Bible Commentaries
Zechariah 4

Verses 1-14

The vision of the candlestick immediately following sets forth Israel as fulfilling the divine intention. In the divinely appointed ritual of Israel's worship the candlestick stood in the holy place, creating the only symbol of Israel's true position as light-bearer amid the darkness.

The two olive trees, as Zechariah described them, referred immediately and locally to Zerubbabel and Joshua, the governor and the priest under whom the Temple had been rebuilt and its worship restored, but ultimately to the offices of king and priest as they would be realized and fulfilled in the person of the Messiah. Here, as always in Scripture, the golden oil symbolized the Spirit of God by whom anointing is possessed for co- operation with God in service, the teaching being that the Spirit would be communicated to Israel through the King and Priest, and thus her light would shine in the darkness.