By My Spirit
In the manual: Come, Follow Me lesson 50, “Holiness unto the Lord,” on Gospel Library
Start
Zechariah saw a golden lampstand with seven lamps, and an olive tree on each side of it (Zechariah 4:2–3).
Read Together
Zerubbabel, the governor, had laid the temple’s foundation years before, and the work had stalled (Zechariah 4:9; Ezra 4:24). The builders had little money and many enemies.
6Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
9The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
What It Teaches
The angel explained the vision in one line. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Lamps burn as long as oil keeps flowing to them. The temple would be finished because the Spirit of the Lord was with the builders.
“Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain” (verse 7). The problems in front of them looked like a mountain, and the Lord said they would be leveled.
“For who hath despised the day of small things?” (verse 10). The foundation looked small, and the same hands that laid it would finish it (verse 9). By small and simple things the Lord brings great things to pass (Alma 37:6).
When the last stone went on, the people would shout, “Grace, grace unto it” (verse 7). The Lord’s grace finishes what our hands begin.
Talk About It
What is one small thing you do each day, like a prayer or a kind word, that the Lord could use to build something great?
Take to Church
Zechariah learned that the temple would be finished by the Lord’s Spirit and by his grace. Small beginnings matter to the Lord, and he finishes what he starts.