Zechariah 4:7 Study Bible: Who are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you are a plain; and he will bring out the capstone with shouts of 'Grace, grace, to it.'"

◄ Zechariah 4:7 ►

What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring forth the capstone accompanied by shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'"

Study Bible

What are you, O great mountain?
This phrase symbolizes a significant obstacle or challenge. In the context of Zechariah, the "great mountain" represents the daunting task of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. Mountains in biblical literature often symbolize insurmountable challenges or powerful kingdoms (Isaiah 40:4, Matthew 17:20). The rhetorical question emphasizes the power of God to overcome any obstacle.

Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain.
Zerubbabel, a descendant of David and governor of Judah, is tasked with leading the rebuilding efforts. The transformation of the mountain into a plain signifies the removal of obstacles through divine intervention. This imagery reflects God's promise to make the path straight and smooth for His purposes (Isaiah 45:2). Zerubbabel's leadership is a type of Christ, foreshadowing Jesus' role in overcoming spiritual obstacles.

Then he will bring forth the capstone
The capstone, or "headstone," is the final stone placed during construction, symbolizing completion. Zerubbabel's role in bringing forth the capstone signifies the successful completion of the temple, a central place of worship and God's presence among His people. This act prefigures Christ as the cornerstone of the Church (Ephesians 2:20), emphasizing the fulfillment of God's promises.

accompanied by shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
The repetition of "Grace" underscores the unmerited favor and divine assistance in the temple's completion. The shouts reflect communal joy and acknowledgment of God's hand in the work. This phrase highlights the theme of grace throughout Scripture, pointing to salvation through faith and God's provision (Ephesians 2:8-9). The emphasis on grace also connects to the New Testament understanding of Jesus as the embodiment of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Persons / Places / Events

1. Zechariah
A prophet who received visions from God to encourage the Israelites during the rebuilding of the temple after the Babylonian exile.

2. Zerubbabel
The governor of Judah and a descendant of David, tasked with leading the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.

3. The Great Mountain
Symbolic of obstacles or challenges that stand in the way of God's purposes, particularly the rebuilding of the temple.

4. The Capstone
Represents the completion of the temple, signifying the fulfillment of God's promise and the restoration of worship in Jerusalem.

5. Shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’
A declaration of God's favor and blessing upon the work, emphasizing that the success of the endeavor is due to divine grace.

Teaching Points

God's Sovereignty Over Obstacles
Just as the "great mountain" becomes a plain before Zerubbabel, God has the power to remove any obstacle in our lives that hinders His purposes.

The Role of Divine Grace
The repeated shout of "Grace, grace to it!" highlights that our achievements in God's work are not by our might or power, but by His Spirit and grace.

Faith in Action
Zerubbabel's task required faith and perseverance. Similarly, we are called to trust God and act in faith, even when faced with daunting challenges.

Completion of God's Work
The capstone signifies the completion of the temple. We are reminded that God is faithful to complete the good work He begins in us.

Community and Worship
The communal shout of grace underscores the importance of collective worship and acknowledgment of God's hand in our endeavors.

Bible Study Questions

1. What "great mountains" or obstacles are you currently facing, and how can you apply the principle of God's sovereignty to these challenges?

2. How does the concept of divine grace in Zechariah 4:7 encourage you in your personal walk with God?

3. In what ways can you demonstrate faith in action, similar to Zerubbabel, in your current circumstances?

4. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's faithfulness in completing a task or project. How did this strengthen your faith?

5. How can you incorporate communal worship and acknowledgment of God's grace in your life and within your community?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Isaiah 40:4
This verse speaks of every mountain and hill being made low, which parallels the idea of obstacles being removed by God's power.

Matthew 17:20
Jesus speaks about faith moving mountains, which connects to the theme of overcoming great obstacles through faith in God.

Ezra 3:10-11
Describes the laying of the temple's foundation with praise and thanksgiving, similar to the shouts of grace in Zechariah 4:7.

Sermons

The Church in Three Aspects	W. Forsyth	Zechariah 4:1-7
Man as a Student of the Divine Revelation and a Doer of Divine Work	D. Thomas	Zechariah 4:1-10
Man as a Student of the Divine Revelation and a Doer of Divine Work	Homilist	Zechariah 4:1-14
The Candelabrum and Olive Trees	W. L. Alexander, D. D.	Zechariah 4:1-14
The Candlestick	F. B. Meyer, B. A.	Zechariah 4:1-14
The Golden Candlestick	Outlines by a London Minister	Zechariah 4:1-14
The Vision of the Candlestick	George Hutcheson.	Zechariah 4:1-14
Reasons Against Pessimism	J. Lewis.	Zechariah 4:7-9
Salvation Secure	Daniel Moore, M. A.	Zechariah 4:7-9
The Building of the Spiritual Temple	W. Weldon Champneys, M. A.	Zechariah 4:7-9
The Founder and Finisher of the Temple	A. Maclaren, D. D.	Zechariah 4:7-9
The Temple of God Built Amidst Difficulties	C. Bradley, M. A.	Zechariah 4:7-9
Encouragement to Christian Workers	W. Forsyth	Zechariah 4:7-10

People

Zechariah, Zerubbabel

Places

Jerusalem

Topics

Amid, Bless, Bring, Capstone, Cries, Crying, Forth, Forward, Grace, Ground, Headstone, Head-stone, Level, Mighty, Mountain, O, Of'grace, Plain, Shoutings, Shouts, Stone, Thereof, Top-stone, Zerubbabel, Zerub'babel

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Zechariah 4:1-7

4112 angels, messengers

Zechariah 4:1-14

1431 prophecy, OT methods
4416 branch

Zechariah 4:6-7

5957 strength, spiritual

Zechariah 4:6-9

5776 achievement

Library

September 2. "Who Hath Despised the Day of Small Things" (Zech. Iv. 10).
"Who hath despised the day of small things" (Zech. iv. 10). The oak comes out of the acorn, the eagle out of that little egg in the nest, the harvest comes out of the seed; and so the glory of the coming age is all coming out of the Christ life now, even as the majesty of His kingdom was all wrapped up that night in the babe of Bethlehem. Oh, let us take Him for all our life. Let us be united to His person and His risen body. Let us know what it is to say, "The Lord is for the body and the body is …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Founder and Finisher of the Temple
'The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it.'--ZECHARIAH iv. 9. I am afraid that Zerubbabel is very little more than a grotesque name to most Bible-readers, so I may be allowed a word of explanation as to him and as to the original force of my text. He was a prince of the blood royal of Israel, and the civil leader of the first detachment of returning exiles. With Joshua, the high priest, he came, at the head of a little company, to Palestine, and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Source of Power
'And the Angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, 2. And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold, a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps which are upon the top thereof: 3. And two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4. So I answered and spake to the Angel that talked with …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Independence of Christianity
Now, as this is true in the general of the great acts of God, this is equally true in the minutiae of them. It is true that God has a church, that that church has been redeemed and will be preserved for his glory, and it is equally true that everything that is done to the church, in the church, or for the church either with the permission or by the power of God, is for God's glory, as well as for the church's weal. You will notice, in reading Scripture, that whenever God has blessed the church, he …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Encouragement for the Depressed
"For who hath despised the day of small things?"--Zechariah 4:10. ZECHARIAH WAS ENGAGED in the building of the temple. When its foundations were laid, it struck everybody as being a very small edifice compared with the former glorious structure of Solomon. The friends of the enterprise lamented that it should be so small; the foes of it rejoiced and uttered strong expressions of contempt. Both friends and foes doubted whether, even on that small scale, the structure would ever be completed. They …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 61: 1915

The Power
"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."--Zech. iv. 6. J. Tauler, 1361. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 Rest from longing and desire O thou weary heart! Dost thou ween thy choice has been Not the lower but the higher, Thine the better part? And therefore dost thou long with bitter longing From the day dawn to the night. For the holiness, the rest of His beloved Who walk with Him in white? Thou art wearied with the striving and the yearning For the crown that thou wouldst …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Conversion --Human Agency In
What part and responsibility pertain to the human will in this matter? Before we leave the subject of conversion, it is important that we consider and understand this question also. For on this point also grievous and dangerous views and practices prevail. Human nature tends to extremes. Here too, there is a tendency to go too far, either in the one direction or the other. There are those, on the one hand, who virtually and practically make this change of heart and of nature a human work. They …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

Gifts and Talents.
"And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him."--Judges iii. 10. We now consider the Holy Spirit's work in bestowing gifts, talents, and abilities upon artisans and professional men. Scripture declares that the special animation and qualification of persons for work assigned to them by God proceed from the Holy Spirit. The construction of the tabernacle required capable workmen, skilful carpenters, goldsmiths, and silversmiths, and masters in the arts of weaving and embroidering. Who will furnish Moses …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Concerning the Power of the Civil Magistrate in Matters Purely Religious, and Pertaining to the Conscience.
Concerning the Power of the Civil Magistrate in Matters purely Religious, and pertaining to the Conscience. Since God hath assumed to himself the power and Dominion of the Conscience, who alone can rightly instruct and govern it, therefore it is not lawful [1226] for any whosoever, by virtue of any authority or principality they bear in the government of this world, to force the consciences of others; and therefore all killing, banishing, fining, imprisoning, and other such things which are inflicted …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

Jesus Calls Four Fishermen to Follow Him.
(Sea of Galilee, Near Capernaum.) ^A Matt. IV. 18-22; ^B Mark I. 16-20; ^C Luke V. 1-11. ^a 18 And walking ^b 16 And passing along by the sea of Galilee [This lake is a pear-shaped body of water, about twelve and a half miles long and about seven miles across at its widest place. It is 682 feet below sea level; its waters are fresh, clear and abounding in fish, and it is surrounded by hills and mountains, which rise from 600 to 1,000 feet above it. Its greatest depth is about 165 feet], he [Jesus] …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Of the Necessity of Divine Influences to Produce Regeneration in the Soul.
Titus iii. 5, 6. Titus iii. 5, 6. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. IF my business were to explain and illustrate this scripture at large, it would yield an ample field for accurate criticism and useful discourse, and more especially would lead us into a variety of practical remarks, on which it would be pleasant …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

The Harbinger
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD , make straight in the desert a high-way for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. T he general style of the prophecies is poetical. The inimitable simplicity which characterizes every …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Zechariah
CHAPTERS I-VIII Two months after Haggai had delivered his first address to the people in 520 B.C., and a little over a month after the building of the temple had begun (Hag. i. 15), Zechariah appeared with another message of encouragement. How much it was needed we see from the popular despondency reflected in Hag. ii. 3, Jerusalem is still disconsolate (Zech. i. 17), there has been fasting and mourning, vii. 5, the city is without walls, ii. 5, the population scanty, ii. 4, and most of the people …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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