Zechariah 4

Zechariah 4:1-14 . FIFTH VISION. The golden candlestick and the two olive trees. The temple shall be completed by the aid of God's Spirit.

1. waked me--The prophet was lying in a state of ecstatic slumber with astonishment at the previous vision. "Came again, and waked me," does not imply that the angel had departed and now returned, but is an idiom for "waked me again."

2. candlestick--symbolizing the Jewish theocracy; and ultimately, the Church of which the Jewish portion is to be the head: the light-bearer (so the original is of "lights," Matthew 5:14 Matthew 5:16 , Philippians 2:15 ) to the world.
all . . . gold--all pure in doctrine and practice, precious and indestructible; such is the true ideal of the Church; such she shall be ( Psalms 45:13 ).
bowl upon the top--In the candlestick of the tabernacle the plural is used, bowls (Exodus 25:1-31:18'). The Hebrew implies that it was the fountain of supply of oil to the lamps. Christ at the head ("on the top") of the Church is the true fountain, of whose fulness of the Spirit all we receive grace ( John 1:16 ).
his seven lamps--united in one stem; so in Exodus 25:32 . But in Revelation 1:12 the seven candlesticks are separate. The Gentile churches will not realize their unity till the Jewish Church as the stem unites all the lamps in one candlestick ( Romans 11:16-24 ). The "seven lamps," in Revelation 4:5 , are the "seven Spirits of God."
seven pipes--feeding tubes, seven apiece from the "bowl" to each lamp (see Margin) [MAURER and CALVIN]; literally, "seven and seven": forty-nine in all. The greater the number of oil-feeding pipes, the brighter the light of the lamps. The explanation in Zechariah 4:6 is, that man's power by itself can neither retard nor advance God's work, that the real motive-power is God's Spirit. The seven times seven imply the manifold modes by which the Spirit's grace is imparted to the Church in her manifold work of enlightening the world.

3. two olive trees--supplying oil to the bowl. The Holy Ghost, who fills with His fulness Messiah (the anointed: the "bowl"), from whom flow supplies of grace to the Church.
by it--literally, "upon it," that is, growing so as somewhat to overtop it. For the explanation of the "two" see Zechariah 4:12 Zechariah 4:14 .

4. The prophet is instructed in the truths meant, that we may read them with the greater reverence and attention [CALVIN].

5. Knowest thou not, &c.--Not a reproof of his ignorance, but a stimulus to reflection on the mystery.
No, my lord--ingenious confession of ignorance; as a little child he casts himself for instruction at the feet of the Lord.

6. Not by might . . . but by my Spirit--As the lamps burned continually, supplied with oil from a source (the living olive trees) which man did not make, so Zerubbabel need not be disheartened because of his weakness; for as the work is one to be effected by the living Spirit (compare Haggai 2:5 ) of God, man's weakness is no obstacle, for God's might will perfect strength out of weakness ( Hosea 1:7 , 2 Corinthians 12:10 , Hebrews 11:34 ). "Might and power" express human strength of every description, physical, mental, moral. Or, "might" is the strength of many (an "army"); "power," that of one man [PEMBELLUS] God can save, "whether with many, or with them that have no power" ( 2 Chronicles 14:11 ; compare 1 Samuel 14:6 ). So in the conversion of sinners ( 1 Corinthians 3:6 , 2 Corinthians 10:4 ). "Zerubbabel" is addressed as the chief civil authority in directing the work.