John Calvin Commentary Zechariah 4:10

"For who hath despised the day of small things? for these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel; [these are] the eyes of Jehovah, which run to and fro through the whole earth." — Zechariah 4:10 (ASV)

Here the angel rebukes the sloth and fear of the people, for most of them were very faint-hearted. He also blames the Jews because they judged God’s work at first glance. Who is he, he says, that has despised the day of paucities?

He does not ask who it was, as if he spoke only of one person, or as if those who despised were few or insignificant. Instead, he addresses the whole people, who were guilty of holding this wrong feeling. For all were dejected, because they thought that the work begun would be a mockery to the ungodly and would come to nothing. This is according to what we read in Nehemiah 3:12: that the old men wept, so that nearly all threw down their tools and stopped the building of the temple.

Thus, we see that many despised the small beginnings, and that all the people were dejected. They thought they were laboring in vain while building the temple, which did not compare to the glory and splendor of the former temple. They mused: “What are we doing here? We seek to build a temple for God, but what is it? Does it correspond to the temple of Solomon? No, not in the tenth degree. Yet God has promised that this temple would be most glorious.”

So, while they were considering these things, they concluded either that the time had not yet come, or that they were toiling in vain, because God would not dwell in such an inferior tabernacle. This is the reason why the Prophet now says, Who is he that has despised the day of paucities?

God then opposes an ungrateful and ill-disposed people, and shows that they all acted very foolishly because they focused only on the initial state of things, as if God, by His power, would not surpass what human minds could conceive. Since God intended to build the temple in a wonderful manner, the angel here rebukes the complaints of the people.

He then adds, They shall rejoice when they shall see the workman’s plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. Although he had delivered a severe and sharp rebuke, he now lessens its severity. He promises the Jews that however unworthy they were of such kindness from God, they would still see what they had by no means expected: namely, Zerubbabel equipped with everything necessary to complete the temple.

Hence, they shall see Zerubbabel with his tin-stone; that is, with his plummet. Just as builders today use a plumb line, so he calls the instrument in Zerubbabel's hand a “tin-stone,” which he had when ready to complete the temple.

This teaching can also be applied to us. For God, to display His power more fully, begins with small things in building His spiritual temple. Nothing grand is seen that attracts human eyes and thoughts; instead, everything is almost contemptible.

Indeed, God could immediately exert His power, and thus arouse the attention of all people and fill them with wonder. He could certainly do so. But as I have already said, His purpose is to magnify the radiance of His power by performing wonders. He does this when, from a small beginning, He brings about what no one would have imagined.

Besides, His purpose is to test the faith of His people, for it is fitting for us always to hope beyond hope.

Now, when the beginning promises something great and sublime, there is no proof and no trial of faith. But when we hope for what is not apparent, we give due honor to God, for we depend only on His power and not on immediate means. Thus we see that Christ is compared to a shoot, which arises from the stem of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1).

God could have arranged for Christ to be born when the house of David was at its peak of splendor and when the kingdom was flourishing. Yet His will was that He should come forth from the stem of Jesse, when the royal lineage was almost extinct.

Again, He might have brought forth Christ as a full-grown tree, but He was born as an insignificant shoot. So also, He is compared by Daniel to a rough and unpolished stone cut from a mountain (Daniel 2:45). The same thing has also been accomplished in our age and continues to be accomplished to this day.

If we consider the beginning of the spreading gospel, both now and in the past, we will find nothing glorious according to worldly perceptions. For this reason, our adversaries confidently despise us; they regard us as the refuse of humanity and hope to be able to overthrow and scatter us with a single breath.

There are many today who despise the day of paucity, who become discouraged, or even mock our efforts, as if our labor were ridiculous, when they see us diligently engaged in promoting the truth of the gospel. We ourselves are also affected by this feeling: there is no one who does not sometimes become disheartened when he sees the Church's beginnings so humble before the world and so lacking in any dignity.

Thus, we learn how useful it is for us today to be reminded that we will eventually see what we can by no means guess or hope for based on present appearances. For though the Lord begins with little things, and, as it were, in weakness, yet the plummet will eventually be seen in the Architect's hand for the purpose of completing the work.

There is no Zerubbabel in the world today to whom the task of building the temple has been entrusted. But we know that Christ is the chief builder, and that ministers are workers who labor under Him. However much Satan may blind the unbelieving with pride and arrogance, so that they disdain and ridicule the building in which we labor, yet the Lord Himself will show that He is the chief builder and will give Christ the power to complete the work.

He afterwards adds, These seven are the eyes of Jehovah, going round through the whole earth. The angel calls Zechariah's attention to what we have previously observed, for the discussion was about the plummet, and Zechariah said that seven eyes were shown to him in that stone.

The angel explains what those seven eyes meant: namely, that the Lord by His providence would guide the work to its completion. But we have said that seven eyes are attributed to God so that we may be assured that nothing is hidden from Him. For no one among humans or angels possesses such great insight that he is not ignorant of some things.

Many of God's mysteries, we admit, are hidden from angels; but when they are sent out, they receive as much revelation as their mission requires. But the angel shows here that we should by no means fear that anything will happen which God has not foreseen, for the seven eyes, he says, go around through the whole earth.

This is not because God needs seven eyes, but we know what the number seven means in Scripture: it signifies perfection.

The meaning then is this: that God would sufficiently ensure that nothing should happen that might disturb Him, or turn Him aside, or delay Him in the execution of His work.

How so? Because there were seven eyes; that is, He by His providence would overcome all difficulties. His eyes surveyed the whole earth, so that the devil could devise nothing—whether behind or before, to the right or to the left, above or below—that He could not easily frustrate. We now, therefore, perceive the Prophet's purpose.

With regard to the words, some render אלה, ale, in the neuter gender: “These are seven; they are the eyes of God.” But as for the meaning, there is no ambiguity. For the angel would have the faithful rely on God’s providence, so that they might be secure and fear no danger, as the Lord would remove whatever was contrary to His purpose.