Zechariah 4:7-9

Zechariah 4:7-9. Who, rather, What art thou, O great mountain O great obstacle, apparently as insurmountable and immoveable as a high mountain. Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain Thou shalt sink into nothing. The obstacle shall give way, the difficulty vanish, the opposition cease. Removing mountains, or levelling them into plains, are proverbial expressions, denoting the overcoming the greatest difficulties, and removing all obstacles. So that the angel here encourages Zerubbabel to go on with his undertaking of rebuilding the temple, and restoring the Jewish state, assuring him that all the endeavours of the Samaritans, and of others of the neighbouring people to hinder him, would be fruitless, and that nothing should be able to withstand him. As the words of the text proceed immediately from Jehovah, Blayney thinks they appear more dignified, if considered as expressing the same sense by an interrogation, closed by a brief answer, thus: “What art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, a level plain.” He shall bring forth the headstone Namely, of the temple. He shall lay the top or headstone upon the walls of the temple: agreeably to what is said in the next verse, that he should finish the temple, as well as lay the foundation of it; with shoutings, crying Grace, grace unto it Which action of Zerubbabel shall be accompanied with the joyful acclamations of the people, as also with their earnest prayers, wishing all prosperity, and a long continuance of it, to the temple, and those that should worship God therein. As if he had said, As the free favour of God began and finished the building, may the same favour ever dwell in it and replenish it. But although this be the literal sense of the passage, it has undoubtedly also a mystical meaning. As Christ is figuratively intended by the stone laid before Joshua, (Joshua 3:9,) so here it is figuratively signified that God would bring forth, or bring into the world, the Messiah, as the top, or headstone, the last or finishing ornament of the church, God’s spiritual house, Ephesians 2:21. To this sense the Chaldee paraphrase expounds the words: “His Messiah shall come forth, who was named from all eternity, and shall obtain the empire of all the kingdoms of the earth.” And St. Jerome tells us upon the place, that the ancient Jews explained it so. His hands also shall finish He shall have the happiness of seeing the great work, which he hath begun, finished and brought to perfection. And thou shalt know, &c. These may either be the words of the prophet to Zerubbabel, signifying, that when the prediction now uttered was accomplished, it would evidently appear to have been delivered by a divine commission, in which sense similar words must be understood, Zechariah 2:9. Or they may be the words of the angel to the prophet, signifying that when the promise made in the preceding clause was fulfilled, then he would know that God had sent this divine instructer to him, and that the vision was really from God.