Zechariah 4:11-14 Then answered I, and said to him, What are these two olive trees on the right side of the candlestick and on the left side thereof?… Who are these? They refer to some standing channel of blessing from God, and are alluded to again in Revelation 11:3, 4, in terms that cannot be mistaken. Without entering at length into the reasons for this opinion, we simply affirm that they refer to a duality of gracious manifestation from God, corresponding to a duality of necessity in the nature of man. There are two grand evils to be overcome, guilt and pollution, and they demand two standing sources of blessing, the one to remove the guilt by atonement, the other to remove the power of sin by giving a higher power of holiness. These two sources are embodied in two official forms, the only two that were connected with the theocracy as permanent elements, the sacerdotal and regal orders, This duality marked all the manifestations of God, for it rested on a deep necessity of human nature, and it was then embodied in the persons of Joshua and Zerubbabel. Since, then, they were so essential to the theocracy, the people need not suppose that God would allow them to perish, but would continue them in existence until He should come who was a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Learn — 1. That the Church is the same under both dispensations, for the promises made to her then are only fulfilling now, showing that then and now she was the same Church. The candlestick is the same, though the tubes may be changed; and the Church is the same, though her official channels be totally altered. 2. God has provided an unfailing source of strength for His people. Their supply comes not from a dead reservoir of oil, but a living olive tree, that is ever drawing from the rich earth its generous furnishings, and then distilling them by seven pipes, a perfect number, to those who are to be burning and shining lights. 3. The whole work of religion in the heart of the individual, and throughout the world, is of grace. Christ is at once the cornerstone and the copestone of the Church; and as He was greeted with "shoutings of grace" when He came the first time, much more shall He when He comes the second time, without sin unto salvation. 4. We are prone to judge of God's work by man's standard; and because we see but a narrow stream from the fountain, doubt or deny the river. 5. It is not only unwise, it is wicked, to be disheartened because of the external feebleness of the Church, compared with the work she has to do and the enemies she has to encounter. God is her strength, her glory, and her hope, and to despair of her is to deny God. 6. The doctrine and discipline of the Church, the truth and power that God has lodged in her organisation and in her ordinances, are still the standing channels through which the Spirit pours the oil of grace and strength, and hence should both be kept pure and unclogged. (T. V. Moore, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? |
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