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.”

Zechariah 4:6

Might, power, wealth, education, etc.  As I sit here reflection, these describe the culture I live in.  I suppose there is nothing all that bad about these things except that they blind me to the needs of all mankind all over the world today.  There is a mad scramble for power to maintain power in the world, for our good and hopefully to help others.

It fell on Zerubbabel to assist over 40,000 Jews to return to Judah following their exile in Babylon.  At this time Babylon was a mighty power in the land.  As is usually the case power and might rule the day.  Weaker nations come up short.

We do not read that the Jews longed for a strong imperial government like Babylon.  In fact the returning exiles were so powerless that they could do little except survive in extremely difficult circumstances.

Having nothing, what could they rely on?  The Prophet Zechariah had a word from the Lord, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.’ 

Is this not a fitting word of God for us today when our nation is by far the strongest in the whole world?  We want power to keep our position and we have it.  The Prophet of God reminds us that earthly might and power are in the end, futile.  What matters is whether we have the Spirit of God as our refuge, our stronghold, our eternal home.