Sermon #21[1] Zechariah Series

Title: Zerubbabel’s Mighty Hands

Text: Zechariah 4:7

Subject: No Mountain Shall Stand before Christ

Reading — Portions of Ezra 3-6

(Ezra 3:1-5) “And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. (2) Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. (3) And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening. (4) They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required; (5) And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD.”

(Ezra 3:8) “Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD.”

(Ezra 3:11-13) “And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. (12) But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: (13) So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.”

(Ezra 4:1-6) “Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel; (2) Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. (3) But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. (4) Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, (5) And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. (6) And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.”

(Ezra 4:24) “Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

(Ezra 5:1-5) “Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. (2) Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them. (3) At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall? (4) Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building? (5) But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.”

(Ezra 6:14-15) “And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. (15) And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.”

Introduction

You will find my text in Zechariah 4, verses 8-10. The title of my message is Zerubbabel’s Mighty Hands. In verses 6-7, Zechariah was given a message to deliver to Zerubbabel.

(Zechariah 4:6-7) “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. (7) Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.”

In verses 8-10, we are allowed to read God’s message to his prophet, Zechariah.

(Zechariah 4:8-10) “Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (9) The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. (10) For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.”

Israel’s Captivity

The history of the Old Testament is little more than a record of the perverseness of man and the goodness and mercy of our God. From the day that the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt to the end of the Old Testament, their history is one of unbelief, perverseness, and rebellion. And throughout the Old Testament we see often repeated illustrations of God’s unparalleled patience, rich forbearance, and unspeakable goodness toward his typical people.

Yet, he always keeps before us the fact that he hated their sins, and was justly provoked by their iniquities. From time to time, raised up prophets to testify against their sins, and to denounce his displeasure against them. He sent chastisement after chastisement upon them, and sold them again and again into captivity, in order to bring them to repentance for their disobedience. The most remarkable example of this was the Babylonian captivity. Israel was sent captive into Babylon for seventy years. At the end of seventy years, when the time fixed by God’s purpose was completed, he stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, the king of Persia, to send them back to their own land, there to rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-3).

(Ezra 1:1-3) “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, (2) Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. (3) Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.”

The Return

After this, a remnant of returned to Jerusalem. Their first object on their return was to rebuild the temple, which lay before them in ruins, having been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. They showed great zeal for God’s honor, and clearly manifested where their heart and affections lay. The leaders of the remnant which returned were Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, their civil head, being a lineal descendant of the last king of Judah, and Joshua, the son of Jozadak, their spiritual head, the lineal descendant of the last high priest. Under the rule and guidance of these two men (Zerubbabel portraying Christ our King and Joshua portraying Christ our Priest), the children of Israel returned to their own land.

The first thing they did was build an altar upon which they offered their burnt offerings, their morning and evening sacrifices, according to the Levitical law. Then, they kept the feast of tabernacles. The next thing was to lay the foundation of the temple. This was done by the hand of Zerubbabel, in the presence of Joshua, the high priest, and the assembled people (Ezra 3:8-11).

(Ezra 3:8-11) “Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD. (9) Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites. (10) And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. (11) And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.”

Then everything came to a screeching halt for a good while, and progressed very slowly for the next nineteen or twenty years. After almost twenty years the Lord God turned the heart of Darius, king of Persia, to favor of the undertaking. The top stone was put in its place and the temple was completed. The house of God shined forth again in its beauty and glory. It is true, this temple was in every respect inferior to the temple Solomon had built. But it was honored to a far greater degree. It was into this temple that the Son of God himself came in the fulness of time, as Haggai prophesied he would (Haggai 2:7-9).

(Haggai 2:7-9) “And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. (8) The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. (9) The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.”

God’s Promise

All these things are literal, factual accounts of history. But they were done as typical pictures of a far greater work performed by the hands of our great Zerubbabel, the Lord Jesus Christ. That brings us to our text (Zech. 4:8-10). The words of this text contain a literal promise for the comfort of the desponding Jews, who, after the foundation was laid, did not see their temple finished for twenty long years. As such, the words of this text give us a promise from our great God, assuring us that the Lord Jesus Christ, our mighty Zerubbabel will finish the building of his church, he will save all his elect.

Divisions: Let me show you four things in this message…

1. The Temple’s Significance

2. The Foundation Laid

3. The Walls Built

4. The Finished Work

The Temple’s Significance

First, I want to talk to you about the temple itself and its typical, spiritual significance. What is the typical, spiritual significance of the temple? The temple was a type and figure of both our Savior’s humanity, his physical human body; and his spiritual body, the whole church of God and each of his elect.

Christ’s Humanity

First and foremost, the temple at Jerusalem was typical of our Lord Jesus Christ, typical of his humanity (John 2:19-22).

(John 2:19-22) “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. (20) Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? (21) But he spake of the temple of his body. (22) When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.”

It was in the temple that God manifestly dwelt. Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord God is described as he “that dwellest between the cherubims” (1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2; 2 Kings 19:15; 1 Chro. 13:6; Ps. 80:1; 99:1; Isa. 37:16; Ezek. 10:2, 6, 7). There he was seen in the manifestation of his glory, in the Shechinah, the holy light that rested on the top of the ark.

In this sense the temple typified the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are told specifically that regarding his human nature, “God was manifest in the flesh,” and “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

Once it was built, all the sacrifices of God were offered to him in the temple alone. Sacrifice was not allowed to be offered anywhere else (Deut. 12:13-14).

(Deuteronomy 12:13-14) “Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: (14) But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.”

That strict prohibition plainly signified that the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross is the only propitiation for sin, the only sacrifice which God has accepted, the only sacrifice he will accept, the only sacrifice with which he is well pleased. — We are accepted only by Christ our Sacrifice. — And our sacrifices are accepted only by Christ our Sacrifice (1 Pet. 2:5).

(1 Peter 2:5) “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”

In the Old Testament all spiritual worship was offered to God in the temple. In Solomon’s prayer of dedication, recorded in 2 Chronicles 6, special petitions were asking the Lord God to hear the prayers of those who prayed toward that place. The publican, in our Lord’s parable, went up to the temple to pray. In the Book of Acts, Peter and John, went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer (Acts 3:1). And our Lord Jesus himself was continually found in the temple from his youth and throughout his earthly life.

The significance of all this is clear. All true worship of God is in Christ, our Temple. We cannot worship God except as we worship him in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. God will never accept any worship except that which is offered in and through Christ, our Temple in whom all the fulness of the Godhead dwells. No prayer, petition, supplication, or desire is ever acceptable to God, except as it passes through the mediation of the Lord Jesus. He is the only Mediator between God and men.

The temple was a beautiful and blessed figure of the Lord Jesus, and especially of his human nature as our God-man Mediator.

The Church

But the temple was also typical of Christ’s mystical, spiritual body, the Church, — of the Church as a whole, — of every true local church, — and of every true believer in Christ (1 Cor. 6:15-17; 2 Cor. 6:16).

(1 Corinthians 6:15-17) “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. (16) What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. (17) But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.”

(2 Corinthians 6:16) “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

And every true local church, every assembly of redeemed sinners, gathered together in the name of Christ, is his temple, as Paul puts it, “an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22; Matt. 18:20; 1 Cor. 3:16-17).

(Ephesians 2:22) “In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

(Matthew 18:20) “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

(1 Corinthians 3:16-17) “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (17) If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

Christ has set up his throne in the hearts of believing sinners by the power and grace of God the Holy Spirit. He has given us an altar on which we continually lay the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart, worshipping our God in Spirit and in truth (Phil. 3:3).

(Philippians 3:3) “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

The Foundation Laid

Second, our text tells us that “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house” (Zech. 4:9; Ezra 3:8-10). As the temple was a typical thing, Zerubbabel was a typical person. He was the son of Shealtiel, (1 Chron. 3:17, Matt. 1:12). His father, Shealtiel, was the son of Jeconiah, king of Judah. He died in Babylon during the captivity. Zerubbabel was now, as his heir, the lawful king of Judah. The crown of Israel belonged to him.

As the lawful king of Judah, Zerubbabel was a clear type of our Lord Jesus Christ, our great King. Both Zerubbabel and the Lord Jesus were of the stock and lineage of David. Each might be called the son of David. Zerubbabel, as king of Zion, laid the foundation of the temple at Jerusalem. In that great act, he was the representative of the Lord Jesus.

In God’s Decree

If we would see how the true Foundation of God’s true Temple was laid, we must begin with God’s eternal decree. We must look back into the ancient settlements of God’s eternal purpose. No man will ever understand anything God does in time, until he is made to see that everything done by our God in time was purposed by him in eternity. The Foundation of the Temple of our Savior’s humanity was originally laid in the decree of God before the world was made. It was the eternal purpose of the triune God to make his glory manifest in Christ (Pro. 16:4). It was for this purpose the world was made. It was for this purpose that Adam fell. It was for this purpose that the Mediator came. God has no higher, no dearer object than his own glory. We may even say, though we approach the subject with solemn awe, that hell itself was made for the glory of God, and that all things in heaven, earth, and hell, were made to, in some way, show forth his glory as God.

But God’s glory is displayed most wondrously in the work of his sovereign, saving grace and discriminating mercy. And the Foundation of the Temple of mercy, which was to be built upon the Person and work of the God-Man Mediator, Christ Jesus, was laid in the mind of God from all eternity. That this Foundation might be fixed and firm, the whole was settled by divine decree, so that it would never be moved.

· The waves of time would beat against it.

· Satan would assault it with all his force.

· The fall of Adam, the ruin of his race, with all the sins and evils of the human heart, would conspire to overthrow this Temple of mercy.

· But the Foundation of the house was laid deep in God’s firm, immutable decree, when Christ was accepted and trusted as our Surety in old eternity (Ps. 89:19, 28-29, 34-36).

(Psalms 89:19) “Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.”

(Psalms 89:28-29) “My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. (29) His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.”

(Psalms 89:34-36) “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. (35) Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. (36) His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.”

The Incarnation

The Foundation Stone was laid in eternity. And laid in time, when Christ actually assumed our nature, when “the Word was made flesh.” The Son of God became incarnate in the womb of the virgin Mary. At that moment in time, when the Son of God took into union with himself our flesh, being conceived in the virgin’s womb by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, the Foundation Stone was laid.

The Walls Built

Third, throughout this chapter, the primary thing being declared is that he who laid the Foundation will build his house and finish it, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (v. 6). The Foundation being laid, the next step was to raise up the walls of the house. These walls are the work of salvation performed for us and in us by Zerubbabel’s mighty hands (Isa. 26:1).

(Isaiah 26:1) “In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.”

Our Savior, throughout his holy life, — from the moment of his birth to the accomplishment of his death upon the cursed tree as our Substitute, — in all his words, actions, and miracles, — and by every thought that passed through his holy heart, was working out salvation for us, raising the walls and bulwarks of his Temple, piling up, as it were, stone upon stone. When cried from the cross, “It is finished,” the last stone was placed in the dome. And when, on that glorious day of his resurrection, he broke the iron bars of death and the grave, and rose triumphant over death and hell, our great Zerubbabel’s mighty hands, the same hands that laid the Foundation, brought forth “the Headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace! Grace unto it” (Ps. 118:22; Matt. 21:42; 1 Pet. 2:6-7).

(Psalms 118:22) “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.”

(Matthew 21:42) “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?”

(1 Peter 2:6-7) “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. (7) Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.”

Our Experience

By the decree of God, “the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” — By the accomplishments of Christ in his life, death, and resurrection, the works were finished in time, when our all-glorious Christ “obtained eternal redemption for us,” and made us sit together with him in heaven. — But there is still a work of grace to be performed in every chosen, redeemed sinner.

Our Mediator is now in heaven, sitting at God’s right hand to lay the Foundation, raise the walls of Zion, and put on the Headstone in every temple of mercy, in every chosen, redeemed sinner here below. Let me say a little about that, too.

· The Foundation had to be laid and the work completed in eternity (Rom. 8:29-30), or it could never have been done in time.

· And the laying of the Foundation and the finishing of the work in time was just as necessary as the work done in eternity.

· The Foundation laid and the work finished on our behalf by the obedience and death of our Substitute was necessary, before the Foundation could be laid and the work finished in us.

· And the Foundation must be laid by the work of grace and finished in us by the work of grace.

· And this work of grace in us is just as vital and necessary to our salvation as the work of God in eternity and the work of Christ on earth.

How is the Foundation laid and the work finished in our experience of grace? Consider for a moment the condition of the first temple when the Jews returned from their captivity in Babylon. How did they find the temple? What was its condition? It was in utter ruin. It was completely destroyed. Piles of debris, overgrown with weeds for seventy long years was all that was left on that spot where Solomon’s beautiful temple was once stood. On that once glorious site they found nothing, but a pile of burnt fragments, covered over with thorns and briars, a place where serpents and vipers were creeping in and out at every hole, and where the owls of the night and jackals of the desert found shelter.

In that condition the temple vividly typifies God’s elect in their natural, fallen state, “children of wrath, even as others.” That pile of rubbish was a clear portrayal of the state of man when Christ, our Zerubbabel, comes to lay the Foundation by the work of his omnipotent hand. The fall of Solomon’s temple portrays the fall of man, the building of God hurled down into a mass of ruins.

A Preparatory Work

What, do you imagine, was the first thing the returning exiles had to do before they could take the first step in rebuilding the temple? They could not lay the foundation without removing these heaps, cutting down the briars and thorns, driving away the wild beasts, and burning the serpents out of their holes. Heaps upon heaps of rubbish were to be wheeled away before Zerubbabel could come and lay the foundation of the temple.

So it is in our Savior’s operations of grace in the soul. There must be a preparatory work in the soul before the Foundation Stone can be laid. Heaps of rubbish must be removed.

· Open Profanity

· A False Profession

· Hypocrisy

· Self-Righteousness,

· Religious Delusions

These are the things in which we have been cradled, and nurtured, and raised all the days of our lives. They all have to be hauled away. The ax of the law must be used to remove these heaps of rubbish. Until this is done there is no possibility of laying the Foundation.

Before the dimensions of the building can be laid out and the Foundation laid, the land must be cleared, and some deep digging has to be done. Then, and only then, Foundation Stone is laid. So it is with God’s work of grace in the soul. The work of the law in the conviction of sin, the manifestation of God’s holiness and justice to the soul, is not only to clear away heaps of self-righteousness, but also to dig deep into the human heart to make a suitable place for the reception of the Foundation Stone. This is what Paul spoke of in Romans 7:9.

(Romans 7:9) “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.”

What is the Foundation Stone? The Foundation Stone is Christ himself; and it is by his own hands that the Foundation Stone is laid in Holy Spirit conviction. The work of the law is the destruction and death of all creature hope. The gospel’s work is, by the Spirit of God, laying the Foundation Stone of grace in the soul (John 16:8-11).

(John 16:8-11) “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (9) Of sin, because they believe not on me; (10) Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; (11) Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”

This Foundation Stone laid by our Zerubbabel’s mighty hands is the first revelation of Christ in the soul, the first manifestation of God’s mercy, love, and grace to chosen, redeemed sinners. As the law came by Moses, so grace and truth comes by Jesus Christ. — “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). The first promise that comes home to the heart, the first token of a saving interest in Christ’s precious blood and perfect righteousness, the first smile of his heavenly countenance that raises in us “a good hope through grace,” is the laying of the Foundation Stone in the heart Zerubbabel’s mighty hands.

Then Trouble

But as soon as the foundation stone was laid in the temple, adversaries appeared on every side. They did everything in their power to defeat the children of Israel and keep them from rebuilding the temple. Countless mountains of trouble and difficulty arose.

· Enemies, “the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin,” pretending to be friends, tried to get the Jews to compromise with them, employing the arm of the flesh in the work (Ezra 4:2). — Mixing works and grace!

· When that did not work, they “weakened the hands of the people, and troubled them on every side” (Ezra 4:4). — Trials, Temptations and Opposition! — Blessed are those trials that weaken our hands! They strengthen our faith!

· Then, they “hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose” (Ezra 4:5).— False prophets!

· Then, they slandered them, accusing them of evil designs (Ezra 4:6). — Hypocrisy!

· Other foes tried to raise questions of doubt and confusion, saying, “Who hath commanded you to build this house?” (Ezra 7:3). — God has not called you!

· Added to all that there were friends within the camp of Israel who disheartened them once the foundation was laid, saying, “We’ve seen God’s work before; and this house does not compare with God’s works of old” (Ezra 3:12). — Despising the Day of Small Things!

But God assured his people that the work was sure. And God’s Word to Israel by Zechariah is God’s Word to us today (Zech. 4:6-7).

Twenty years after the foundation stone was laid, the temple was finished. And so it shall be with every heaven born soul, “for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). He who gave you faith in Christ will keep you in faith, continually giving you faith, that as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so you may continually walk in him. Therefore, I am confident “of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

When the Lord Jesus has laid the Foundation Stone in your soul, giving you faith in himself, Satan is in a rage. By countless and malicious enemies of sin, unbelief, the evils of your own wicked heart, and temptations from every side, he weakens your hands. The Foundation Stone is laid deep, and cannot be seen. Faith, hope, and love seem to weaken. Day after day, and year after year, briars, and thorns, and thistles grow thick in the soil of your soul. You are almost overwhelmed. Gloomy doubts and fearful despondency vex you, fill your heart with trembling, and cause you to sigh with Newton…

‘Tis a point I long to know,

Oft it causes anxious thought,

Do I love the Lord, or no;

Am I His, or am I not?

If I love, why am I this;

Why this dull, this lifeless frame?

Hardly, sure, can they be worse,

Who have never heard His name.

Could my heart so hard remain,

Prayer a task and burden prove;

Every trifle give me pain,

If I knew a Savior’s love?

When I turn my eyes within,

All is dark and vain, and wild;

Filled with unbelief and sin,

Can I deem myself a child?

If I pray, or hear, or read,

Sin is mixed with all I do;

You that love the Lord indeed,

Tell me, is it thus with you?

Yet, I mourn my stubborn will,

Find my sin a grief and thrall!

Should I grieve for what I feel,

If I did not love at all?

Could I joy His saints to meet,

Choose the ways I once abhor’d,

Find at times the promise sweet,

If I did not love the Lord?

Lord, decide the doubtful case,

Thou who art Thy people’s Sun,

Shine upon Thy work of grace,

If it be indeed begun.

Let me love Thee more and more,

If I love at all I pray;

If I have not loved before,

Help me to begin today.

I do not say that is the way things ought to be. But who can deny that that is the way things are? Then, when we have sunk so low, almost so low as to despair, the Word of God comes to our hearts with sweet assurance (Zech. 4:8-10).

The Finished Work

Fourth, I am here today, I believe sent of God with his message for your souls, and my message is this. — Christ, whose hands have laid the Foundation of his house, will by his own hands alone finish it.

(Zechariah 4:9) “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.”

What did the Lord do when Israel had sunk so low, when had “ceased the work of the house of God” (Ezra 5:24)? He raised up two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, and sent them with a message in their mouths to revive, stir up, and encourage the hearts of his desponding people. — “Then rose up Zerubbabel and Joshua (Christ our King and Christ our Priest!), and began to build the house of God” (Ezra 5:1-2).

That is the work of every prophet sent of God to his people, the work of every gospel preacher. It is our solitary and constant business to lift up Christ crucified before you, praying that he will by his blessed Spirit, make himself known to you, to revive, stir up, and encourage your souls (Heb. 12:1-3).

(Hebrews 12:1-3) “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (3) For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”

I ask you, my friends, has our mighty Zerubbabel laid the Foundation Stone of his grace in your soul? Has God the Holy Spirit given you faith in Christ? “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” If you do, if God my Savior has begun his good work in you, he will finish it. He will not leave his temple unfinished!

That is what the Book of Zechariah is all about. Zechariah was raised up and sent by God to inspire in the hearts of his people confidence that, as Zerubbabel had, by his own hands and before their very eyes, laid the foundation stone of the temple, those same hands would, by the special appointment of God, most assuredly, finish the work. Before him, all imaginary difficulties would disappear. He cried, “Who art thou, O great mountain?” Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain.”

If the hands of our great Zerubbabel have laid the Foundation of the temple of mercy in your heart, his hands will, most assuredly, finish it. The Lord will perfect that which concerns you. He will show you those things which, at present you, do not know. He will never leave you until he has done all that good which he has promised to them that believe. He will bring forth the headstone in your soul, when he presents you “faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,” with shoutings of “Grace, grace unto it!” And, when he does, you will rejoice to “see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel.” Hen “thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you.”

(1 Thessalonians 2:19) “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?”

And that which our mighty Zerubbabel will do for each of his elect, he will do for the whole election of grace, his whole body, the church, which is his temple, “the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” The whole work of salvation is of his good pleasure from first to last. The hands of Zerubbabel laid the Foundation. The hands of Zerubbabel build the walls. And the hands of Zerubbabel bring forth the top stone. It is all of grace, and to the praise of the glory of his grace, from first to last.

Try to imagine the wonder with which the children of Israel must have been possessed, when at last they saw Zerubbabel bring forth the headstone of the temple. After all those years of relentless struggle, opposition, and discouragement. How the hills must have echoed with the shoutings of the blessed people, crying, “Grace! Grace unto it!” So it shall be when all the elect of God are presented in the perfection and fulness of Christ at last. I do not know what may lay before us in the days that remain for us on this earth. I have no idea what troubles we may have to face. I have no idea what trials our God may have appointed for us yet to endure. But I know how the whole work of God will be finished. Our mighty Zerubbabel, the Lord Jesus Christ, “shall not fail!” “He shall bring forth the headstone of his great temple with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it!” And we will echo the shout forever (Rev. 19:1-6).

(Revelation 19:1-6) “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: (2) For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. (3) And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. (4) And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. (5) And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. (6) And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”

Amen.

[1] Date: Danville — Sunday Morning — December 4, 2005

Todds RD Grace Church — Lexington, KY — (WED 13/07/03)

Tape # Zechariah #21

Reading: Portions of Ezra 3-6