The peculiarity of the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah is, that they present, especially, the Lord's recognition of a remnant in Judah, who were delivered from the Babylonish captivity, under Zerubbabel, and whose history is given in the early chapters of the book of Ezra, so far as it is connected with these prophecies.
The decree of Cyrus which gave the occasion, and the authority, for this movement on the part of the Jews is thus strikingly given in the words of the Persian conqueror. "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 a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 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."
This decree became a test of the moral condition of the people: for it presented, in the foremost place, an object attractive only to the heart that was in alliance with God; and could therefore esteem its own ease and comfort as nothing in comparison with His glory. The language of the decree was, " 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, which is in Jerusalem." This was the specific object for which deliverance was proclaimed for these captives:-and the result was, that the majority of the people preferred to remain in the ameliorated circumstances of an ignoble captivity in Babylon to going up to Jerusalem, for this at least, afforded them the means of present ease and comfort; which outweighed, in their esteem, all the honor and credit of building the house of God, amidst circumstances of trial and difficulty. This had its attraction only to the eye of faith. It required the spirit of Ezra to say, "Our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem." "A wall in Judah and Jerusalem" is estimated as a greater proof of God's mercy than a palace in Babylon.
The first movements of this remnant might be in weakness and indistinctness of apprehension regarding the purposes of the Lord;-as we see in the sorrow of the ancient men when the foundation of the house was laid-so inferior was it in their eyes to the glory of the former house:-nor did the joy of those that shouted arise from a clearer view of its being again the resting-place of the divine glory. But when the light of prophecy and divine revelation began to shed its beams upon their undertaking, it was found that this feeble movement was connected with all God's future purposes relating to Israel's final blessing and glory.
"Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? [says the Lord by the prophet] and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land. saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts. According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; 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. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall he greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts."-Haggai 2:3-9.
There was one special object, which was to hold the foremost place in returning to the land of their fathers:- it was "to build the house of God at Jerusalem." This is alike marked in the decree which opened the door of their captivity, and in the prophecy which afterward roused their spirit to the work. Upon this hung all their fortunes; and as it was prosecuted or neglected, their prosperity ebbed or flowed.
This is only in accordance with what Moses at the Red Sea, in prospect of Israel's entrance into Canaan, sang, " The Lord is my strength and my song, and He is become my salvation; He is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation." And now, on their return from captivity, which was a chastisement for their sins, the Lord says, " build the house, and I will take pleasure in it." However, it was not on -their immediate return from Babylon that the direct encouragement of prophecy was given. This came in several years after the opposition of their enemies had caused them to relinquish the work which the Spirit of the Lord had led them to commence, but which their faith was not sufficient to continue.
For it will be seen-as is ever the case-when the light of God shines in, that it was the failure of faith, and not the power of the enemy, that led to the discontinuance of this work, which had so directly His sanction.
His secret power had been with them, as captives in Babylon, when " they hanged their harps on the willows," and refused to sing " the Lord's song in a strange land." And it was his hand that led them forth on their return from captivity, however weak their condition, and contemptible their numbers. This was their strength. And it is said, on the passing of the decree, Ezra 1:5. "Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem."
It is only by the power of God that even his people's hearts are turned from the pursuit of their own selfish objects, to be occupied in that which He can take pleasure in. Every true revival, in every age, must be traced up to GOD, and not to man; and it should be ever remembered, that it was said of Christians, and not of the world, "All seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's."
As to this remnant, it may be said, the Word of the Lord was their guide in what they did, and they were marked by the spirit of dependence upon the Lord:-the invariable characteristics which accompany a work of God -though, as it afterward appears, they failed to apprehend how fully His presence was with them in the work.
Their first act when they reached Jerusalem, all unprotected as they were, was to "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." "And they kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and they offered the daily burnt-offerings by number," etc. " Their altar [as one has said] was to them in the place of walls." And surely the presence of God was their only adequate protection; though with that they might well be raised above the reach of fear. As afterward, it was said, though their circumstances were unchanged, " Be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord."
Still, when opposition presented itself, their faith did not rise high enough. They refused, it is true, to be confederated in building with those (whatever their pretensions) who were the "adversaries of Judah and Benjamin;" but through fear of their power and opposition, the work at length was caused to cease. Their faith gave way under the storm, which the spirit of separation had raised. The same opposition was again roused, when, fourteen years afterward, the work was recommenced; but then though the power of their adversaries, and their hatred of the work was the same, yet the sense of the Lord's presence rose far higher. And they answered with boldness to the challenge of their enemies, "We are THE SERVANTS OF THE GOD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up!" Here their commission is derived from its true source, and this was everything as to-their success. Formerly their answer only recognized the authority of the king: -" Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God: but we ourselves will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia commanded us." Faith in God's presence will alone carry His people through the opposition which is at all times raised against the prosecution of God's objects.
But when faith fails, everything as to the work of God fails. Our own objects may be pursued without it, but farewell to all those with which God can connect His name and power. The very end for which this remnant was delivered from Babylon, and brought to Jerusalem, was in abeyance when the building of the house of God ceased; and yet they could be occupied in "running every man to his own house," and were found dwelling in their ceiled houses, while the house of the Lord was lying waste. The enemy's opposition is always directed against what is done for the name of the Lord; and if this be set aside, we may occupy ourselves without hindrance in schemes and efforts for our own glory and ease. A few years were sufficient in these circumstances to cause this remnant practically to forget the very object for which they came out of Babylon; or at least, if they had other thoughts, to silence them with the ready answer, "the time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built."
But when, in the mercy of the Lord, the voice of the prophet is sent to rouse them from their lethargy, every excuse vanishes, and it is found that a lack of faith, and the natural love of ease, were the real grounds of the cessation of the building, and the cause of their backwardness in resuming their labor. But the history does not present this. It only presents their adversaries, in the reign of Artaxerxes, causing them to cease by force and power (Ezra 4:23). So important is it, for the practical use of Scripture, to connect the light of prophecy with the events narrated in the histories of the divine word. Prophecy generally brings out the moral condition of the people, and lays open the springs of action from which the events of history take their character and bearing in the sight of God.
In comparing these prophecies with the history (for our present object), the first in order is the book of Haggai. The characteristic difference between the two seems to be this, that Haggai encourages the people to build the temple, by the assurance of the Lord's presence with them in the work, and Zechariah unfolds what the glory of the house would be.
In Haggai the great principle enforced, and reiterated, is, that God was with the people, in the work. This was the whole secret of their strength. Every external circumstance seemed to contradict it; still, amidst all their weakness and apparent failing, the prophet is commanded to assure them of this truth, "I am with you, saith the Lord of Hosts." Faith alone could discern this; but that is only in character with all the present dealings of the Lord with His people. By and by, it will be different; and it will be said, "The Lord is known by the judgment which He executeth." But it is not so now. "We walk by faith, and not by sight." This is a universal principle, and has its special illustration in the path of a remnant seeking to walk with the Lord.
Their enemies might conclude that the work could, not be of God, as there were no proofs of His manifested power; and their brethren in Babylon might conclude,, in favor of their own wisdom in not quitting Babylon; when they saw the work stopped by the adversaries, and the people discouraged at the thought of its further prosecution. But God has a lesson to teach His people, which faith only can learn, that "it is not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." Where this is learned, it will be felt that it is better (in the language of men) to fail with God, than to succeed by ourselves. But, indeed, this is impossible. Those who are acting for God, and with God, however feebly, cannot fail. And this, is the great lesson which Zechariah brings out. For it is manifestly the object of the prophecy, to show that the work of this poor remnant, in building the house, was-so in a line with God's counsels, that he could connect it with all those blessed pictures of hope which gleam through the vista of prophecy, and point to the time when the enemies of Israel shall all be overthrown, and the glory of Messiah's reign will fill the whole earth with blessing, as well as Jerusalem with praise.
The moral lessons that are interwoven with the prophecies, both of Haggai and Zechariah, are most instructive, and are plainly not of secondary importance in the mind of the Lord.
Before encouragement is given in the' work, the people are called to consider their ways (chap. 1 ver. 5, and also ver. 7), and the Lord declares that a secret blight had been upon all their labors in consequence of their neglect of what he could take pleasure in, while they had been employing their efforts to promote their own ease and comfort. "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes....Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands" (chap. 1 ver. 6, 9, 10, 11). This is no obsolete principle in the Lord's dealings. There is not a more effectual way of defeating our own ends than to be intent, only upon our own personal comfort or advancement. While in the case of the Apostle Paul, who utterly lost himself, in his zeal for Christ and his service of the church, we see a man daily " comforted of God," on his way; and living in the unclouded brightness of coming glory. In the midst of all his labors and weariness, he could give the exhortation, "Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
In the plenitude of power and wealth, and in the enjoyment of unbroken peace, Solomon labored in building the house of the Lord at first; but now a poor remnant in poverty and weakness, and beset by the opposition of enemies, are called to engage in the same work. Nor is this without instruction. For it shows that their resources must alone be in God. The contrast of circumstances might be painful to their minds-as now, when contrasting the altered circumstances of laborers in the church of God with those of Apostolic days-but the Lord encourages their hearts by saying (ver. 8), " Go up to the mountain and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified." While in chap. 2 ver. 3, he graciously takes notice of these thoughts of discouragement, and says, " Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts" (ver. 3, 4). And how graciously does he speak in like manner to the church at Philadelphia, in Rev. 3:8-12, saying, " I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength; and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hest kept the word of my patience,
I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven-from my God: and I will write upon him my new name."
Here the encouragement does not rest in the promise of present help and sustainment, but goes on to the final issues of all service in conjunction with the glory of the Lord. So in the prophecy of Haggai, the Lord does not allow the minds of the remnant to rest in the work in which they were engaged; though he was with them in it, and he delighted to own it; but he carries them forward to the time when his own power would give peace to Israel, and permanence to the house, and establishment to the glory. " For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; 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. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. 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." And again in ver. 21, 22, 23, " Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts."
There is one point, in this encouragement to the remnant to build the house, which is deserving of special notice. In addition to the inspiring word, "I am with, you, saith the Lord of Hosts;" there is the declaration (chap. 2:5), " According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my Spirit remaineth among you: fear not."
Amidst the most entirely altered circumstances, the presence of the Spirit with this remnant is associated with Israel's deliverance from Egypt, where "He rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up; and He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness."
There was nothing in their outward condition corresponding to the displays of His power in His first leading forth the chosen tribes; yet is He present in undiminished energy, and, according to all which He then displayed, were they now encouraged to count on his sufficiency for every emergency. There is no cloud, it is true, to guide them, nor rod of power to protect them, and to plague and overthrow their enemies; neither is there any ark to precede their march, nor manna to fall around their tents these were all gone; they had been sinned away, and their absence told of departure from the Lord; yet in divine mercy the Spirit remained,-the same Spirit, and with the same power, that led them forth from Egypt! Outward tokens of strength there were none; but there was a secret divine energy in their midst revealed to faith, and available wherever there was faith, and a heart to care for the glory of the Lord. Outward tokens of strength could not be given where the purpose of the Lord was to witness against departure from Himself. In such a case the people must be "stripped of their ornaments," and God's holiness must be vindicated, even when He acts in grace. Moreover, in His dealing with a remnant in the midst of apostasy, His purpose is to draw out their faith; and consequently He takes away all that the flesh can rest upon, which has been the occasion of the evil he would correct.
With such, "the joy of the Lord is their strength;" and the acting of Ezra by " the river of Ahava," will give a sample of their ways: he says "Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him; but His power and His wrath is against all them that forsake Him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and He was intreated of us" (Ezra 8:21-23). This was like the proving of Gideon's army; for the Lord's ways are at all times equal; and it is His mercy, if He at any time makes the external circumstances of His people a test of faith, where the power of holiness has not been sufficient to keep out the spirit of the world.
If we for a moment think of the ulterior history of this remnant, and of the fate of the house which they builded, it seems wonderful that their work should be thus acknowledged of the Lord. But then, it was not what the work was in their hands, but what it would be in the hands of Him " whose name is the BRANCH:" for HE shall build the temple of the Lord: even He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne."
The Temple had been once builded, and the city had been once established, though both were now in ruins; and it was in the counsels of the Lord to build the house again, and to fill it with His glory; and to establish Jerusalem again, and to make her a joy and praise in the whole earth; and between these points in the Lord's counsels, this remnant is encouraged by the voice of prophecy to act. The church, also, has been once manifested on earth in grace; it has failed to maintain its position; but it is the final purpose of the Lord to exhibit it gathered in glory. Christians, now, like this remnant, live in the middle history; and what should be their aim? The counsel of the Lord is clear. The word of Haggai, by which the remnant of Israel was encouraged to build the house, is now incorporated with an epistle in the New Testament; and in Heb. 12:26,27, the word is addressed to us, " But now hath He promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain."
It is consequently of the last importance for us to ascertain, whether our efforts and aims are coincident with the purposes of the Lord. For if they are not, disappointment and failure must, in the very mercy of the Lord, be the issue. "The world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." The "more sure word of prophecy," is to us -as the prophet's to this remnant- "a light that shineth in a dark place." There may be said to be a "former and a latter glory" of the church as well as of the temple; though the one will be exhibited according to its character in heaven, while the other is displayed on earth.
In Zechariah, as in Haggai, the first note of the prophet's message is to call the minds of the remnant to a recognition of the hand of the Lord in their present ruin; while, at the same moment, he is commissioned to assure them of the unchangeableness of the divine counsels. These two things are invariably connected with every revival of the work of the Lord amongst His people.
Accordingly, chap. 1 presents a review of the moral condition of Israel, and connects their present dispersion with the threatenings of the Lord by the former prophets; for though their fathers were gone, and the prophets did not live forever, yet the words and statutes of the Lord, which He commanded by the former prophets, "took hold of their fathers:" They were not vain threats; though their fathers had said, " Let Him make speed, and hasten His work, that we may see it, and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!" So may it be said now, "the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night," in spite of all the scornful questionings of "the last days," saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?" His "words and statutes" will "take hold"; and men will be compelled to say, "Like as the Lord of Hosts thought to do unto us according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath He dealt with us!" In like manner also shall His word be accomplished concerning His poor remnant, "Yet setteth He the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock. The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth."
The vision of " the horses" among the "myrtle-trees," presents the condition of the whole earth as contemplated by the active intelligence of God; and shows that his heart is not indifferent to the report of the riders, that " all the earth sitteth still and is at rest;"-while Jerusalem, the city his habitation, is desolate, and his people are in captivity and oppression amongst the heathen! Nothing can be more touching than the answer of the Lord to the cry of intercession on the part of the angel of the Lord, saying, "O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore thus saith the Lord, I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem!" What a scene is here opened to the faith of this poor despised remnant! To the eye of man, everything betokened Israel's being forsaken by the Lord, while he had turned an unobstructed tide of prosperity on their oppressors. But "the Lord seeth not as man seeth." "Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me"-but the affecting answer is, "Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." There is one who stands on the part of Israel, indicated here by the angel that intercedes, of whom it is said, " in all their afflictions he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old." God's thoughts are not like man's thoughts: and mistake and discouragement always result from scanning His ways by the eye of sense. In the midst of Israel's deepest sorrow-and while the iron hand of Nebuchadnezzar held them fast-in captivity, Jeremiah, the prophet of their calamity, is commanded to say, " I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
The instruments which he uses for the correction of His people do not enter into his counsels; but they are nevertheless subject to his control. Of the Assyrian he says, "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few" (Isa. 10:5-7). Also ver. 12, "Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks." And again, ver. 24, 25, " Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction."
The deliverance and establishment of Israel which the prophet is commanded to announce, in verse 17, "Saying, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem" make way for the vision of the "horns of the Gentiles" (verse 18-21). It is necessary that these should be set aside, in order to the accomplishment of the promises of God concerning Israel's portion in the earth. The final blessing of Israel is incompatible with power remaining in the hands of their Gentile oppressors. And in this is manifested the wonderful harmony and clearness of the great outline of prophecy, which relates to God's actings in the earth; and it shows the final pointing of the predictions by which this poor remnant were encouraged.
As in Haggai, the Spirit of Christ, which was in the prophet, could not stop short of the " shaking of the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land," and the shaking- " of all nations," which Heb. 12 shows to be yet future, though his present purpose was only to encourage them in the building of the house, which was so soon to be overthrown; so the same spirit in Zechariah necessarily predicts the "fraying and casting out the horns of the Gentiles," when he speaks of God's final mercy to Israel, though his present purpose is only to show them the glory of the house. For this is Zion's final position in the earth; "the nation and the kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, these nations shall be utterly wasted." So also the whole of Isa. 60. "The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever!" In this brief but impressive vision, therefore, the four oppressive powers of the Gentiles are seen in their whole course as "horns," and their destruction is shown, that the measuring, line may again be "stretched forth upon Jerusalem." Thus, within the compass of these four verses, we find a summary of Daniel's vision of the "four beasts," with their extinction, in order to the establishment of the Son of Man's kingdom; and also of the image of Nebuchadnezzar, whose smiting on the feet, with the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, is the token that " the God of heaven [is about to] set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed."
The second chapter but expands the promises of the "measuring line," when the Lord shall inherit Judah, his portion in the Holy Land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. And O how expressive is that word with which the chapter closes! And how does it teach us, that "no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation"! "Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for He is raised up out of His holy habitation!" Let the whole chapter be read, that the pleasant picture of hope may be before the mind, with which the Lord strengthened the hearts of His poor remnant in their feebleness, while they were called to labor in building the house. And let not the hearts that may labor and sigh now over the church's desolations, forget what are the predictions of her glory. "We are saved by hope!" If in feebleness I care for Christ's church now, I am caring for that which engages the affections of the heart of Christ, and in which His glory shall soon "be made to center." "Come hither (says the voice of prophecy), and I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife" (see Rev. 21:9, to the end).
Let it not be forgotten, that all this unfolding of the glory, when " the Lord is raised up out of his holy habitation," and "all flesh is commanded to be silent before Him," is connected with the poor movements of the remnant that came out of Babylon. But when we look at them in their weakness and reproach, and in the feebleness of their faith, and then consider that the temple they were now building was again to be overthrown by the Romans, and lie in ruins for so many ages, it seems hard to think that these were the means to the accomplishment of the magnificent heralding of the prophet! But the solution is easy. God "sees the end from the beginning;" and this poor movement was so in a line with His ultimate counsels, that he could spread out the whole panorama of Israel's glory before those connected with it, and use it for their present encouragement. Just as He can say now, when pointing to the resurrection-glory, "forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
Chapter 3 gives a vivid and lovely picture of God's dealings in grace with a poor sinner through Christ; and as a picture, or an illustration, every feature of it is stamped with preciousness and beauty. But the immediate and proper object of the vision, is to display the way of the divine mercy to Israel. It shows the Lord's cleansing of Israel; and thus presents their moral preparation for, the blessing, and for the sustainment of the glory, which is to be established among them by the Lord's presence in their midst. The means by which He will bring in the final blessing is, we know from other Scriptures, by priesthood. As Aaron, in the type, was to bear the iniquity of the children of Israel, and they were to be accepted through him-so we have here Joshua, in his filthy garments, as the type of the moral condition of the people; as it is said m Haggai, " so is this people, and so is this nation before me; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean." But there is one to plead, in the presence of the Lord, for Joshua against Satan; and his "filthy garments" are taken from him, and he is " clothed with change of raiment;" and " a fair miter is set on his head;" and the judgment of the Lord's house, and the keeping of his courts, is promised on condition of obedience. But all this is only the type of Israel's cleansing, as " a brand plucked out of the fire;" as is seen in the word of the Lord to Joshua, " I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment," connected with verse 9, f For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes; behold I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of THAT LAND in one day."
But the power by which this is actually accomplished is seen in the declaration, " Behold, I will bring forth my servant, the BRANCH;" and the " stone that was laid before Joshua," with " the seven eyes," points to the foundation which God would lay in Zion, and marks out the person of Him on whom Israel's and the church's salvation and glory rest. " I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne a lamb, as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth" (Rev. 5:6). When this "stone" is owned by Israel, and the engraving of "the seven eyes" upon it, is discerned to be the engraving of the Lord, "the iniquity of the land will be removed in one day." Just as in Psa. 118, when the "stone which the builders refused is become the head of the corner," and is so discerned by Israel, the confession follows, "This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will be glad, and rejoice in it." So it is added, in the last verse of this chapter, "In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine, and under his fig-tree." Peace shall then be upon Israel.
After the cleansing of Israel, which makes Jerusalem the place of peace, and " a quiet habitation," through the presence of the Lord, the fourth chapter presents " the vision of the golden candlestick " and the " two olive trees," through which it is supplied with oil. This vision appears to be the presentation of Israel in the position of divine testimony and order, through the outpouring of the Spirit, in millennial times. There is a significance in this vision, indicated by the question of the angel, when it is first presented to the prophet: ver. 1, " What seest thou?" and in the subsequent inquiries of the prophet, as to its meaning in ver. 4: " What are these, my Lord?" and again, ver. 12: "I answered again, and said to him, What are these two olive branches?" etc. There is, also, to be noticed the way in which the vision is introduced: ver. 1, "The angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep." The same thing occurs in Jer. 31:26, connected also with Israel's restoration under the hand of the Lord: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness. And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. Upon this I awaked, and beheld, and my sleep was sweet unto me" (Jer. 31:23,24,25,26).
In both these cases, the action seems to be expressive of what takes place with regard to the nation when the divine mercy is turned fully toward them. This accords with Dan. 12:2: "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake," etc.; and also, with Isa. 26.19: " Thy dead men shall live, my dead body shall they arise, awake and sing ye that dwell in dust, for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead."
The answer to the prophet's question about the meaning of the candlestick and the two olive trees, as to its present force, is given in ver. 6: "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." But its full bearing is alone seen in chap. 6:9-15, in connection with "the man whose name is the BRANCH;" and with Israel's position in the latter day. For the Spirit, even in his ulterior and most glorious actings in the latter day, is identified with the power which was working in the time of Zerubbabel; and the plummet in his hand was made effectual in the building of the house " with these seven; they are the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole earth." Yet Jerusalem, in a fuller sense by far, is to become " the place of the throne of the Lord;" and " the man whose name is the BRANCH..... even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory." And moreover, as the place of testimony, " out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." In the vision of this fourth chapter, we see the beautiful order of this testimony, and the power by which it is to be sustained. It was " not by might nor by power," that aught was accomplished at this time, when there was a danger of men's "despising the day of small things;" it will not be "by might nor by power," but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts that Jerusalem's glory will be finally established, when her sons " shall be named the priests of the Lord, and men shall call them the ministers of our God:" "Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: because the palaces shall be forsaken: the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field" (Isa. 32:13-16).
But when this is accomplished, the fullness of the Spirit in testimony is connected with the two great offices of Christ-his kingly and priestly power and glory. As the great Melchizedec, he will sustain all the mediatorial blessings of Israel and the nations of that coming age. This seems to be presented especially in a fuller degree in chap. 6 ver. 12, 13.
In chap. 3 which presented Israel's cleansing, it was Joshua, the priest alone, like Aaron, clothed anew and a "fair miter set upon his head." Here it is said, "Take silver and gold and make crowns and set them upon the head of Joshua [still] the son of Josedech the high priest:" and the substantiation of all is presented in that which follows, "and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: even lie shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both" (Zech. 6:12,13).
Christ is here seated on his throne, in Melchizedec glory; and "the counsel of peace between them both," seems to be, between the king and the priest now united in the person of him who is Israel's hope.
These two great offices, now attaching to the person of the Lord, I take to be the "two olive-trees," or "sons of oil," which supply the oil, as from its true source or fountain, to the golden candlestick, of which the Spirit is declared to be the power. But it is the Spirit then connected with the manifestation of this supreme exaltation of Christ as Israel's Messiah, as He is now the witness of His hidden glory to the church.
The connection of this with Rev. 11, in the testimony of the witnesses is interesting, inasmuch as the testimony of the witnesses is to the kingly and priestly rights of Christ, invaded by Antichrist, and by his usurpations sought to be set aside. But in the book of Revelation this testimony is not in order, there are no "golden-pipes," etc., but merely "two olive-trees and two candlesticks which stand before the God of the earth."
The sources of the testimony are there, in the "olive-trees;" but it is not a testimony established in peace and in glory, as in Zechariah, by the presence and glory of Him before whom all opposition must bow.
But all this it should be observed again is connected with Zerubbabel. The plummet in the hand of this weak man is the index to point the hearts of this poor remnant onward to all this glory! "Who hath despised the day of "all things?"
Chapter 5 seems to go back and to trace the progress of evil which will be the subject of judgment in the latter day. It appears to be a parenthetic interruption to bring in the moral character of that evil which is to be judged and set aside by the Lord's appearing, when "He will remove the iniquity of that land in one day." The secret working and the disclosed character of the evil are indicated, by the closed-ephah and the building of it a house and its establishment on its own base in the land of Shinar. The mystery of iniquity must be closed in judgment before the glory of the Lord can be established in the earth.
Chapters 7 and 8 hang almost entirely upon the question of Sherezer and Regem-melech, "Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself as I have done these so many years?" And through the seventh chapter, the Lord teaches them the moral judgment they should form of themselves, and shows them the path of blessing for their souls. His ways are brought before them, that they may learn in their circumstances to acknowledge His hand. In chap. 8, "the fasts" become pleasant " feasts" to Israel; and, again, the glory of Jerusalem as a holy nation is portrayed to encourage their hearts; and it concludes by the animating prediction, " Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to
pray before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take, hold of the skirt of:um that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you." I do not pursue the comparison of this prophecy any further; as its bearing on the remnant, in the remainder of the book, is not apparent: and it has been questioned whether the remaining chapters are not rather the prophecies of Jeremiah, suggested by the quotation in Matt. 21:9,10, which are from the eleventh chapter of Zechariah, 12Th and 13th verses.
But how wonderful is it, and,, beyond all ale poor thoughts of man, that the blessed and stupendous events of the full display of the Messiah's glory and Israel's blessing, should be brought to bear upon the despicable (in any other light) movements of these forlorn men, whose highest praise, almost, was that they had preferred Jerusalem in its ruins, to ease and comfort in Babylon, where God's Spirit, and God's Temple were not! "Who hath despised the day of small things?" How striking are the words of chap. viii. 9-12, to men in their circumstances, and how comforting to the heart of all who in their feebleness make the Lord's glory their aim. " Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Let your hands be strong ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of Hosts was laid, that the temple might be built For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things" (chap. viii. 9, 12). Amongst many others, there is especially one practical lesson resulting from this comparison of the ways of the Lord; viz., that it is a point of the last importance to be able to recognize the present tokens of the Lord's hand in living power; and amidst our actual circumstances, at any given time, to be able to understand the leading of His Spirit.
This is essential, both for the effective service and for the quiet rest of soul of the servant of the Lord. For surely it is but the language of atheism to say, " God hath forsaken the earth;" or to question whether there is a present application of the exhortation, " Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is."
Many a cloud and perplexity may hang over the pathway of a saint, through not " walking in the light, as he is in the light;" and the dimming effect of present things on the spiritual sight may be to be deplored; still, nothing is more important to be maintained than the truth, " the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him."
It is no difficult think for mere natural men to acknowledge God in the past, or to confess Him in the future, for this gives no trouble to conscience; but it is the part of faith and divine illumination alone to discern the present tokens of His hand. This can only result from present association with Him in His ways. The Jews could say, "We know that God spake unto Moses;" but of Christ, present with them, they added, "As for this fellow, we know not whence he is." So the woman of Samaria could say, in vagueness, "I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ; when He is come, He will tell us all things;" but it was the part of Christ to say to her, "I that speak unto thee am He."
There is no doubt that the Lord acts in grace in leading His people far beyond the measure of their spiritual intelligence; still Abraham's communion with the Lord, who said, " Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" is what His people should seek, rather than be contented with the position of Lot, a righteous man too, who only " vexed his righteous soul from day to day with the unlawful deeds of the wicked," but was a stranger to the counsels of the Lord. The secret spring of Israel's departure from the Lord in the wilderness is disclosed in the expression, " It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways." While in the history before us it was the discernment of the Lord's hand in their captivity, in the circumstances of a common exile, which marked and developed the remnant that were thus prepared to quit the place of their captivity, and to repair to Jerusalem, when the hour of their deliverance came.
Josiah And Jehoiakim. 2 Kings 22; Jer. 36
It was when Israel mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and misused His prophets, that the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy. Josiah and Jehoiakim reigned over Judah just before the Babylonish captivity. The judgments of God were at the door; and we have, in the history of these two kings, the "important contrast" in the way each received the testimony given to them. In Josiah we have the subjection of heart which God always honors: in Jehoiakim that insubjection which he always judges. The history of man proves, that, whether God speaks in the way of commandment, or in the way of threatening, or in mercy, that His words are despised. There are, indeed, many exceptions, as the case of Josiah, the inhabitants of Nineveh, etc.; but generally rebellion is the course he takes. This has been, from the beginning, continues to be so, and will continue so long as the god of this world blinds the minds of men. There is something deeply interesting in the whole of Josiah's reign; but especially so, when the message was conveyed to him that the Book of the Law was found in the House of the Lord. " Shaphan read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law that he rent his clothes." His heart was not unmoved; he trembled at God's word. In that light, what were his circumstances? That law made manifest Israel's rebellion, brought to light their guilt, revealed the judgment of God against sin, and filled Josiah's heart with sadness. Whither could he flee for help? Only to God. And blessed it is, that when the heart is thus made truly sensible of its condition by seeing light in God's light, there is a refuge in God. "There is forgiveness with Thee that Thou mayest be feared... Let Israel hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption." (Psa. 130:4-7). Josiah sends to inquire of the Lord and receives this answer, "Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the Book which the king of Judah hath read ... But to the king of Judah which sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, as touching the words which thou hast heard; Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord, Behold, therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place." Such is the grace of our God! The bruised reed He will not break. He giveth grace to the humble, "Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust!" Josiah might use the language of the Psalmist, " He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings, and he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God."
Painful, indeed, is the contrast in turning to the history of Josiah's son. Of him it may be said, " Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength, that trusted in the abundance of his riches and strengthened himself in his wickedness." The 36th chap. of Jeremiah opens with the goodness of God towards His poor rebellious people. He presses upon their attention the solemn condition they were in, causes a roll to be written containing all the words Jeremiah had spoken against Israel, saying, " It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin."
This roll of a book reaches the ears of Jehoiakim (21St verse). "So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber: and Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king. Now the king sat in the winter-house in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words."
How solemn is all this, after seeing the tenderness of heart in Josiah. Jehoiakim rushes from the sound of God's word into the darkness of infidelity. He supposes to escape the judgment of God, by disbelieving the testimony concerning it. This is where Satan is fast leading the world into open rejection of the word of God. There may attend it what Jehoiakim realized. He was not afraid, nor rent his garments. " Men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." Jehoiakim had quietness, but it was not that peace which Josiah knew, of condemnation put away, sins forgiven. There is a message for him. "Therefore, thus saith the Lord of Jehoiakim king of Judah, He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him, and his seed, and his servants, for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not." Pride and unbelief shut out from all blessing, and leave their victims exposed to the wrath of God. "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord" (see Jer. 17.5-8). The only place of blessing is that Josiah took. There the Lord ceases to have a controversy. He knows the claims of His own truth. He will not relinquish them. "He has magnified His word above all His name." Saul sought to uphold his own integrity when the word of God was against him. His heart bowed not before the truth: the Lord cast him off. It is a vain thing to strive with God. May the Lord guard His children in this day of evil! Give us tenderness of heart to "all" his truth, so that we may hold our proper place of testimony for him. M.