WHAT SEEST THOU?
Zechariah 4:1 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.
Once the prophet had been awakened to a spiritual awareness again he reports, I have looked! It is good to be able to say to Him who knows the very thoughts and intents of the heart that I have been able to accomplish what you would in a spiritual consciousness! (Hebrews 4:12 … and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.)
And the Lord God fully expects us to pay attention to his word! Ezekiel 40:4 And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.
…and behold a candlestick all of gold,… The prophet’s spiritual drowsiness coupled with the Lord’s question, (What seest thou?) are being used to reintroduce him to a seriousness of understanding temple worship! He is being made to understand that the only light in which the priest has to work is this golden candlestick which he must describe in detail to the Lord! And we who were in past times darkness, must now also walk as children of light before the Lord! Ephesians 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
And just as this prophet, in his ancient times must come to understand proper spiritual worship, even so is this drastically needed in this hour of hypocritical religious practice. We must understand the absolute sovereignty of God in our requirement to cast our crowns at the feet of the Lamb of God! John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
For it is not every one who says, “Lord, Lord,” who shall enter into true, spiritual worship! No prayer book, nor the reciting of any creed shall provide true, God honoring, Christ exalting spiritual worship! Therefore those who have the very God of glory to approach them for inciting worship must forsake all else and give the utmost attention to that which is set before their consciousness!
To have been spiritually awakened is blessing beyond all earthly treasure! To be enabled to worship is glory-life beyond all religious exercise! To attain true God-accepted worship is to have been sought out by the Father Himself! O! May He grant such mounting up of soul’s again in these apostate days! May poor religionists cease to fill their minds with only the words of dead preachers and seek to be filled with the living words of the Lord Christ by His Spirit! Psalm 36:9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
Can Calvin save us? Should Spurgeon be brought to our pulpits who knew of the mind of the Spirit in his day and dealt with those issues, but cannot provide us with the Spirit’s direction in ours? We must have ministers presently abiding the cross for this day. The church is not made up of buzzards who will eat any old dead carcass! The church is described as eagles which seek fresh kill and warm blood! Christ must be known in the fellowship of his sufferings and upon a personal resurrection of a soul alive to Christ, but staying dead to religion and its rhetoric!
1 Corinthians 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Dear soul, the power and authority of the presently reigning Lord is to be exacted only through gospel ministers who are doing whatsoever I have commanded them as they go into all the world to teach others to also be submissive to their Lord’s cross! (Matthew 28:18-20). Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
To burn every evening – Second Chronicles 13:11 instructs us that the candlestick was lit every evening! …and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; For that is when light is most needed! And that is when light is most appreciated! That is when the Lord reveals Himself, who is the light of the world, and the light of life! (John 8:12). For when the darkness was predominant, the Light appeared! Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
The Spirit moved. The Light appeared in the Creation! The Spirit moved, and the Light appeared in Incarnation! Luke 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. The Spirit moves. The Light appears in regeneration! John 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And as the candlestick was the light for the priest to work among the holy things of God, so it is only by the Holy Spirit that our light does shine forth that others may be shown the glory of God! Matt. 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Revelation 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
One beaten work of pure gold – Exodus 25:31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. 36 Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold.
Gold represents deity. And the candlestick was to be of pure gold, beaten out from one single piece! Mystery of mysteries! How can God, the mighty maker die for man, the creature’s sin? But he was wounded for our transgressions! He was bruised for our iniquities! The chastisement for our peace was brought to bear upon him! God enough to be represented only by gold! Man enough to be beaten as a Son! Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Hebrews 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
And his Incarnation sets the pattern for our regeneration! For we possess the Spirit of the Living God within us as we are his temple! (1 Corin. 6:19-20). And we cannot enter into his presence except by way of the cross! Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For it is at the cross that every believer is moulded into oneness with the spirituality of Christ! Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Listen to the understanding that Zechariah was given concerning this: Zech. 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
Our inheritance in the glorified state is absolutely dependent upon our submission with Him at the cross! Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
…with a bowl upon the top of it… The Hebrew word translated here as bowl is from a Hebrew word translated, But let … run down in Amos 5:24. It is the exact same Hebrew word translated springs three times in Joshua 15:19. So it contains not just the image of a container, but also that of a cup running over! It is like a bubbling spring that constantly sends forth it’s water! Listen to this passage in John: John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
My! My! Endless, spiritual, eternal life! How glorious! Directly connected to the fountain of life like the branch to the vine! Therefore the fruit is always borne and is always remaining!
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Revelation 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
And like the mountain of rubble that faced Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, in verse seven, that had to be moved in order to get started on rebuilding the temple, so the mountain of sin and guilt that the sinner faces in building up himself as part of the holy habitation in which God is to dwell (Ephes. 2:19-22), can not be removed by human might or earthly power, but only by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts! (Zech. 4:6).
And as we have seen, that Spirit, like a mighty river is within to surge through every believer to cleanse and remove debris that would prevent the true, spiritual worship of the Holy God! And its spiritual waters shall recover those souls caught in the gospel nets! Ezek. 47:6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. 7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. 9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. 10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
Pastor Gene Breed
December 22, 2010
