Zec 4:2 | KingComments | STEP | Zechariah is roused. He is awakened. Then the LORD asks him what he sees. The question forces Zechariah to look closely. He is summoned to give the greatest attention to what he sees. Then he can describe in detail what he sees. He sees “a lampstand all of gold”. There has been one like that in the tabernacle ( ). Zechariah also sees how the oil, through which the seven lamps of the lampstand can burn, is going to those lamps. At the top of the lampstand is a bowl drum. From this bowl, seven spouts go to each of the seven lamps. Through these spouts the oil flows to the lamps. The oil in the bowl is supplied by two olive trees. From the olive trees, the oil is transported through two spouts to the bowl at the top of the lampstand. In this way the lampstand can burn continuously. Of the two trees there is one on the right side and one on the left side of the lampstand. This picture shows the constant, unlimited and God-governed supply for the light He wants to spread through His people. There is no human help involved in this, as there has been in the care of the light in the tabernacle and the temple. Only if God’s Spirit – the oil is a picture of Him ( ) – controls every detail, can the service be for the glory of God. The lampstand is a picture of the Lord Jesus. He is the light of the world. In it we see the power of the Holy Spirit, which emanates from Christ, the Anointed. Just as the lampstand carries the lamps, so the Lord Jesus carries the believers. It is said to us, the followers of Christ, that we are the light of the world ( ). We must let our lamps burn and let our light shine in the world ( ; ; ). For this we need the power of the Holy Spirit.

‏ Zechariah 4:2

The Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees

Zechariah is roused. He is awakened. Then the LORD asks him what he sees. The question forces Zechariah to look closely. He is summoned to give the greatest attention to what he sees. Then he can describe in detail what he sees. He sees “a lampstand all of gold”. There has been one like that in the tabernacle (Exo 25:31-40).

Zechariah also sees how the oil, through which the seven lamps of the lampstand can burn, is going to those lamps. At the top of the lampstand is a bowl drum. From this bowl, seven spouts go to each of the seven lamps. Through these spouts the oil flows to the lamps. The oil in the bowl is supplied by two olive trees. From the olive trees, the oil is transported through two spouts to the bowl at the top of the lampstand. In this way the lampstand can burn continuously. Of the two trees there is one on the right side and one on the left side of the lampstand.

This picture shows the constant, unlimited and God-governed supply for the light He wants to spread through His people. There is no human help involved in this, as there has been in the care of the light in the tabernacle and the temple. Only if God’s Spirit – the oil is a picture of Him (1Jn 2:20 ; 27) – controls every detail, can the service be for the glory of God.

The lampstand is a picture of the Lord Jesus. He is the light of the world. In it we see the power of the Holy Spirit, which emanates from Christ, the Anointed. Just as the lampstand carries the lamps, so the Lord Jesus carries the believers. It is said to us, the followers of Christ, that we are the light of the world (Mt 5:14). We must let our lamps burn and let our light shine in the world (Lk 12:35; Phil 2:15; Rev 1:20). For this we need the power of the Holy Spirit.