What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring forth the capstone accompanied by shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'" What are you, O great mountain?The phrase "O great mountain" symbolizes a significant obstacle or challenge. In the Hebrew context, mountains often represented insurmountable difficulties or powerful kingdoms. Here, the "great mountain" could refer to the daunting task of rebuilding the temple or the opposition faced by Zerubbabel. The rhetorical question "What are you?" diminishes the mountain's perceived power, emphasizing God's sovereignty over all challenges. Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain
"Before Zerubbabel" indicates that the obstacle will be removed in the presence of Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah. The transformation of the mountain into a "plain" signifies the removal of barriers through divine intervention. Historically, Zerubbabel was tasked with leading the reconstruction of the temple after the Babylonian exile, a task that seemed impossible without God's help. This phrase reassures that God's power will make the impossible possible, leveling any hindrance. Then he will bring forth the capstone
The "capstone" is the final stone placed during the construction of a building, symbolizing completion. In the context of the temple's reconstruction, it represents the successful completion of the project. The act of bringing forth the capstone signifies the fulfillment of God's promise and the culmination of Zerubbabel's efforts. Theologically, it points to the ultimate completion of God's plans, foreshadowing the coming of Christ, the cornerstone of faith. accompanied by shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
The repetition of "Grace, grace" emphasizes the unmerited favor and divine assistance that made the completion possible. The shouts reflect a communal acknowledgment of God's providence and mercy. In the Hebrew tradition, grace is a powerful testament to God's loving-kindness and faithfulness. This phrase highlights the joy and gratitude of the people, recognizing that the success of their endeavors is solely due to God's grace. It serves as a reminder that all achievements in the life of a believer are ultimately attributed to God's benevolent hand. Persons / Places / Events 1. ZechariahA prophet who received visions from God to encourage the Israelites during the rebuilding of the temple after the Babylonian exile. 2. ZerubbabelThe governor of Judah and a descendant of David, tasked with leading the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. 3. The Great MountainSymbolic of obstacles or challenges that stand in the way of God's purposes, particularly the rebuilding of the temple. 4. The CapstoneRepresents the completion of the temple, signifying the fulfillment of God's promise and the restoration of worship in Jerusalem. 5. Shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’A declaration of God's favor and blessing upon the work, emphasizing that the success of the endeavor is due to divine grace. Teaching Points God's Sovereignty Over ObstaclesJust as the "great mountain" becomes a plain before Zerubbabel, God has the power to remove any obstacle in our lives that hinders His purposes. The Role of Divine GraceThe repeated shout of "Grace, grace to it!" highlights that our achievements in God's work are not by our might or power, but by His Spirit and grace. Faith in ActionZerubbabel's task required faith and perseverance. Similarly, we are called to trust God and act in faith, even when faced with daunting challenges. Completion of God's WorkThe capstone signifies the completion of the temple. We are reminded that God is faithful to complete the good work He begins in us. Community and WorshipThe communal shout of grace underscores the importance of collective worship and acknowledgment of God's hand in our endeavors. Bible Study Questions 1. What "great mountains" or obstacles are you currently facing, and how can you apply the principle of God's sovereignty to these challenges? 2. How does the concept of divine grace in Zechariah 4:7 encourage you in your personal walk with God? 3. In what ways can you demonstrate faith in action, similar to Zerubbabel, in your current circumstances? 4. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's faithfulness in completing a task or project. How did this strengthen your faith? 5. How can you incorporate communal worship and acknowledgment of God's grace in your life and within your community? Connections to Other Scriptures Isaiah 40:4This verse speaks of every mountain and hill being made low, which parallels the idea of obstacles being removed by God's power. Matthew 17:20Jesus speaks about faith moving mountains, which connects to the theme of overcoming great obstacles through faith in God. Ezra 3:10-11Describes the laying of the temple's foundation with praise and thanksgiving, similar to the shouts of grace in Zechariah 4:7. People Zechariah, ZerubbabelPlaces JerusalemTopics Amid, Bless, Bring, Capstone, Cries, Crying, Forth, Forward, Grace, Ground, Headstone, Head-stone, Level, Mighty, Mountain, O, Of'grace, Plain, Shoutings, Shouts, Stone, Thereof, Top-stone, Zerubbabel, Zerub'babelDictionary of Bible Themes Zechariah 4:1-7 4112 angels, messengers Zechariah 4:1-14 1431 prophecy, OT methods
4416 branch Zechariah 4:6-7 5957 strength, spiritual Zechariah 4:6-9 5776 achievement Library September 2. "Who Hath Despised the Day of Small Things" (Zech. Iv. 10).
"Who hath despised the day of small things" (Zech. iv. 10). The oak comes out of the acorn, the eagle out of that little egg in the nest, the harvest comes out of the seed; and so the glory of the coming age is all coming out of the Christ life now, even as the majesty of His kingdom was all wrapped up that night in the babe of Bethlehem. Oh, let us take Him for all our life. Let us be united to His person and His risen body. Let us know what it is to say, "The Lord is for the body and the body is …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth The Founder and Finisher of the Temple
'The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it.'--ZECHARIAH iv. 9. I am afraid that Zerubbabel is very little more than a grotesque name to most Bible-readers, so I may be allowed a word of explanation as to him and as to the original force of my text. He was a prince of the blood royal of Israel, and the civil leader of the first detachment of returning exiles. With Joshua, the high priest, he came, at the head of a little company, to Palestine, and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Source of Power
'And the Angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, 2. And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold, a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps which are upon the top thereof: 3. And two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4. So I answered and spake to the Angel that talked with …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Independence of Christianity
Now, as this is true in the general of the great acts of God, this is equally true in the minutiae of them. It is true that God has a church, that that church has been redeemed and will be preserved for his glory, and it is equally true that everything that is done to the church, in the church, or for the church either with the permission or by the power of God, is for God's glory, as well as for the church's weal. You will notice, in reading Scripture, that whenever God has blessed the church, he …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857 Encouragement for the Depressed
"For who hath despised the day of small things?"--Zechariah 4:10. ZECHARIAH WAS ENGAGED in the building of the temple. When its foundations were laid, it struck everybody as being a very small edifice compared with the former glorious structure of Solomon. The friends of the enterprise lamented that it should be so small; the foes of it rejoiced and uttered strong expressions of contempt. Both friends and foes doubted whether, even on that small scale, the structure would ever be completed. They …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 61: 1915 The Power
"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."--Zech. iv. 6. J. Tauler, 1361. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 Rest from longing and desire O thou weary heart! Dost thou ween thy choice has been Not the lower but the higher, Thine the better part? And therefore dost thou long with bitter longing From the day dawn to the night. For the holiness, the rest of His beloved Who walk with Him in white? Thou art wearied with the striving and the yearning For the crown that thou wouldst …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series) Conversion --Human Agency In
What part and responsibility pertain to the human will in this matter? Before we leave the subject of conversion, it is important that we consider and understand this question also. For on this point also grievous and dangerous views and practices prevail. Human nature tends to extremes. Here too, there is a tendency to go too far, either in the one direction or the other. There are those, on the one hand, who virtually and practically make this change of heart and of nature a human work. They …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church Gifts and Talents.
"And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him."--Judges iii. 10. We now consider the Holy Spirit's work in bestowing gifts, talents, and abilities upon artisans and professional men. Scripture declares that the special animation and qualification of persons for work assigned to them by God proceed from the Holy Spirit. The construction of the tabernacle required capable workmen, skilful carpenters, goldsmiths, and silversmiths, and masters in the arts of weaving and embroidering. Who will furnish Moses …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit Concerning the Power of the Civil Magistrate in Matters Purely Religious, and Pertaining to the Conscience.
Concerning the Power of the Civil Magistrate in Matters purely Religious, and pertaining to the Conscience. Since God hath assumed to himself the power and Dominion of the Conscience, who alone can rightly instruct and govern it, therefore it is not lawful [1226] for any whosoever, by virtue of any authority or principality they bear in the government of this world, to force the consciences of others; and therefore all killing, banishing, fining, imprisoning, and other such things which are inflicted …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity Jesus Calls Four Fishermen to Follow Him.
(Sea of Galilee, Near Capernaum.) ^A Matt. IV. 18-22; ^B Mark I. 16-20; ^C Luke V. 1-11. ^a 18 And walking ^b 16 And passing along by the sea of Galilee [This lake is a pear-shaped body of water, about twelve and a half miles long and about seven miles across at its widest place. It is 682 feet below sea level; its waters are fresh, clear and abounding in fish, and it is surrounded by hills and mountains, which rise from 600 to 1,000 feet above it. Its greatest depth is about 165 feet], he [Jesus] …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Of the Necessity of Divine Influences to Produce Regeneration in the Soul.
Titus iii. 5, 6. Titus iii. 5, 6. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. IF my business were to explain and illustrate this scripture at large, it would yield an ample field for accurate criticism and useful discourse, and more especially would lead us into a variety of practical remarks, on which it would be pleasant …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration The Harbinger
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD , make straight in the desert a high-way for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. T he general style of the prophecies is poetical. The inimitable simplicity which characterizes every …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 Zechariah
CHAPTERS I-VIII Two months after Haggai had delivered his first address to the people in 520 B.C., and a little over a month after the building of the temple had begun (Hag. i. 15), Zechariah appeared with another message of encouragement. How much it was needed we see from the popular despondency reflected in Hag. ii. 3, Jerusalem is still disconsolate (Zech. i. 17), there has been fasting and mourning, vii. 5, the city is without walls, ii. 5, the population scanty, ii. 4, and most of the people …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Zechariah 4:7 NIVZechariah 4:7 NLTZechariah 4:7 ESVZechariah 4:7 NASBZechariah 4:7 KJV
Zechariah 4:7 Commentaries
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