By My Spirit

By My Spirit

Zechariah 4:1 – The angelic messenger who had been speaking with me then returned and woke me, as a person is wakened from sleep. 2 – He asked me, “what do you see?” I replied, “I see a menorah of pure gold with a receptacle at the top and seven lamps, with fourteen pipes going to the lamps.

verse 3 – There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the receptacle and the other on the left.” 4 – Then I asked the messenger who spoke with me, “what are these, sir?” 5 – He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” So I responded, “No, sir.”

verse 6 – Therefore he told me, “these signify the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD who rules over all.”

I am thankful for Zechariah’s curiosity. He did not try to interpret things on his own. He could easily describe everything he saw but had no idea what it all meant. The angel didn’t immediately answer Zechariah’s question but confirmed that Zechariah really didn’t know – it was as if he was saying: you really don’t know?

This reminds me about the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus about being born of the Spirit. Nicodemus asked “How can these things be?” Jesus answered, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things? (John 3:9, 10) You really don’t know?

Both Zechariah and Nicodemus didn’t know about the Holy Spirit. Most of us going through life don’t know about the Holy Spirit either – we usually default to physical strength or seeking out the worldly powers to get what we want. The message that Zechariah was to deliver to Zerubbabel was this: ‘Not by strength, and not by power, but by my Spirit’ says the Lord who rules over all.

Do we finally get it? The Lord who rules over all says that it is by His Spirit that we succeed.

If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – Luke 11:13.