we turn then to God's word and
in the portion that we read Zechariah Zechariah chapter 4 and I'll
read again verses 9 and 10 Zechariah 4 verses 9 and 10 the hands of
Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house his hands also
shall finish it and they shall know that the Lord of hosts hath
sent me unto you for who hath despised the day of small things
for they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of
Zerubbabel with those seven they are the eyes of the Lord which
run to and throw through the whole earth words in many ways so apt, of
course, to the day in which we live. Do we not many times lament
it as a day of small things? For who has despised the day
of small things is the question that is posed here at the beginning
of verse 10. As we read these chapters we
see that there are many mysteries to be found in the prophecies
of this man Zechariah. But it is helpful if we take
account of the historical situation in which he was called upon to
be the Lord's servant and the Lord's messenger to God's ancient
people. Together with Haggai he was a
prophet to that remnant that restored that was restored after
the Babylonian captivity. As we see in the opening part,
opening words of the book, in the 8th month, in the second
year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the
son of Berechiah, the son of Ido, the prophet, and He was
not a prophet alone, as I say, there was also Haggai who was
contemporary with him, that is quite clear from the opening
words of Agagai's prophecy. In the second year of Darius,
the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month,
came the word of the Lord by Agagai the prophet unto Zerubbabel,
the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the
son of Josedek, the high priest. And these are the men who were
associated with the ministry of of Ezra and that those men
who are engaged in the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord there
in Jerusalem to understand then the writings of such men as Haggai
and Zechariah we have to familiarize ourselves with that historic
account that we find in the book of Ezra and if you just turn
briefly to Ezra's book and there in chapter 5 of Ezra and the
opening two verses of that chapter we're told then the prophets
Haggai the prophets and Zechariah the son of Edo 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 Joshua, the son of Josedach, and began
to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem. And with them
were the prophets of God helping them. So here we have mention
of this man Zerubbabel, he was the governor, he was in the kingly
line, he was a prince, And we also have mention of Yeshua,
or Joshua, who was the high priest. So we have the princely Zerubbabel
together with the priest, Joshua, and we have these prophets, Haggai
and Zechariah, helping and encouraging them as they're engaged in this
work. After the restoration of the
Jews, they're rebuilding the Temple of the Lord. But, what
do we read? There in Ezra chapter 3, the
end of that third chapter of Ezra, we see that the people,
though they rejoiced, they were also grieved because they felt
it very much to be a day of small things. There were those who
remembered the glories that belonged onto the ancient temple of the
Lord, the temple of Solomon. And what was this work that was
now being undertaken in comparison with the glories that belonged
onto Solomon's temple? And so at the end of Ezra chapter
3, they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks
unto the Lord because He is good. for His mercy endureth forever
toward Israel. And all the people shouted with
a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation
of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests
and Levites, the chief of the fathers, who were ancient men,
that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house
was laid before their eyes, wept. with a loud voice. Many shouted
aloud for joy so that the people could not discern the noise of
the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people.
For the people shouted with a loud shout and the noise was heard
afar off." Oh, what a mixery. There was rejoicing and yet at
the same time there was weeping. There were those who felt it
very much to be the day of small things, for who hath despised
the day of small things?" This then is something of the situation,
the historical setting that we have for the ministry of this
man Zachariah. But what we have here, in the
verses that I've read as our text, is to be seen in a greater
context. than that of the rebuilding of
the temple of the Lord. It is the Lord Jesus Christ,
of course, who is the fulfillment of that temple. The temple is
but a foreshadowing. And in Christ we have the true
temple of the Lord. He could say to the Jews, destroy
this temple. and in three days I will build
it again." And they didn't understand, of course, that he was speaking
of the temple of his body, that human nature. He would die, he
would accomplish the great work of God, but he would be raised
again on the third day. And what we have here, then,
is really a prophecy of Christ and the prophecy of the day of
grace and oftentimes in the day of grace we're not God's children
cry out as we have it here in verse 10 for who has despised
the day of small things and as I said at the outset how often
that is true of us or we feel the day to be such a day do we
not when we compare it with previous days great days in our nation's
history when God had had such a favor to us remarkable periods
if we know but a little of church history. We only have to read
of the tremendous events, of course, in the 16th century with
the Protestant Reformation, and then in the ensuing centuries. We come into the 17th century,
the great Puritan movement, and then into the 18th century, when
God visited the London Garden with the Great Awakening. Then in the 19th century, there
were remarkable men, remarkable ministers, And as we read of
those former days and compare such with our day, we fear that
it is a day of small things. And yet, as I say, the context
in which we find this question here in verse 10 is one that
really is speaking of the day of grace. And we're never to
lose sight of that. It is yet the day of grace, though
we might call it a day of small things. You see, this Zerubbabel,
this Zerubbabel who is spoken of in verses 9 and 10, is a very
real type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is an ancestor of the Lord
Jesus Christ, is he not? in the beginning of the New Testament,
the opening chapter of the New Testament, Matthew chapter 1,
we have mentioned there of this man's irrevable in Christ's genealogy. Look at verses 12 and 13, we're told, after they
were brought to Babylon, Jeconias begat Salathiel begat Zerubbabel
and Zerubbabel begat Abiud and Abiud begat Eliakim and so forth. But we find this man mentioned,
Zerubbabel, there in Christ's lineage. Christ is descended
in his human nature from Zerubbabel and he is in many ways one of
the principle antecedents of the Lord Jesus because Christ's
genealogy there in Matthew is divided into sections. The verse
17, all the generations from Abraham to David are 14 generations
and from David until the carrying away onto Babylon are 14 generations. and from the carrying away into
Babylon unto Christ our 14th generation. And this man is there
in the carrying away to Babylon, the Rabbi. He's one of those
principal antecedents of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's a type,
I say. And we see it again when we take
account of the meaning of the name. His strange name, the Rabbi. What does it mean? Literally
it means a shoot of Babylon. A shoot out of Babylon. And in that is another type of
Christ. Christ is spoken of here as a shoot or a branch. We read
the words there in the end of verse 8 in chapter 3, My servant
the branch. And then again in chapter 6 and
verse 12, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold, the
man whose name is the branch, and he shall grow up out of his
place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. This man then is called Zerubbabel,
a shoot of Babylon, a branch out of Babylon, the man who builds
the temple of the Lord, but who is the real branch. why it's
the Lord Jesus Christ, a rod out of the stem of Jesson and
a branch that shall grow out of his roots as we read back
in the beginning of Isaiah chapter 11. And so when we come to the
words that we have here in the text verses 9 and 10, we're to
think most particularly of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what's being described
in our text. The hands of the rubber ball
have laid the foundation of this house. His hands also shall finish
it. and thou shalt know that the
Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you for who hath despised the
day of small things for they shall rejoice and shall see the
plummet in the hand of the rabbi with those seven they are the
eyes of the Lord which run to and through the whole earth. And so as we come to look now
more particularly at the words of the text I want us to consider
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ as it is set forth here in the
writing of this prophet. First of all, we see Christ is
that one who is the accomplisher of salvation. Christ has accomplished
salvation. And yet, when we think of that
salvation, when we think of His coming into the world, when we
think of His ministry, and the end of that ministry is death
upon the cross. Do we not have to recognize that
many would say it was but a day of small things? For who hath
despised the day of small things? The Incarnation, Christ's coming
into the world, was He not laid in a manger? because we're told
there was no room in the inn. There was much ignominy associated
even with his birth. Such an insignificant birth in
so many respects. He's not one who comes into king's
palaces. But there he is. No room in the
inn. Often they speak of Christ being
born in a stable. It doesn't actually say that.
It is probable that he was born in the open fields where mangers
would be found for the feeding of the livestock. Could have
been in the open field where he was born into this world. How the hymn writer brings it
out, the Lord that made both heaven and earth and was himself
made man lay in the womb before his birth contracted to a span. Behold from what beginnings small
our great salvation came. The strength of God is owned
by all but who his weakness knows. O there is that that is so weak
and so small and so despicable about the very manner of his
coming into the world. It's part, of course, of the
great mystery. The great mystery of godliness.
The great mystery of real true religion. That's what godliness
is. And what is it? God was manifest in the flesh.
And how was he manifest in the flesh? It was there in the open
fields at Bethlehem. And then when we consider the
manner of his growth, again, it's spoken of, is it not, in
the familiar words of prophecy in that 53rd chapter of Isaiah's
book, he shall grow up before he must attend the plants. And
there's a root out of a dry ground. Remember the name of the rubble,
the root out of Babylon. He shall grow up. He's speaking
here, of course, of the suffering servant of the Lord. He shall
grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a
dry ground. He has no form or comeliness. When we shall see him, there
is no beauty that we should desire in him. He is despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. and we
hid as it were our faces from him, he was despised and we esteemed
him not. This is the Lord Jesus Christ
who is being described. Is it not the day of grace in
that sense, the day of small things, small beginnings? But not only when we come to
consider the incarnation and Christ coming into the world,
but when we think of the great purpose of his coming. And all,
of course, culminates in that death that he must die there
at Jerusalem. And in the crucifixion, do we
not again see him as one who is despised of men? That's a
remarkable statement that we find in 2 Corinthians chapter
13 and verse 4. Paul says, concerning Christ,
He was crucified through weakness. He was crucified through weakness. Can we see it, do we not? Think
of the language of the Psalmist, Psalm 22, which is clearly a
a prophecy of Christ and the cross, it opens of course with
that great cry, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It speaks clearly of the Lord
Jesus, and there at verse 6, what does he say? But I am of
worth, and no man, a reproach of men, and despised of the people. Here we see the greatness of
the humility of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see it of course in
that awful death that he must die, that judicial death. Like
no other death, he's dying as one who is bearing in his own
person the punishment that was due to the sins of his people.
It is a cruel death. Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the Lord. says Paul, being made a curse
for us. For cursed is everyone that continueth
not in all things written in the book of the law to do them. Oh, as many as are under that
law are under that curse. And that's what the Lord Jesus
Christ has done. He has come in their place, in
their room, in their stead. His death is substitutionary.
The great doctrine, of course, of substitutionary atonement.
We're not to lose sight of it. And yet how this is so despised
of men. This is how Christ is bringing
in the day of grace. By all the humiliation that's
associated with His coming into the world, and by that greater
humiliation that we witness when we read of the man of His dying,
the cross, the despised cross. Who hath despised the day of
small things? Ah, but what call we small things? Since all cancelled some, it
is greater than all things except those to come. It is a great
work that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished there when He laid
down His life and He made that one sacrifice for sins forever. It is the fulfillment, it's the
accomplishment of all that we read in the Old Testament. All
the prophecies, all the writings of men like Zechariah and Haggai
and Isaiah, all the prophets are fulfilled in it. all the
types and shadows of the ceremonial law are fulfilled in Him. Even in that despised death upon
the cross, there we see the fulfillment of God's great purpose of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
One who has come and He has finished the transgression He has made
an end of sin, He has made reconciliation for iniquity, He has brought
in everlasting righteousness, He has sealed up the vision and
the prophecy. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ
has done, and though we sometimes speak of this as small things,
and yet these are the great works of God, the greatest of all the
works of God. Christ, I say, is that One who
has accomplished salvation. and as Christ is the one who
in the first place has accomplished it, so in the second place we
see the Lord Jesus Christ here as the one who is the applier
of that salvation. Look at the text again and what
he said, "...who have despised the day of small things, for
they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of
Zerubbabel with those seven they are the eyes of the Lord which
run to and throw through the whole earth. He has the plummet
in his hand. Now remember the historical context,
it's the building of the temple of the Lord and all that is involved
in constructing a building. He has the plummet in his hand. It's an instrument that is used,
of course, in order to ensure that things are built properly,
that walls are in line, and so on and so forth. But it speaks
to us of Christ, does it not? When we see Christ with the plummet
in his hand, does it not remind us of the work of the building
of his church? And he works, of course, by the
Holy Spirit. And so we have it. The plummet
in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven. They are the eyes
of the Lord. The seven eyes are the seven
spirits spoken of in the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter
5 And there at verse 6, John says, I beheld, and lo,
in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the
midst of the elders stood a lamb, as it had been slain, having
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God
sent forth into all the world. Now, observe the language and
it's so akin, it's so similar to the language that we have
back in Zechariah 4 and verse 10. We read of those seven, the
eyes of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole earth. And here, in the last book of Scripture, Revelation
chapter 5 and verse 6, We have the seven horns and seven eyes
which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the world. The seven Spirits of God. Now
why the seven Spirits of God? Well again, there at the beginning
of the book of the Revelation the book opens really with words
of greetings John, addressing himself to the
seven churches, greets them. This is the way the apostles
wrote, is it not, when we read the epistles of Paul. He begins
by sending greetings to the churches as he addresses them in his epistles.
And so here, in part of the Revelation, John to the seven churches which
are in Asia, Grace be unto you and peace from him which is and
which was and which is to come and from the seven spirits which
are before his throne and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful
witness and the first begotten of the dead and the prince of
the kings of the earth unto him that loved us and washed us from
our sins in his own blood. You see the greeting is in the
name of God, it's a Trinitarian greeting It is grace and peace
from the Father, which is, and which was, and which is to come,
and it's from the seven spirits. Seven, of course, is a significant
number. This book of Revelation is full
of signs and symbols. Seven is the number of perfection.
Not literally seven spirits, but the perfect work of God,
the Holy Spirit. And then mention of the second
person in the Godhead, Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,
the first begotten of the dead. John sends a Trinitarian greeting
to the seven churches. And as he speaks of the persons
of the Godhead, he speaks of the Holy Ghost in terms of the
seven spirits. His work is a perfect work. And
so here, back in our text, we are directed to the way in which
Christ applies that salvation that he has accomplished and
it's a perfect application because he works by the spirits whose
works are always perfection. He has the plumage in his hands
with those seven, the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro
through the whole earth. Oh, we have the coming of the
Holy Spirit, do we not? Of course, he's there in the
Old Testament. All of those saints of the Old
Testament who were the true Israel of God, not just part of ethnic
Israel, but the true spiritual Israel of God, they were born
again by the Spirit of God. He was the one who worked in
their souls the great work of regeneration. David knew him.
And when David sinned so grievously in the affair of Bathsheba, what
does he say in Psalm 51? Take not thy Holy Spirit from
me. He knew the Spirit. But when we come to the New Testament,
it's after Christ has accomplished the great work of redemption
that we have the fullness of the ministry of the Spirit. And
so we read there in John 7, the Holy Ghost was not yet given
because Jesus was not yet glorified. He was not given in all the fullness
and the glory that he would come in the day of grace. You see,
the day of small things, the day in which we're living, is
the day of grace. This is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit.
He was not given till Christ was glorified. But what do we
see on the day of Pentecost? All the great effusion of the
Spirit. How He comes? And from whence
does He come? Well, Peter declares it in his
sermon, He comes from Christ, being by the right hand of God
exalted, receiving of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost.
He has shed forth this which ye now see and hear. The Spirit has come. And the
Spirit runs to and through the whole earth, does He not? And
so here we are directed to the work of the Spirit. And what
is that work of the Spirit? Well, I want to mention just
two parts of that great work of the Spirit in this day of
Christ. Let us be careful that we do
not despise His works. First of all, is He not that
One who comes to work conviction in the soul of the sinner? Isn't
that part of His peculiar office in the economy of grace? If we
could speak in that term, the theological term, the economy
of grace, it speaks of the great purpose of God, you see, the
outworking of the covenant of grace. The Father sends the Son. In the fullness of the time,
God sends forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
to redeem them that were under the law. There is the work of
the Son, then, in the outworking of the covenant. But then also
there is the great work of God the Holy Ghost. And what is the
great work of the Holy Ghost? Well, He comes to reprove, does
He not? John 16, verse 8, when He has
come, He will reprove or convince the world of sin and of righteousness
and of judgment, of sin because they believe not on mercy, of
righteousness because I go to the Father and He sees me no
more, of judgment because the Prince of this world is judged. All this is such a vital aspect
of that ministry of the Holy Spirit. He convicts, He works
real conviction in the soul of the sinner. And here, you see,
what do we have? As part of that work we have
mention of the plummet. They shall see the plummet in
the hand as a rubber ball with those seven, the eyes of the
Lord. Oh, how the Lord, you see, he's
all seeing, he's all searching God. How the Spirit comes, you
see, into the soul of the sinner. What is the plumbing? Well, it's
that weight, of course, on the end of the plumb line. And it's
used to ensure that as the building is being erected, the walls are
straight and vertical. That it's a proper building,
it's a vital part of the builder's toolkit, is it not? It's like a measuring line. In
fact, we have mentioned previously of a measuring line. In chapter
2, I lifted up mine eyes again, says Zechariah, and looked, and
behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I,
Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure
Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is
the length thereof. Or think of the thumb line and
the measuring line. And now these instruments are
being used. Now when applied, Think of the
spiritual significance when the Lord Jesus Christ comes by that
miniature of the Spirit with the plumb line in His hand and
He measures us in our souls. What does He search? So many
crooks. Nothing stripes. Nothing but
sin and disorder. This is the way in which the
Lord works, is it not? He makes us to see what we are.
And He makes us to see when the Spirit comes and He comes with
that measuring line, He comes with the Word of God, He comes
with the Law of God. And what does the Law do? It
only shows us our transgressions. We're not those who are keepers
of the Law, we're breakers of the Law. It's that work of conviction
that the Spirit accomplishes. And His eyes, you see, running
to and fro, we cannot escape it. or when the Lord comes you'll
see to apply that great salvation He has to make us see and feel
what we are as sinners Christ comes to cause sinners and we
have to see our sins and we have to feel our sins and recognize
and confess our sins but the Spirit ministers more than legal
conviction in the soul Now right are the words of Joseph art,
law and terrors do but harden, all the while they work alone,
but a sense of blood-bought pardon soon dissolves the heart of stone.
It's not enough to see our sin in
the light of that holy, righteous and just law of God. We have to see what sin is in
the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ and see what Zechariah
goes on to tell. Chapter 12 and verse 10 he says,
I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants
of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications. Oh, it's
the same one you see. that is being spoken of in our
text, the seven eyes running to and fro through the earth.
Here he is again in chapter 12 and verse 10, poured out the
spirit of grace and of supplications and they shall look upon me whom
they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth
for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him as one
that is in bitterness for his firstborn. All we cause is the
sinner to see the awful nature of sin in that that Christ endures. In Christ awful sufferings, godly
sorrow, workers' repentance to salvation, not to be repented
of, the sorrow of the world, it works death. All to know that
godly sorrow, to see, to feel what sin is, when we have an
understanding of what Christ suffers. the very things that
the Prophet speaks of there in chapter 12, speaking as the very
mouthpiece of God, as he makes mention of all that Christ had
to endure, of that contradiction of sinners. The Spirit comes,
you see, and He comes to reprove of sin, yes, but He comes also
to reveal Christ, does He not? He shall testify of me, says
Christ. He shall take of mine and shall
show it unto you, that great work as the salvation that Christ
accomplished is made a reality in the soul of the sinner. The
sinner is brought not only to see his sin and to feel his sin,
but to see that there is but one Savior of sinners, even the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He works in conviction, He works
salvation in the heart, And then, a second aspect of the work of
the Spirit as He comes, He invites prayer, does He not?
He invites prayer. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. We know not what to pray for
as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us. with
groanings that cannot be uttered. That's the work of the Spirit.
When He comes into that poor sinner's soul, who is feeling
his needs, who has such a sense of his sinfulness and his unfitness,
and He causes there to be those groanings. Oh, do not despise
small beginnings in prayer. Do not despise broken words and
sighs and groans before God. Amos, another of the prophets,
asked the question, by whom shall Jacob arise for he is small? By whom shall Jacob arise for
he is small? Well, Jacob, in Genesis 32, he
becomes Israel, does he not? He is the man who wrestles with
the angel and prevails. Or were not to despise small
beginnings in prayers? Are they not the many prayers
that the Spirit Himself brings into the soul of the poor sinner?
For who hath despised the day of small things? Job says, Though
thy beginning was small, Yet thy latter end shall greatly
increase." The Lord does build up His people. The Lord Jesus Christ, does He
not establish His Church? It's all that great and gracious
work of the Holy Ghost. Look at verse 6, "...not by might,
nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." all
the beginning might be small and yet if it's a spiritual work
it's a real work and nothing will stand before it again look
at the language there back in in that sixth verse and the following verse this
is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel saying, not by might
nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts, Who
art thou, O great mountain, before the robber, thou shalt become
a plain, and he shall bring forth a headstone thereof, with shoutings
crying, Grace, Grace, unto thee. All faith, you see. Again we
think of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ concerning little
faith. Faith is a grain of mustard seed.
and you say unto this mountain remove to yonder plants and it
shall remove and nothing shall be impossible for you says the
Lord Jesus Christ and he's speaking there of little faith the mustard
seed the least of all seeds says Christ and you have faith not
as a mustard seed but as a grain of mustard seed a little faith
and you say to this mountain Why faith has to do, you see,
with this One who has accomplished salvation, this One who is able
to apply that great salvation. The hands of the rubber ball
have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish
it. And thou shalt know that the
Lord hath sent me unto you. Doesn't Christ himself say it?
I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. He'll build his church. Nothing will overcome that great
work that he is bound to accomplish. Verse 7, He shall bring forth
a headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, Grace, unto it. For he that hath begun a good
work in you will perform it, says Paul, until the day of Jesus
Christ. Let us encourage ourselves and
let us not despise the day, the day of small things. If we
do but know the gracious ministry of God, the Holy Ghost, and experience
it in our own souls, and desire to witness it in the
souls of others, isn't this the great thing that we should be
concerned about looking for, praying for? Who would despise
the day of small things, is the question. And here is the answer. they shall rejoice and shall
see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven they
are the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole
earth." God is that One who reigns and even in our time let us never
forget this God is saving as many people as He purposed to
save from all eternity All that gives the callings of God are
without repentance. He does according to His will
among the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth.
The heavens truly rhyme. That's our conference. May the
Lord bless His Word to us. Amen. and material importance, number
808. Go straight, lead the way with
dangers beset, and we on the way are no father yet. Our good
guide and savior has helped us thus far, and it is by his favor
we are what we are. Number 778.