Day 246: Zechariah 4–6 | Read The Bible In A Year | Bible Study with Commentary by Dr. Manny Arango

Hey Bible nerds, this is Dr. Manny Arango. Welcome to the Bible Department podcast powered by ARMA. We are walking through the entire Bible in a year. You can go to the description or thebibledepartment.com to download a reading plan and join the journey. Hey Emily, welcome to day 246 on this Bible reading plan. We are in Zechariah chapter 4, 5, and 6 today. We are rounding off the section. This entire section is from chapters 1 to 6. Obviously yesterday we looked at Zechariah chapters 1, 2, and 3 and today we're looking at Zechariah chapters 4, 5, and 6. The context for Zechariah 4, 5, and 6 is the exact same as yesterday and we're gonna get into our context clues in a moment. But I just want to say if you haven't done the reading, pause this video, stop the audio, go do the reading. You got to read Zechariah chapters 4, 5, and 6 if you're gonna have context for what I'm gonna talk about. For everybody who has done the reading, let's dive in. Our context has not changed since yesterday. The context of these three chapters are exactly the same as the first three. So the context for chapters 4, 5, and 6 is exactly the same as 1, 2, and 3. I mean, I don't know why you'd watch this video on Zechariah 4, 5, and 6 if you haven't watched yesterday's video on chapters 1, 2, and 3. But just in case you haven't watched Zechariah, the video on Zechariah 1, 2, and 3, this is a continuation of Zechariah's visions that he sees on the 24th day of the 11th month of the second year of Darius the first, which is the 15th of February, 519 BC. Okay, the 15th of February, 519 BC. And Zechariah is gonna have eight dream visions. Actually, he's gonna have all eight of these dream visions in one night. Can you imagine having like full-blown, like just crazy, weird, odd, strange, apocalyptic dreams all in one night? Okay, now we talked about the first four yesterday, and he's gonna have four more in today's reading. All four of yesterday's visions pair with today's visions. And just in case you weren't around yesterday, vision 1 and vision 8 are gonna match with each other. Also, by the way,

because vision 1 and vision 8 match with each other, this is a chiasm. So I don't think I said that yesterday, but these visions are a chiasm. Okay, I said words like mirror and match, but go ahead. I'll go ahead and say the magic word, which is chiasm. Vision 2 and 7 are gonna go together. So vision 2 is the four horns and the four blacksmiths. Vision 7, which we're gonna talk about at length today, is the woman in the basket. Vision 3, which is Jerusalem being measured, is gonna match up with the flying scroll, which is vision 6. So vision 1 and vision 8, vision 2 and vision 7, vision 3 and vision 6. And then the center of the chiasm is actually vision 4 and vision 5. Vision 4 is gonna focus on Joshua the High Priest, and vision 5 is gonna focus on Zerubbabel. And these two leaders together, really, all of these visions are communicating that these two leaders are anointed by God to bring transformation and to lead these exiles into a building campaign. So these two guys are anointed to really shift history. They are going to be at the forefront of rebuilding the people of God into the new Jerusalem. Remember, back in Isaiah, Jeremiah, tons of the prophets talked about, yes, God is gonna bring exile, there will be refugees to Babylon, but God will restore a remnant, and that remnant will be the new Israel. The reality of that remnant is here, all right? The post-exilic prophets are dealing with that remnant. I said this yesterday, there's a million Jews that are in captivity in Babylon. Only 50,000 of them come back. And so, man, that's not a lot, okay? This is a remnant. So Joshua and Zerubbabel, the reason that there's a chiasm that has Joshua and Zerubbabel right there in the middle is because they are anointed by God to lead this generation of God's people Which make up a remnant because it is this remnant that's gonna create the new Israel and it's this remnant that's gonna create the Jewish world that Jesus is really really gonna interact with. So, alright Let's kind of dive in. That's all the context that we need. Let's dive into some nerdy Nuggets. Alright, let's dive into

Chapter 4. Okay. I've got chapter 4 pulled up The angel who talked with me came again and wakened me as one is wakened from sleep These are eight consecutive visions back to back to back to back to back all in one night's sleep Awaken me. He said to me. What do you see? And I said, I see a lampstand all of gold. So this is a menorah Okay, you probably remember this from the tabernacle furniture all the way back in books like Exodus okay in Leviticus I see a lampstand all of gold is a golden lampstand with a bowl on the top of it there are seven lamps on it with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it and By it are two olive trees one to the right of the bowl in one of the left I said to the angel who talked with me. What are these my lord? Then the angel who talked with me answered me do you not know what these are I said, no good job Just be honest. No, I don't know what this is. He said to me. This is the word of the Lord says a rubble Okay, so this is a specific word says a rubble not by might nor by power But by my spirit says the Lord of hosts now that gets quoted in church a lot And I don't think we have context for that sake Okay, so this is a word to Zerubbabel not by might nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord of hosts What are you? Oh great mountain before Zerubbabel you shall become a plane Okay so the mountain will be made flat you shall become a plane and He shall bring out the top stone amid shouts of grace grace to it moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the Foundation of his house of the tent of the new temple his hands shall also Complete it then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you for whoever Has despised the day of small things shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel All right lot to kind of break down there. All right, so first things first. We've got a golden lampstand We got a menorah. So we kind of got to break down what this vision is. We got a golden lampstand We get a menorah now in the Old Testament like in books like Leviticus Deuteronomy the golden lampstand Needed the priest to go in every day and every night and add oil to it

Because lamps run by oil I know I know and today's culture you just plug a lamp into the socket Okay, and they run by electricity But in I don't know 500 BC before Thomas Edison, you know invents the light bulb lamps are powered by Olive oil. Okay lamps are powered by olive oil So the priests had to go in every day and make sure there was enough oil in the lamps So that the lamps could actually burn and and and burn brightly and create and actually be a lampstand Okay, good to produce light Okay, what Zechariah sees is a vision of like an automated menorah. Okay, this thing is dope Okay, instead of priests having to go in and add Olive oil to it every day so that it'll burn it does it on its own The things got a bowl on top of it with olive oil and two olive trees Next to it that put oil in it. That's wild. Okay And so Zechariah is like what is this if the angel goes it's a rubble. Okay, the olive tree is a rubble That's a rubble is full of what he's filled with the anointing of the Lord he's full of the Spirit of God and because he's full of the Spirit of God the Spirit of the Lord not his power not as might but the Holy Spirit the anointing of God that's on him is Actually gonna provide oil for the lamps So this the golden lampstand is necessary for the temple to function and what is the rubble trying to build? He's trying to build the temple and they've been at it for like 16 years and they've only built the altar They haven't made a lot of progress. And so the Word of the Lord is encouraging the rubble through Zechariah to the rubble I know you've been trying to do this in power and by strength, but it's not gonna be by power and might, but God's Spirit is gonna enable you to do this, Zerubbabel. You're not gonna do this because of your hard work or your work ethic or your determination, but because the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord has anointed you and has filled you. And man, whew, that's a timeless truth right there. Like that is so encouraging, especially as someone who has a very strong work ethic,

as someone who a lot of times feels like, I'll put the team on my shoulders, I'll put the weight on, and I'll get us to the finish line. Sometimes God looks at the leader and says, I know you've got a strong work ethic. I know you think you can do it all, but I'm gonna anoint you. The anointing of the Lord, I think is for two things, as far as I can tell biblically. Number one, the anointing of God breaks the stronghold of the enemy. Way back when we studied Elijah, and Elijah is anointed by God because there's a wicked princess named Jezebel. And whenever the enemy has a stronghold, God raises up someone who's anointed because it is the anointing of the Lord that breaks the stronghold of the enemy. So I think that the anointing of God breaks strongholds. Second thing that I think anointing does is the anointing oil in the Old Testament is a lot like grace in the New Testament. And anointing is like a grace. There's just a special grace. What's difficult for other people is easy for you because you're graced to do it. When Michael Jordan plays basketball or when LeBron James plays basketball, there's just a grace to it. There's just a flow. It's almost like they're flying through the air. Although they are working hard, they are sweating. There's just a grace that they have to finesse. There's just a grace that they have to play basketball. And I want to do things that I'm graced to do. Man, I may make watching or I may make making content look easy, but it's just because there's a grace on me to do it. There's a grace on me to preach. There's a grace on me to do certain things. And when you get into a space where you're saying, you know what? I want to do the things that I'm anointed to do.

I don't want to do things just because it's a good idea. I don't want to do things just because I'm comparing my church to another person's church. I want to do the things that God's anointed us to do, that God's graced us to do. And so Zechariah has a word for us in Rubble and goes, it may be discouraging. This project may be taking a long time. Yes, there's opposition, but there's a grace on your life to do this. You've been anointed to do this. Now, the vision goes even deeper. The fact that this vision speaks of the son of David, okay, the son of David, rebuilding the temple through the power of the spirit has of course led to the idea that it has a double fulfillment. That this is also foreshadowing the son of David, AKA Jesus, who through the power of the spirit will build the new temple, his body, the church. But if that is the case, then who is the other olive tree? Because in this vision, one olive tree is clearly Zerubbabel and the other is Joshua. Okay. Joshua is the priest. Zerubbabel is the, I guess I would say like political leader. Okay. Family, the wait is over. My brand new book, Crushing Chaos is out now and available everywhere books are sold. Literally today, I walked into a Barnes and Noble and I signed a bunch of copies at a physical location. So you can grab this book at a physical Barnes and Noble, or you can go to a books a million or Amazon or anywhere books are sold and grab a copy. If you enjoy reading the Bible from an ancient perspective, if you understand that the beauty of scripture is actually knowing it in context, then you'll love this book. And if there's any chaos in your personal life, I think that reading the Bible from an ancient perspective can actually help to crush the chaos in your life. I think this book is going to be a New York times bestseller.

I really do. I think we wrote a good one. I think you should get a copy today. All right. Back to the episode. So there's two interpretations for this. I'll give you both. If Zerubbabel represents the branch that will come, who does Joshua represent? Who is the coming priest? There are, I think, two possible interpretations. One being the most common, but another, which is a fascinating, but very fringe idea. It's fringe and very, very, very nerdy. So I'll give you the common idea. Then I'll give you the extra nerdy fringe idea. The priest is Jesus. Okay. combines both the role of King and High Priest, Zerubbabel and Joshua. So both Zerubbabel and Joshua are foreshadowing Jesus. Zerubbabel as the son of David, kingly role, Joshua as the great High Priest role. Jesus unites both roles into one to be the only vehicle of the Spirit in the realm of the New Temple, in the building of the New Temple, which is Himself and then His body, the Church. Okay, so that's the common interpretation. I'll give you a fringe idea just because I think this podcast is the place for fringe, nerdy ideas. The fringe idea is that the priest could be John. No, not John the Baptist, his cousin, Jesus' cousin, but John, the beloved disciple. And this is way, way, way out there, okay? The idea comes from the unique perspective that John gives of Jesus in both his gospel and the apocalypse, in that an early church father named Polycrates, Polycrates, probably, is how you pronounce it. Who knows with these words that we no longer say, called John a priest. The idea is that John is beside the throne as

he is both the only apostle to stand next to the cross and the only apostle that stood next to the throne in heaven in the book of Revelation. And he is next to Jesus in the Last Supper and the Declaration of the New Covenant at the Last Supper. Added to this is the way he focuses on the temple and festivals within his gospel. In this idea, Jesus is the king and standing at his side is John, the apostle, the disciple, the priest. Whether or not this idea has merit, it certainly is very, very, very nerdy. And because it's nerdy, I just gave it to you as an option. All right, so we've said a lot about Zechariah chapter 4. We probably don't have nearly enough time to get to chapter 6, but we can definitely get to chapter 5 because the woman in the basket is a fascinating vision, okay? It says this in chapter 5. Again, I looked up and saw a flying scroll. Oh, no, we probably won't get a chance to get to the flying scroll. But the flying scroll, first of all, is massive. And here's a nerdy nugget. It's written on two sides. There's writing on both sides of the scroll, which is very, very rare. That's actually not really possible. Typically, there's only writing on one side of a scroll. And I saw that and I thought maybe our audience wouldn't have seen that. But there we go. Okay, chapter 5, verse 5. We'll deal with vision number 7, okay? This is the woman in the basket. Then the angel who talked of me came forward and said to me, look up and see what this is that is coming out. I said, what is it? He said, this is a basket coming out. And he said, this is their iniquity in all the land. Then a... I'm actually reading out of the NRSV and I want the NIV. All right, verse 7. Then the cover of lead was raised and there in the basket sat a woman. We're supposed to infer that she's in there against her will. Okay, so a woman's been kidnapped. She's under a lead, under a cover of lead in a basket. She's gotta been kidnapped. This is great. Okay, verse 8. He said, this is wickedness. So the woman represents wickedness. And he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it. Then I looked up and there before me were two women with the wind in their wings. Okay, so these women are flying. We got flying women

who are carrying a basket and there's a woman in the basket and there's a lead cover on top of the basket. This is fascinating. They had wings like those of a stork. Okay, so we got women with stork wings and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth. Where are they taking the basket? I asked the angel who was speaking to me. He replied to the country of Babylonia. Oh, now I know why I had an NRSV because Babylonia is not a good translation. So let's go back to NRSV. All right. I knew why I had an NRSV. I should trust myself more. Verse 11 in the NRSV says this. He said to me, to the land of Shinar, Shinar, S-H-I-N-A-R, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base. Okay, what's going on? This is wacky. All right, the key to unlocking this passage is in understanding Shinar. Where is Shinar? Well, let's read two passages of scripture. Genesis 10 verse 10 and Genesis 11 verse 2. Genesis 10 verse 10 and Genesis 11 verse 2. Here's what Genesis 10 verse 10 says. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, okay? Babel, Erech and Akkad, all of them in the land of Shanar, okay? This is Genesis 11, verse two. And as they migrated from the East, they came upon a plain in the land of Shanar and settled there. And what did they do? They built the Tower of Babel. The Tower of Babel is essentially the origin story for Babylon. And that is why the NIV is gonna translate Shanar as Babylonia, all right? They're trying to help you to link, but they don't want you to do the work.

Whereas in the NRSV, it just says Shanar, and you've got to remember, I've seen Shanar before. I saw it in Genesis chapter 10. I saw it in Genesis chapter 11, and you got to kind of follow the breadcrumbs till you figure out what's going on. So, idolatry begins in Babel because Babel is not just some any old tower, it's a ziggurat, and it is designed to be a temple, okay? So, idolatry starts in Babel. And so, this woman who represents wickedness is getting carried back to her source and will no longer be allowed in the land of Israel, which is essentially a very, very apocalyptic and fancy way of saying, my people will no longer worship Baal and Asherah and any of the other gods that have been exported to Israel from Babylon, okay? My people will not worship idols. And so, this woman who, in a lot of respects, you should be thinking about Jezebel, okay? Jezebel brings Baal worship as a foreign god into the land of Israel because she's given influence, okay? So, okay, not to get too in the weeds on that, but that is how we should understand the woman in the basket. And then, the four horsemen on patrol, that's dream vision number eight, and it mirrors the first dream vision that we got at the front of the book.

Let's get into our timeless truths. I got two for you today. We started the first one already. Zechariah 4, verse six. So, the angel said to me, Zechariah, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, okay? Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty, that if we're going to build God's house, that we can't build God's house by might or power, but things that are spiritual, things that are eternal, things that require spiritual energy need to be built by the spirit. And that's not just true for Zerubbabel, that's true for you and me and anybody building God's church, that we need to be leaders that are empowered by the Holy Spirit, graced by the Holy Spirit, full of the Holy Spirit, anointed by the Holy Spirit. God will build his church. And anytime I believe that I'm building his church, man, I get burnt out, I get frustrated, I snap at people, I get angry, I'm tough to be around, but when I just go, it's God's church, not in a lazy way or in a way that abdicates responsibility, but when I begin to say, I'm a steward of everything, I'm an owner of nothing, it's God's. Actually, I opened myself up to be anointed and graced and empowered by God,

whereas when I think, yeah, this is mine, I'm gonna build my thing, I'm gonna build my church, then I'm always gonna use power and might and strength. So it's a counterintuitive way of leading. And then there's another verse, Zechariah 4.10. Remember, when the people come back to the land, they're not impressed with this new Zerubbabel temple. They're just kind of like, Solomon's temple was better. They're not impressed. So Zechariah 4.10 says, who dares despise the day of small things? Do not despise the day of small beginnings. Who dares despise the day of small things? Since the seven eyes of the Lord that reigns throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel. Actually, what Zerubbabel is building is incredible. And who dares despise the day of small things? That oftentimes it's the enemy who wants us to despise the small things. You did your Bible reading for today. That may seem like a small thing, but I'm declaring it's a big thing. I'm not gonna despise the day of small things. If you wanna know a big lesson that I've learned as a pastor, it's clapping for people who are doing the small things. Hey, you stop smoking weed. That may seem like a small thing to you.

That may seem like a small thing to me, but it's a big thing to you. And so I don't get to judge whether or not it's a small thing or a big thing. I just get to clap and go, yo, you came to church two weeks in a row. I'm glad, I'm happy. And when we look at the book of Genesis, so every day God says, it's good, it's good, it's good. And then on the very last day of creation, he says, it's very good. And I think there's a lot of us, we're waiting to be happy about the very good before we even call anything good. And the reality is that if you don't rejoice over the good, you may never see the very good. And so often I think we're withholding our compliments, we're withholding the flowers that we would give to people, we're withholding compliments, or we're just not impressed until it's very good. But at some point you gotta go, I'm happy with the small wins. And if I stack up a couple of small wins, if I stack up enough small wins, guess what? It'll turn into big wins. So, Zechariah 4, verse 10, who dares despise the day of small things? I remember when Arma was in a garage and I was filming all the videos myself. And now there's eight employees

and we've grown. And anybody who would have came to my garage in 2020, there were a lot of people actually who came to my garage in 2020. And they kind of, you know, I saw the way they looked at me. They despise the day of small things. But you know what? Who dares despise the day of small things? The small things will always, if you keep at it, turn into great things. And that's the word of encouragement from Zechariah to the rubble. And that's a word of encouragement, I hope from the spirit of the Lord to you today in our timeless truth. All right, tomorrow, we've got day 247. We're gonna tackle two chapters from the book of Zechariah, chapter seven and chapter eight. It's gonna be fantastic. Don't miss out. If you're on a streak, I'm proud of you. Let's keep trekking through the book of Zechariah together. Love you guys so much. I'll see you right here tomorrow as we tackle day 247 on this Bible reading plan. Love y'all, peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department Podcast.

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