Daily devotion – connected and filled with God’s Holy Spirit
This Wednesday night and we continue in our study in the amazing prophetic book of Zechariah, the young prophet is given his fifth vision.
Zechariah sees the holy place of the tabernacle, in front of the veil and to the left of the alter of incense, stood a golden candlestick with seven branches.
It was the priest’s duty to maintain the oil and the wicks in the bowels at the end of each branch of the candlestick. But the candlestick that Zechariah saw was totally unlike the one Moses had put into the tabernacle.
This candlestick was connected to two olive trees and it had seven pipes going from the bowel to each lamp making a total of 49 pipes.
No priest had to provide the oil because it was always coming from the trees. Seven pipes to each lamp assured an ample supply of fuel to keep the lights burning!
What was the meaning of all this before the young prophets’ eyes?
1. The lampstand in the tabernacle was symbolic of Messiah, the Light of the World – John 8:12, who one day would come and give the “light of life” to all who would trust Him.
2. The tabernacle candlestick also spoke of the nation Israel, the nation God had chosen to be the light in a spiritually dark world – the light was burning very low when the remnant returned from Babylon to rebuild the temple, and Zerubbabel the prince wasn’t sure there was enough power to keep the work going.
This is why in verses 4-7, God said to the people through this young prophet, “Not by might nor by power, but My Spirit.”
The vision showed that the answer to the problems they were facing, the problems we face today, is prayer that releases the Holy Spirit’s power.
When the early Christians faced problems, they turned to God in prayer, and He answered by giving them a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit – Acts 4:23-31.
“We say we depend on the Holy Spirit,” wrote Vance Havner, “but actually we are so wired up with our own devices that if the fire does not fall from heaven, we can turn on a switch and produce false fire of our own. If there is no sound of a rushing mighty wind, we have the furnace all set below to blow hot air instead. God save us from a synthetic Pentecost!”
As believers today, we must keep in mind that the Church is a light in a dark world, and we must depend on the Holy Spirit to enable us to bear witness. This witness is empowered by our being filled and reliant on the Holy Spirit in our lives each day!
Join with us Wednesday evening as we go further into these amazing visions of Zechariah and see their connection to our lives today in 2022.
We gather to pray and fulfil God’s commandments to be stewards of His precious Gospel.