying scroll, four chariots with red,
black, white and dappled horse; the elaborate crown; praise the LORD; 4 things
that are little but exceedingly wise; the great harlot of Babylon and the beast
that carries her, 7 mountains, 7 kings and then the 8th, the 10
kings; the Lord of lords and King of kings; the called, chosen and faithful
Not Despising the Day of Small Things –
Zechariah 4, 5, 6 – (Facts: What It
Says –Summarized)- The Promise: We
have learned in our study through the Bible this year that names have great
significance in the Bible. God’s prophet
to the nation at this time is to encourage the people in His power, and
Zechariah – “God has remembered” is the Hebrew
translation of the name. The vision
given to Zechariah is that God will remember Israel as His Chosen, His Elect, who
are to serve and glorify Him, in His grace and through His power – in spite of
the continued rebelliousness of His people and the opposition of the people
around them. This is the rebuilding of
the temporal (physical) temple and allusion to the heavenly (spiritual) temple
of the end times. The Vision of the Golden Lampstand:
Most scholars understand the lampstand to be the temple and the worshipping
people – the Jewish Nation, the Chosen People – and in the spiritual temple –
the saved people down through the centuries after the 1st Coming of
Christ. The 7 lamps are the 7 ministering angels mentioned also in
Revelation 1:20 and 5:6. The oil – as
throughout the Bible – symbolizes God’s Holy Spirit. In this context, the two ministering
witnesses would be Zerubbabel, the governor and political leader, and Joshua
the spiritual leader and high priest.
Zerubabbel is from the line of David; Joshua from the line of Aaron. Of
course, without the oil, the lampstand is useless. “Not by might nor by power, but by My
Spirit,” says the LORD. God
will rebuild the temple. He will “bring forth the capstone” (Jesus is
called the chief cornerstone in Ephesians 2:20 and 1 Peter 2:6) with shouts of
“grace,
grace to it!” Again, this is
all through the unmerited favor of God, not because of man’s worthiness. “Then you will know the LORD of hosts has
sent Me to you. For who has despised the
day of small things?” Principle:
This is how God has worked throughout history. The humble, despised, cast-out
are exalted; and the proud are brought down: the simple shepherd boy becomes
the great King of Israel and the line from which the Promised Messiah will come, an unknown handmaiden
becomes the mother of God, the Messiah is born in a lowly manager in a small,
nondescript town; uneducated, common men become the apostles of the Lord that
“turn the world upside down.” God delights
in exalting the small and the despised. The Vision of the Flying Scroll: “This is the curse that goes out over all the
earth” – ejecting the thief and the perjurer from God's Chosen People.
Principle: Israel is
being brought back to God, and sin cannot dwell with holiness. The Vision of the
Woman in the Basket: “This is
Wickedness!” He puts a lead cover
over the vileness and has two angels take the basket to Shinar – another word
for Babylon. Principle: This is a removal of the idolatry and evil that
the Chosen People had brought back with them from their captivity in
Babylon. It is cast out from His people. The
Vision of the 4 Chariots: These
are the avengers who “walk to and from
throughout the earth” and give “rest” to the Spirit of the LORD. Principle:
Notice again the parallels in the Zechariah vision and The Revelation – with
the horses and men in both and their missions. The
Plan of Redemption is the scarlet thread found throughout the Bible. The Vision of the Elaborate Crown for Joshua: This is a gift made from returning exiles
from Babylon, evidently. But the
allusion immediately shifts to the Coming Messiah: Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the
head of Joshua, the high priest. Then
speak to him, saying, “Thus say the LORD
of hosts, saying, ‘Behold, the Man whose
name is the BRANCH! From His place He
shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the LORD; Yes, He shall
build the temple of the LORD. He shall
bear the glory and shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on
His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. Principle:
Christ is both King and Priest – head of both the political and
spiritual realms, and in His Second Coming there will be “the counsel of peace”
between the two, and all glory will be His as He rules over the new temple of
God that is formed from “every tongue, tribe, nation and people” who confess
Him as Savior. “Even those from afar
shall come and build the temple of the LORD.
Then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass…if…you
diligently…obey…the voice of the LORD your God." (Zechariah 6: 15)
Praise to God – for What We Know and What
We Don’t – Psalm 148: 1-6 – (What
It Says) Creation Praises God: Praise Him…from the heavens…in the heights…Praise
Him all His angels, all His hosts, sun and moon, all you stars of light, you
heavens of heavens, you waters above the heavens. What
We Praise: Praise the name of the LORD Why We Praise Him: For He commanded and they were created; he also established them
forever and ever; he made a decree, which shall not pass away. Principle: Surely this must be our natural response as we grow in knowledge of the Lord and as we walk closer with Him in fellowship each day. The whole of creation joins us in praising Him.
More Exalting of the Small Things -
Proverbs 30:24-26 (What It Says) 4 Things Which are
Little on Earth but Wise: 1) The ants – not strong…but…prepare their food in the winter; 2) the rock badgers –
feeble…yet…they make their
homes in the crags; 3) the locusts – have no king…yet…they all advance in ranks; 4) The spider – skillfully
grasps with its hands…and…it
is in kings’ palaces. Principle: What do we look at and consider insignificant
– in ourselves, in others, in resources?
Are we looking at the lack and giving up there or rising above and
overcoming these through the unconquerable power of His Spirit within us?
The Whore of Babylon – Revelation 17 –
(Facts: What It Says – Summarized)
The Vision:
The angel carried me away in the
Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which
was full of names of blasphemy, having 7 heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet,
and adorned with gold and precious stones an pearls, having in her hand a
golden cup…full of abominations…and the filthiness…of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I
saw the woman…drunk…with the blood…of the saints and of the martyrs of Jesus. The Meanings:
The beast that you saw was, and is not,
and will ascend out of…the bottomless pit and go to perdition. Those whose names are NOT written in the Book
of Life…from the foundation of the world…will marvel when they see the
beast. The 7 heads are 7 mountains on
which the woman sits. There are also 7
kings. One has fallen, and one is yet to
come. When he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast is himself also
the eighth and one of the 7. The 10
horns are 10 kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive
authority for 1 hour as kings with the beast.
These are…of one mind…and will give…their power and authority…to the
beast. These will make war with the
Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them…for…He is Lord of lords…and King of
kings; and those who are with Him…are…called…chosen….and…faithful. The waters are the peoples, multitudes,
nations and tongues. The 10 horns on
the beast will hate the harlot, make her naked, desolate, eat her flesh and
burn her with fire. For God…has put it
into their hearts…to fulfill His purpose…until the words of God are
fulfilled. And the woman you saw…is the
great city…which reigns over the kings of the earth. The
Principle: The end times are not just a physical, temporal war between
nations; they are the culmination of spiritual warfare waged against God and
His people from the foundation of the world.
Many of earth’s inhabitant’s will follow Satan, the Antichrist, the
False Prophet, and the idolatrous religion they represent. The saints and the martyred 144,000 of the
tribes of Israel will persevere as His called, His chosen, His faithful as
Christ overcomes them in this final war and ushers in the Heavenly Jerusalem.
My Lessons and Applications:
Biblical prophecy is very difficult for me to comprehend. I begin to grasp the literal and get carried
away by the allusions and symbolism that I know speak from the OT to the NT and
especially into The Revelation. While we
have seen some of the OT prophecy fulfilled exactly as predicted, we are still
awaiting the final unfathomable miracle of the Full Plan of Redemption. When I read the visions of…some…of the work
carried out by the heavenly hosts, I realize how much our finite minds cannot
and do not grasp or know – how much the spiritual realm intersects with and
overarches the physical realm. Yet, I am
absolutely certain that it does – just as He says – just as He has given us
glimpses of this in His Word and occasionally in our physical lives. It is this that so humbles me, so draws me
into God with His cords of love. This is
the genesis of my praise, of the praise of all creation. No other philosophy, psychology, materialism
can touch my spirit with truth – only His Spirit speaking to mine.
Some other
writings on these prophecies:
No comments:
Post a Comment