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On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month
of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to
Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo…
(Zechariah 1:7).

Today’s Devotional
Zechariah was a visionary prophet whose visions related specifically to the time after the Babylonian exile and the beginning of the messianic period in Israel’s history. In one of his visions, Zechariah saw an elaborate golden lampstand with two olive trees on either side of it. His first response was very intelligent. He asked the angel, “What are these, my lord?” Asking a question is a wise course of action whenever a visionary revelation occurs. That is a lesson I learned from Zechariah. No matter what I see or how many times I think I may have seen it before, I always ask, “What is this, Lord?” I am confident that the same God who gives me the revelation can also interpret it for me. Even when the angel asks him specifically, “Do you not know what these are?” Zechariah answers with humility, “No, my lord.” (See Zechariah 4:4-5.) Had Zechariah not responded with humility and openness, he probably would not have gained much from the whole experience. People who think they know it all already cut themselves off from learning anything new. This vision sustained Zechariah, Zerubbabel, and all of the returning exiles. It encouraged and motivated them to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, as well as the walls of the city and the city itself,
which had been destroyed by the Babylonians. Vision sustains a people, and humility is a key that releases understanding!
1. Have you ever had a vision or revelation that had to do with governmental or social concerns? Why would God give such visions or revelations to nongovernmental or social leaders?

2. When God has spoken or revealed something to you that you did not understand, have you asked questions to receive further clarification? Do you ask your Christian leaders for clarification when you need it?
3. Humility and openness characterized Zechariah’s response to the angel. Why are these two traits important to anyone involved in revelation or visionary gifts?
4. Understanding the message of a revelation or vision is important, but why is it also important to “gain from the experience”? What can be learned through the experience?
5. It must have been exhilarating to Zechariah to see the faith that accompanied the exiles and the leaders as they rebuilt what had once been destroyed. What has been destroyed in your life, community, or church that needs to be rebuilt?
What can stir the faith of those who need to be motivated to make a difference?

Meditation
Zechariah’s vision had to do with a message for Zerubbabel, the civic official of the returning exiles under whose leadership the temple in Jerusalem would be rebuilt. The word of the Lord to Zerubbabel was, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” (Zech. 4:6). This was meant as an encouragement to Zerubbabel and the rest of the returning exiles that a new era was beginning, an era characterized by the working of God’s Spirit in power, and the coming day of the Messiah. God spoke to a civic official through an established prophet. Does God still desire to speak to civic officials today? Whom might He
choose to speak through?