Zechariah 4:1-6; Exodus 19:18-25; Isaiah 11:1-3; John 7:24; Ecclesiastes 9:11

Zechariah 4:1-6

1 Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep.

2 He said to me, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;

3 also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side."

4 Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, "What are these, my lord ?"

5 So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord ."

6 Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts.

Exodus 19:18-25

18 Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.

19 When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder.

20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

21 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.

22 "Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, or else the LORD will break out against them."

23 Moses said to the LORD , "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, 'Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.' "

24 Then the LORD said to him, "Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD , or He will break forth upon them."

25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.

Isaiah 11:1-3

1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD .

3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD , And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;

John 7:24

24 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Ecclesiastes 9:11

11 I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.