Do not despise these small beginnings. Zechariah 4:10 nlt
At our wedding shower, our shy friend Dave stood in a corner clutching an oblong, tissue-wrapped object. When his turn came to present his gift, he brought it forward. Evan and I unwrapped it to discover a hand-carved piece of wood containing perfect oblong concentric woodgrain circles and the engraved sentence, “Some of God’s miracles are small.” The plaque has hung in our home for forty-five years, reminding us again and again that God is at work even in the small things. Paying a bill. Providing a meal. Healing a cold. All tallying up to an impressive record of God’s provision.
Through the prophet Zechariah, the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel received a similar message from God regarding the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. After returning from their Babylonian captivity, a season of slow progress began, and the Israelites grew discouraged. “Do not despise these small beginnings,” God declared (Zechariah 4:10 nlt). He accomplishes His desires through us and sometimes in spite of us. “ ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (v. 6).
When we grow weary at the apparent smallness of God’s work in and around us, may we remember that some of His miracles may be “small.” He uses the small things to build toward His greater purposes.
Zechariah 4:6-10
6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
7 “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
10 “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone[a] in the hand of Zerubbabel?”
INSIGHT
1. Where have you seen God’s small miracles in your life?
2. How has He used small things to provide for your needs and the needs of those around you?
Zechariah was one of Israel’s post-exilic prophets. This means his ministry took place after some of the people returned following their seventy years of captivity in Babylon. The Talmud—a written rabbinical commentary on Jewish history and law—says that Zechariah, along with Ezra and Nehemiah, was of the Great Synagogue. This was an assembly of 120 of the leading rabbis and scholars of the day. Zechariah was a Levite born in Babylon and is referred to in Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 as well as in Nehemiah 12:16. Like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, he was both a prophet and a priest. The book of Zechariah contains a significant amount of messianic prophecy. The prophet uses messages of encouragement to call the people to repentance and, having physically returned to the land, to spiritually return to God. We too can be challenged spiritually as we consider how wonderful God is.
PRAYER
Dear God, thank You for working Your small miracles in my life. Please help me to notice all Your works! In Jesus name I pray and believe. Amen.
Read: Zechariah 4:6-10 | Bible in a Year: Isaiah 9-10; Ephesians 3
