The prophet Zechariah reminds the Jewish people that someone must rebuild the Temple when they return from exile.
The man responsible for this task, as Zechariah says, is a man by the name of Zerub-babel; he acted like a governor or mayor. He was the one to go to the former site of the Temple, and take what was left, and rebuild it. Not an easy task; indeed, it was a dangerous task.
Remember, too, that the site upon which the Temple had stood for centuries had remained abandoned. It was a mountain of rubble. Nobody had been working on it. Many folks saw this “pile of stones” as insignificant, or as a thing of the past, something not concerning the future; and they despised any attempt to rebuild it; it was a waste of time in their eyes.
Hence, the key verse: many people “despised the day of small things” (4:10); that is, they saw the whole project of rebuilding the Temple as worthless, as a “small thing.”
The prophet Zechariah thinks otherwise. Indeed, Zechariah reminds the people of the consequences of forgetting the work before them; that it was God’s work, and that it would take place “not by power or might, but by God’s Spirit.” That is another way of saying that “Yes, this work might appear little in your eyes, but in God’s eyes it is important.” Big armies are not the point; large plans are not the point. Instead, an openness to what God’s Spirit is doing is the point.
It reminds us a little of what the apostle Paul says to the Philippians: “The work that God began in you, God will bring to completion” (4:9). What God starts, regardless of how insignificant it might appear, God will seek to bring it to completion, for no small thing, or person, is unimportant.
For Zechariah, God has started a great work in Zareb-babel to rebuild the Temple, and God will get it done, even amidst those who scoff at it and who see no need for it.
Therefore, let us ask ourselves, what is God seeking to bring to completion in you? Where do you need to trust God to lead you? What small things do you need to do for Christ?
Pastor Andy Kinsey
The man responsible for this task, as Zechariah says, is a man by the name of Zerub-babel; he acted like a governor or mayor. He was the one to go to the former site of the Temple, and take what was left, and rebuild it. Not an easy task; indeed, it was a dangerous task.
Remember, too, that the site upon which the Temple had stood for centuries had remained abandoned. It was a mountain of rubble. Nobody had been working on it. Many folks saw this “pile of stones” as insignificant, or as a thing of the past, something not concerning the future; and they despised any attempt to rebuild it; it was a waste of time in their eyes.
Hence, the key verse: many people “despised the day of small things” (4:10); that is, they saw the whole project of rebuilding the Temple as worthless, as a “small thing.”
The prophet Zechariah thinks otherwise. Indeed, Zechariah reminds the people of the consequences of forgetting the work before them; that it was God’s work, and that it would take place “not by power or might, but by God’s Spirit.” That is another way of saying that “Yes, this work might appear little in your eyes, but in God’s eyes it is important.” Big armies are not the point; large plans are not the point. Instead, an openness to what God’s Spirit is doing is the point.
It reminds us a little of what the apostle Paul says to the Philippians: “The work that God began in you, God will bring to completion” (4:9). What God starts, regardless of how insignificant it might appear, God will seek to bring it to completion, for no small thing, or person, is unimportant.
For Zechariah, God has started a great work in Zareb-babel to rebuild the Temple, and God will get it done, even amidst those who scoff at it and who see no need for it.
Therefore, let us ask ourselves, what is God seeking to bring to completion in you? Where do you need to trust God to lead you? What small things do you need to do for Christ?
Pastor Andy Kinsey
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