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Zerubbabel and Zechariah, September 20
Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo,
prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the
name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Then rose up Zerubbabel
the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build
the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the
prophets of God helping them.
Ezra 5:1, 2
.
In rebuilding the house of the Lord, Zerubbabel had been encompassed
with manifold difficulties. In former years, adversaries had “weakened the
hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,” “and made them
to cease by force and power” (
Ezra 4:4, 23
). But the Lord interposed in behalf
of the faithful builders, and now He speaks through His prophet, Zechariah, to
Zerubbabel, saying, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the
Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt
become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings,
crying, Grace, grace unto it” (
Zechariah 4:6, 7
).
Throughout the history of God’s people, great mountains of difficulty,
apparently insurmountable, have loomed up before those who were advancing
in the opening providences of God. Such obstacles to progress are permitted
by the Lord as a test of faith. When [we are] hedged about on every side, this
is the time above all others to trust in God and in the power of His Holy Spirit.
We are not to walk in our own strength, but in the strength of the Lord God
of Israel. It is folly to trust in man or to make flesh our arm. We must trust
in Jehovah; for in Him is everlasting strength. The One who, in response to
words and deeds of faith, made the way plain before His servant Zerubbabel,
is able to clear away every obstacle devised by Satan to hinder the progress
of His cause. Through the exercise of persevering faith, every mountain of
difficulty may be removed.
Sometimes God trains His workers by bringing to them disappointment
and apparent failure. It is His purpose that they shall learn to master difficulty.
He seeks to inspire them with a determination to make every apparent failure
prove a success.—
The Review and Herald, January 16, 1908
.
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