By David R. Parsons, ICEJ Senior Vice President & Spokesman 

“‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6) 
 
This year’s Feast theme comes from a prophetic utterance by Zechariah in the early days of Israel’s restoration to the Land following the Babylonian exile. As noted in earlier editions of our Word from Jerusalem magazine, the Jewish remnant returning from Babylon had to rebuild Jerusalem with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other, due to the local Samaritan opposition. But they had a written decree from Cyrus, the benevolent Persian emperor, authorising them to rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem, and Cyrus even gave them money for this task and returned some of the gold and silver treasures taken from the sacked Temple. 

The book of Ezra tells us these Jewish returnees first set about to rebuild the altar of the Lord, then the Temple itself. But before long, they ran into trouble. Cyrus died, so their permission to build was gone and the money started running out. The local Samaritans stepped up their agitation against the returning Jews. Plus, some of the old timers complained this new building was nowhere near as grand and glorious as Solomon’s Temple. 

So, work on the Temple came to a complete halt, and for 16 years the site collected dust. That is, until the Lord sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to encourage the people to resume the work and finish building the Temple. 

Haggai assured the people to “be strong… and work; for I am with you… My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!” He also promised “the glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former.” (Haggai 2:4-5, 9) 

Meanwhile, Zechariah added that while it was good to have might and power, ultimately the Spirit of God would accomplish the task of rebuilding the Temple (Zechariah 4:6) The mountain of rubble before them would become a level “plain”, and the “capstone” or finished work would be brought forth with shouts of “grace” by a people motivated to get the job done. Finally, he urged the people not to despise the day of small beginnings, signifying a great destiny ahead for the rebuilt Temple. 

Now the prophet Zechariah was a true seer. Like Daniel, Ezekiel and John the Revelator, he had extraordinary visions of current realities as well as future apocalyptic events, often featuring powerful angelic and created beings, along with strange animals or objects representing the spiritual forces at play. In chapter four, Zechariah saw two olive trees pouring oil into a Menorah. In chapter three, he saw Satan making accusations against Joshua the High Priest, as well as the coming “Branch” – the Messiah. In chapter fourteen, he sees this Messiah touching down once more on the Mount of Olives, a moment we all long for and expect to happen very soon. 

Back in chapter one, Zechariah saw other unusual beings and events, and I believe they too speak much about our day. The Jewish return to their ancestral homeland always seems to follow a pattern, and what was happening then is extremely relevant for Israel and us today. 

First, he saw a man on a red horse and other coloured horses standing among myrtle trees. An angel revealed they are assigned to go to and fro throughout the earth and report back what they find. In this instance, they reported: “behold, all the earth is resting quietly.” (Zechariah 1:7-11) 

Now that might sound like a good report, but the Angel of the Lord reacted by crying out: “O Lord of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?” 

First of all, it is interesting to note here that angels also pray, even great and powerful ones like the “Angel of the Lord.” And they seem to have a heavy prayer burden for Jerusalem! 

Second, it is fascinating that this Angel was disturbed by the quietness prevailing on the earth. There was peace, which would normally be viewed as good. But here it meant the status quo would continue, which also meant that Jerusalem and the Temple would remain in ruins. So, the Angel cried out to the Lord, “how long will this go on?” 

Zechariah recorded the Lord answering the Angel with good and comforting words about Jerusalem, that God is “zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great zeal. I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, and they helped—but with evil intent.” The Lord added: “I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it… The Lord will again comfort Zion, and will again choose Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 1:13-17) 

Finally, Zechariah saw four horns which represented surrounding kingdoms or powers “that have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem”, along with four craftsmen that “are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.” (Zechariah 1:18-21) 

It is this last vision that gives me such encouragement and hope about where Israel is today. The nations around ancient Israel could have easily kept the Jews in exile and Jerusalem in ruins, but Zechariah was assured that the Spirit of God would bring forth the antidote – the craftsmen needed to rebuild the Temple and the fallen walls of Jerusalem. 

This Hebrew word for “craftsmen” (harash – חָרָשׁ) refers to stone carvers and carpenters, as well as architects and engineers and other skilled artisans. A prime example is Bezalel, of whom the Lord said: “I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.” (Exodus 31:3-5) 

The Bible records that such craftsmen were sent by King Hiram of Tyre to build David’s royal palace (2 Samuel 5:11) and later likely worked on Solomon’s Temple. When Israel and Judah were taken into exile, the craftsmen were taken along with them (2 Kings 24:14). But Zechariah is assured they would be summoned back by the Spirit to help rebuild the House of the Lord in Jerusalem. 

Yet the word “craftsmen” also can mean “skilled warriors.” Indeed, those gifted metal workers who make beautiful, ornate Temple instruments can also make strong swords and spears to defend the city (see 1 Samuel 13:19; 2 Kings 24:16; Ezekiel 21:31). And surely God is using these skilled warriors and metal smiths to “terrify” and “cast out” those nations and peoples opposed to the restoration of Israel and Jerusalem even in our day. 

What an encouraging word for us as we witness the current diabolical efforts of the “horns” surrounding Israel seeking to uproot and destroy the Jewish nation and people at this very time. For decades now, bitter enemies have sought to hinder and thwart the Jewish return to the Land of Israel. But the Lord has supplied Israel with skilled craftsmen who have built the nation from scratch into a hi-tech miracle and military powerhouse. They pioneered water desalination and made the desert bloom. They invented the microchips that have propelled the world into the Digital Age. They have given us incredible medical advances and raised up mighty skyscrapers on mere sand dunes. Every major global company has research and development offices in Israel to take advantage of this nation’s highly skilled craftsmen. 

And even more importantly, Israel has built an army of skilled warriors to defend itself against much larger forces. In fact, many of Israel’s most amazingly beneficial modern-day inventions were created by those who came out of the IDF’s research divisions. 

How remarkable then to witness Israel’s military and intelligence services performing such stunning feats against Hamas, Hizbullah and Iran over recent months. The Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow III anti-missile defense systems are proving to be the best in the world. The secret operation involving rigged pagers and walkie-talkies exploding in the hands of Hizbullah operatives was spellbinding. Israel has a top-of-the-line battle tank in the Merkava IV, and the next generation F35 stealth fighter-bombers. One recent media report claimed the Arab world suddenly views Israel as having mythical powers. 

Some may say this is because of the United States or other allies, which indeed have helped Israel maintain a qualitative military edge over any potential array of regional foes. But the prophet Zechariah foretold long ago that this would all be orchestrated by the Spirit of the Lord! 

Main photo: Illustration of Zerubabbel laying the cornerstone for the Second Temple. (Photo: Word Press)