Zec 4:11 | KingComments | STEP | The night vision is not quite clear yet for Zechariah. That is why he asks further ( ). He even asks the question again, adding something to the question of which he would like to know the meaning ( ). In his repetition of the question, the prophet speaks of oil as “golden [oil]”. In the picture it is thus indicated that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, just as Christ – represented in the golden lampstand – is. The two golden pipes through which the oil runs can be seen as the means which God uses to let run the flow of the Spirit. We can think of precepts, but also of servants of the Word. The oil does not come from a dead reservoir, but from living olive trees nourished by God (cf. ; ; ). The golden stream of oil is available to us in the work that the Lord commands us to do. Both the oil and the pipes are made of gold, which means that in this case there is no distinction between the means the Lord uses and what He gives. Here, so to speak, there is no distinction between the weakness of the vessel, the servant, and the treasure in the vessel, the Spirit.

‏ Zechariah 4:11

Question About the Olive Trees

The night vision is not quite clear yet for Zechariah. That is why he asks further (Zec 4:11). He even asks the question again, adding something to the question of which he would like to know the meaning (Zec 4:12).

In his repetition of the question, the prophet speaks of oil as “golden [oil]”. In the picture it is thus indicated that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, just as Christ – represented in the golden lampstand – is. The two golden pipes through which the oil runs can be seen as the means which God uses to let run the flow of the Spirit.

We can think of precepts, but also of servants of the Word. The oil does not come from a dead reservoir, but from living olive trees nourished by God (cf. Psa 52:8; Hos 14:7; Rom 12:1). The golden stream of oil is available to us in the work that the Lord commands us to do. Both the oil and the pipes are made of gold, which means that in this case there is no distinction between the means the Lord uses and what He gives. Here, so to speak, there is no distinction between the weakness of the vessel, the servant, and the treasure in the vessel, the Spirit.