Sermon: Human (In)sufficiency and Divine Enablement
Bible Passage: Zechariah 4:6b-7
I. Introduction
Prophets Zechariah and Haggai started their prophetic ministry in 520 BC (Haggai’s preaching began two months before Zechariah’s)
1. Haggai 1:1 “On the first day of the sixth month of King Darius’ second year, the Lord spoke this message through the prophet Haggai”
2. Zech 1:1 “In the eighth month of Darius’ second year, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah”
3. The main character of today’s sermon is Zerubbabel whose Babylonian name was “Sheshbazzar”
4. God appointed Zerubbabel with the responsibility of rebuilding the Temple that was destroyed by Nebechadnezzar in 586 BC (cf. Ezra 1:8)—a huge task
5. The Temple rebuilding work began roughly in 536 BC under the leadership of Zerubbabel at the order of Cyrus the Great
a. Ezra 1:5: the leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites—all those whose mind God had stirred—got ready to go up to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem
b. Ezra 3:8: In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel … initiated the work, along with the rest of their associates, the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile
6. Sadly, the rebuilding of the Temple was halted in 530 BC by Cambyses for eight long years
a. Ezra 4:4 Then the local people began to discourage the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building. 4:5 They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans
b. Ezra 4:24 So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia
c. King Darius became the emperor of Persia in 522 BC and granted permission to restart the work— 6:7 Leave the work on this temple of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place
7. When the external opposition stopped, there were many internal issues that made Zerubbabel’s task difficult
a. Unenthusiastic, distracted, self-focused people (Haggai 1:2)
b. They gave excuses to the Temple work, but focused on self (Haggai 1:4)
c. Sin in leadership
d. Heap of rubbles where the Temple is being built
8. God calls Zerubbabel’s challenge “great mountain” (Zech 4:7)—“What are you, you great mountain?”
9. Verse 7 “mighty mountain”—“the mighty mountain” signifies anything that hinders the progress of God’s work
10. God assured Zerubbabel that he would finish the task despite challenges (Zech 4:6b-7)—human (in)sufficiency and divine enablement
11. “Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord who rules over all” (Zech 4:6)
12. Three expressions need attention
a. Not by might
b. Not by power
c. God tells Zerubbabel that the task He has entrusted to him could not be completed with his skills and power
d. “but by my Spirit”: the real executor of God’s work is God Himself
e. The promise is given by the LORD Sabaoth, i.e., “the LORD of Hosts” —the One who has incredible power to accomplish insurmountable task
13. Verse 7b “Because of Zerubbabel you [the mighty mountain] will become a level plain”
14. Verse 7c “And he [Zerubbabel] will bring forth the temple capstone with shouting of ‘Grace! Grace!”
a. “He will bring forth” certainty of future
b. The “capstone” is ceremonially laid at the conclusion of the project—final stone of the building
c. “Grace, Grace” the Hebrew word refers to divine favor that its human recipients have not earned
15. Zerubbabel and his team completed the task in four years and the Temple was dedicated in 516 BC
16. With Jesus death, burial, and resurrection, God meets with us in Jesus, not in the Temple
17. So, we are not tasked with a physical Temple in Jerusalem, but a Temple that Jesus is building
a. Just like Zerubbabel’s associates, we can be less enthusiastic about the Lord’s work
b. Just like Zerubbabel’s time, we can have mountains that may overwhelm us
18. To accomplish Jesus’ assignment to us, i.e., bearing witness about Him, we are empowered us with the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:8)
19. We are just ordinary people, but we have an extraordinary resource, the Holy Spirit
Take Away:
Give priority to Jesus’ task by focusing less self