Zechariah 4:4

The prophet could not understand anything without the Angel explaining it to him. This kept him humble when he had to acknowledge: "No, my Lord" in response to the: "Do you not know … ?" of his companion. We also need to feel our own ignorance before God if we want to understand the truths in God's Word. Scripture gives many plain details that anyone can understand, even unbelievers. But the deeper sense will always escape the natural man.

There are many things in Scripture that we do not know. But we have no right to interpret the word of God by ourselves. There is such a thing as being taught by God… Sometimes it is good for those who teach to have to learn. It is good for them to feel that they do not know. It is an excellent moral lesson for them to confess it — not only to be aware of it, but to admit it.

The lampstand is the well-known seven-branched lampstand of the tabernacle. It always was the symbol of the light of God in the perfection of testimony — testimony in the power of the Holy Spirit on the earth — first in Israel, and then in the Church. Note several differences from the original lampstand. First, the bowl on top of it. Next, each lamp seems to have seven pipes to carry the oil from the bowl to the lamps. Last, the two olive trees with their branches and golden pipes, which supplied the oil to the bowl.

In these words the angel is not answering the prophet's question directly. The prophet had asked what this lampstand meant, with its seven branches, the bowl of oil above it, and the pipes carrying the oil into the branches… He wanted to know what it all meant. And the angel's answer was, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts."

The difficulty in his mind was how this great work was going to be done. How would anyone build the temple? How would anyone restore the ruined city of Jerusalem and clear the site for the new temple? How could the small, weak company of Jews do it?

Zerubbabel was a weak shoot of the royal family. He was brought very low. He could not even carry the title of king. But the Lord speaks to him with these words: "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit"! What an encouragement it must be for a humbled man to hear that God does not desire mighty deeds from him.

It takes us a long time to learn that there is no power except in the Lord. In the Lord's work, human energy, will, or persistence count for nothing. Worse, they get in the way of divine strength… So when we are weak we are strong. Feeling our complete weakness leads us to depend on the Lord.

As well as the lampstand and the pipes being of gold, the oil is said to be golden oil. This emphasizes the deity of the Spirit of God, just as the glory of Christ's deity is emphasized in the golden lampstand.