Old Testament Commentary - Zechariah 4

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 4 Zerubbabel shall lay the foundation and finish the house of the Lord: The temple of Zerubbabel.	Zechariah sees vision of symbolic representation of the temple menorah, messianically prophesies of Jesus' ancestry through Zerubbabel who will build the Lord's temple, and of the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth who is the light of the world.
Fifth Vision The Candlestick (Menorah) and The Two Olive Trees
1 AND the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep^a, 2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a ^acandlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his ^aseven 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.	1^a as a man that is wakened out of his sleep We are all to be wakened out of the darkness of this realm of lack of understanding which is veiled from the knowledge of God by the Spirit of God. This is the awakening of this vision to the light of Christ being that of the Menorah and the light which is spread forth by the servants of the Lord. And given that awakening and that light, thereby we may see and have the veil removed from our understanding and come to know Christ and God.	2^a Ex. 37:17; Rev. 1:20 2^a Zech. 3:9; Commentary; Rev. 8:2 The Menorah The temple memorah was really quite large. It was no simple set of candle lights which would grace a table top. It stood upon the ground and its true size is perhaps well presented by the frieze to the left which depects it removal at the time of the roman destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. It was an oil lamp made up of seven lamps, one centeral lamp with three more on each side. Its light gave light to the holy place of the temple or tabernacle. Symbolically it was lit beginning with the center lamp, that lamp represented Jesus Christ, Jehovah, as the central figure, governing head, whose light would shine forth through all despensations of time as the head of the seven and of his own despensation of time. Then then others six lamps where lit in order from left to right, from the first to the last as though through the passing of the six periods of time as each despensation head would appear from Adam until Joseph Smith.

The Two Olive Trees Much has be spoken and even unspoken concerning these two olive trees or branches. In reference to contemporary Israel or Zechariah chapter 4, Joshua the priest and Zerubbabel the governor are seen by Elder Bruce R. McConkie (Doctinal New Testament Commentary, 3:510) and other Biblical commentators (Guthrie and Motyer, New Bible Commentary, p. 791) as they who typify who these two olive trees are. In Revelation 11:3-4, John states that the two olive trees are God's two witnesses. Thus in various ages the two olive trees have been portrayed, Joshua the son of Nun and Aaron the priest of Moses can also be placed in this same typical portrayal. Even the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel could stand as two witnesses of God. Even the two sticks of Judah and Joseph or Ephraim are to come forth as two such witnesses of God, inparticular Jesus Christ. Whether the two Olive Trees about the Candlestick, the Menorah, needs be particular people or may be applied to the law of witnesses and to all things which stand as a dualistic testamony of God many be comtemplated. All in all they do testify of and are the support to the One True God. The two work to the testament of the one. Such is also the case of the Godhead. Both Jehovah and the Holy Ghost do but witness of the truth and to the glory of the Father. And in various other respects the two eventuate to the testament of the one. Even in the uniting of the two, the two sticks of Joseph and Judah become one. Messiah ben David and Messiah ben Joseph, the two envisioned Messiah's of the Jews, are but one and the same Messiah, even Jesus Christ. From John's two witnesses in Revelations to the unifying of the two Messiahs into one, there comes a wide range of applications of the two olive trees about the Menorah. Even the two witness that stand at the head of the street and lay dead for some days in the latter days convey this same imagery. The Imagery seems to be appliable to various situational circumstances and events. But all seem to stand as messianic types and of the law of witnesses to the existance of God.
4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD^a unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my ^aspirit, saith the LORD of hosts.	6^a This is the word of the LORD This is the light which shines in the darkness. It is the word of God. It is the word of Christ. Depicted as the glorious shining white fruit of the tree of life to Lehi and Nephi, this Word of God proceeds forth from Christ unto the world giving light and understanding of the truth to the willing receiving minds of man.	6^a TG God, Spirit of The Light of God The 'Light of God', which is the word of the LORD, is given to man by the spirit of God. It is not enforced by might or power causing man to submit into compliance unwillingly. It rather entreats man and it is only upon man's exercise of free angency by which man himself invites the spirit into his life through faith in Jesus Christ that it enters in and does have its influence in and upon the lives of man.
7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the ^aheadstone^a thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. 8 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^a**, which run to and fro through the whole earth.	7^a he shall bring forth the headstone Zerubbabel is the son of Shealtiel the son of Jehoiachin the son of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah who descended from King David and was in the ancestral line to Jesus Christ. The 'headstone' of the temple who Zerubbabel would bring forth is the Messiah whose temple it was and who was the 'chief cornerstone' of the their religion as well as their temple, doctrine and salvation. Thus this is a messianic prophecy that the Governer of the Jews who would oversee the building of the temple and whose temple it would become know as, 'Zerubbabel's Temple', was to be of that royal line which would be the ancestors of the Son of God, that promised Son of David. *10^a those seven; they are* the eyes of the whole earth** This relates back to the stone or rock [the earth] which shall have seven eyes or seven sets of eyes upon it in Zechariah 3:9 (see chapter 3 commentary 9^b). In the JST, Joseph Smith so sets forth that this is 'seven servants' which are prophets and seers, thus the significants of the 'eyes' being those of 'seers'. They are as set out in the commentary of chapter 3, the seven despensation heads which minister the earths order from Adam to Joseph Smith (See also Revelations 4:5; 8:2; 15:1; 21:9). This 'eyes' or 'seers' are also set forth to be the light or lights of the earth as dualistically portrayed by the seven lights of the candlestick or Menorah.	7^a TG Cornerstone Jesus Christ Our Rock The four foundations cornerstones of God's kingdom as, first Jesus Christ our Lord, the chief cornerstone, them there is the cornerstone of the living prophet(s) of the Lord, the cornerstone of the word of the Lord which is living revealed scriptures, and the cornerstone of the priesthood order of the Lord which is living governing power of the Lord.
11 ¶ Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? 12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes *empty the golden oil* out of themselves^a*? 13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be?* And I said, No, my lord. 14 Then said he, These are the two ^aanointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.	12^a empty the golden oil out of themselves This 'golden oil' is the power of God which gives power to man to exercise and shine forth with the power of God. It was the 'power' by which the menorah was able to be lit and shine forth its light. It is the power by which these two anointed sons will work as described by the verses so referenced from verse 14 at the right.	14^a Isa. 51:19 (19-20); Rev. 11;3 (1-14); D&C 77:15 These Two Prophets In the latter days these two prophets or witnesses are not Christ or any of the dispensation heads. They are two special witnesses raised up to the Jews, not necessarily of the Jews. In fact we are told that they will function within and from the ranks of the orgainized church of the latter-days and not separate and apart from it.