Have you ever been given a job that felt impossible? Many years ago, I volunteered to help a Christian summer camp prepare their grounds for the upcoming season. The director took a small group and tasked us with picking up all the sticks in the woods! After we had worked for hours, we stopped for lunch. Looking back on where we had been working, you could hardly tell what we had done.

Israel was called to be a light to the nations. After the exile, God commanded Israel to rebuild the Temple. But the community was small, impoverished, and powerless. How could they live up to God’s calling? To encourage Israel, the Lord gave Zechariah a vision. The central image was a lampstand. The stand was topped with a bowl that had seven lamps (v. 2). On either side were two olive trees (v. 3). The idea seems to be that the olive trees would provide the oil, filtered through the bowl to the lamp and ensuring a continuing supply of fuel.

The lamp represented the people of Israel. The Lord’s message is clear: Israel should know that their success is not “by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” (v. 6). Instead of trusting in their own strength, Israel was to rely on the power of the Spirit. The same Spirit that could bring life from the dead was at work in them (Ezek. 37:1–14). The completed Temple would be a witness to the world. The Lord provided not only His Spirit but also His anointed leaders—Zerubbabel and Joshua (v. 14).

The church has also been entrusted with an “impossible” task: to proclaim the gospel to all nations (Matt. 28:18–20). Our power comes from the Holy Spirit (Acts 2), as we follow the Anointed One—the Messiah Jesus (Eph. 2:20).

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