Matthew Henry Commentary Zechariah 4:1-7

"And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and, behold, a candlestick all of gold, with its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof; and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. And I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel [thou shalt become] a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it." — Zechariah 4:1-7 (ASV)

The prophet's spirit was willing to attend, but the flesh was weak. We should implore God that whenever He speaks to us, He would awaken us, and we should then stir ourselves up. The church is a golden candlestick, or lamp-bearer, set up to enlighten this dark world and to hold forth the light of Divine revelation. Two olive trees were seen, one on each side of the candlestick, from which oil flowed into the bowl without ceasing.

God accomplishes His gracious purposes concerning His church without any human skill or effort; sometimes He makes use of His instruments, yet He does not need them. This represented the abundance of Divine grace for enlightening and making holy the ministers and members of the church, a grace that cannot be obtained or hindered by any human power. The vision assures us that the good work of building the temple would be brought to a successful conclusion.

The difficulty is represented as a great mountain. But all difficulties will vanish, and all objections will be overcome. Faith will remove mountains and make them plains. Christ is our Zerubbabel; mountains of difficulty were in the way of His undertaking, but nothing is too hard for Him. What comes from the grace of God may, in faith, be committed to the grace of God, for He will not forsake the work of His own hands.