Zechariah 4 Commentary: We’re going to be studying the fifth vision given to Zechariah. So, let’s turn our attention to the 4th chapter of that book – Zechariah chapter 4. 

We’ll cover only the first 7 verses of this chapter today, but let’s go ahead and read the whole chapter for context. 

[Read Zec 4] 

So, the first thing we discover in this new vision is that Zechariah has fallen asleep and that he needs to be awakened. 

KJV Zechariah 4:1 ¶ [And/Then] the [angel/angelic messenger] [that talked/who was speaking/who had been speaking/who talked] with me [came again/returned/then returned], and [waked/roused/woke/wakened/awakened] me, as [when…] a [man/person] that is [wakened/awakened] [out of his/from his/from] sleep, 

Now, it’s hard to know why Zechariah had fallen asleep here. It’s not that he was bored with what he was seeing. We already saw in the last vision involving Joshua the high priest that Zechariah was pretty excited about the proceedings. 

So, it’s not boredom that led Zechariah to sleep. Rather, it seems that receiving visions like Zechariah is experiencing can be an exhausting process. 

Twice, the prophet Daniel – after receiving a vision from the Lord – says that he sank or fell “into a deep sleep with his face to the ground” (Dan 8:18, 10:9) Daniel also reported to being “exhausted and sick for days” after receiving one of his visions. (Dan 8:27) 

The point is that apparently receiving visions from the Lord can be quite a draining experience. And this is probably why Zechariah falls asleep and has to be awakened at this point by the communicating angel. Not because he’s bored – but because he’s exhausted. 

Well, this angel has a question for the previously-sleeping prophet in verse 2. 

2 [And said unto/He said to/He asked/And he said to] me,  

What [seest thou/do you see]?  

Now, this question is a fairly common one that God tends to ask his prophets as he’s giving them visions. 

He asked Jeremiah this question three times, Amos twice, and Zechariah twice. So, prophets do tend to get this question from the Lord not infrequently. 

And of course, the Lord doesn’t need information from these prophets. It’s not that he can’t see whatever it is that he’s calling attention to and needs the prophet’s help to discover what’s there. 

The Lord is asking this question to get the prophet thinking and to introduce the prophet to the subject that he wants to expound upon. 

So, what is it that the Lord wants to show Zechariah in this vision that is going to setup the message of this vision? We continue verse 2 discovering that right in front of Zechariah there is a golden candlestick. 

[And I said/I replied/I answered],  

I [have looked, and behold/see, and behold,/see] a [candlestick all of gold/lampstand all of gold/menorah of pure gold/solid gold lampstand], [with/and] [a/its] [bowl/receptacle] [upon/on/at]&n