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 in the hand of Zerubbabel?”

11 Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”

12 Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”

13 He replied, “Do you not know what these are?” “No, my lord,” I said.

14 So he said, “These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”

This question in verse 10 is one of the most quietly powerful in the whole Bible.

Who dares despise the day of small things?

The context matters. Zerubbabel was rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. Not Solomon’s temple — the magnificent, gold laden, awe inspiring original. This was a far more modest reconstruction. The people who remembered the first temple wept when they saw the foundations of the new one because the comparison was so painful. It looked small. It looked insufficient. It looked like a disappointment compared to what had been before.

And God asks — who dares despise this?

Not — who thinks this is small. Everyone could see it was small. But who dares despise it. Who looks at what God is doing in its early unimpressive stages and decides it is not worth taking seriously. Who writes off the modest beginning because it does not look like the glorious thing they were expecting.

The answer implied in the question is — nobody should. Nobody who understands how God works should despise the day of small things. Because small is almost always where He starts.

The reason nobody should despise the small beginning is right there in the same verse.

The seven eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth.

We saw the seven eyes in the previous passage — the stone with seven eyes representing complete and total sight. Nothing hidden, nothing overlooked, every angle seen at once. And those same eyes are ranging throughout the entire earth.

God sees everything. Not just the impressive things. Not just the finished things. Not just the things that look like they are worth watching. He sees the small beginning. The modest foundation. The work that has not yet become what it is going to be.

And He rejoices when He sees the capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel.

Not when the temple is finished and everyone is celebrating. When the capstone is still in the builder’s hand. In the middle of the process. Before the completion. God is already rejoicing over what He sees coming even while it still looks small to everyone around it.

That is worth sitting with. God is not waiting until your life looks impressive before He takes an interest in what He is building in you. He sees what it is becoming while it still looks like a small unfinished thing to everyone else — including you.

Zechariah asks the angel about the two olive trees twice.

And twice he gets no immediate answer. The angel turns the question back — do you not know what these are?

And Zechariah says with complete honesty — no, my lord. I do not know.

There is something I really appreciate about that answer. Zechariah is in the middle of a vision given to him by God. He is being shown things of enormous significance. And he simply admits — I do not understand this. I do not know what I am looking at.

He does not pretend. He does not guess loudly and hope he sounds convincing. He just says no. I do not know.

That kind of honesty before God is underrated. We sometimes feel like we need to have everything figured out. Like admitting confusion or uncertainty is a sign of weak faith. But Zechariah’s honest I do not know is what opens the door to the explanation. The answer came because he was willing to admit he did not already have it.

God can work with the person who honestly says I do not understand what is happening right now. He is less able to work with the person who pretends they have it all figured out.

The image of the two olive branches beside the gold pipes pouring out golden oil is one of the richest in all of Zechariah.

Olive oil in Scripture represents anointing. The Spirit of God. The flow of divine empowerment that enables people to do what they could never do in their own strength.

And here the oil is not being carefully rationed. It is pouring. Through gold pipes. Continuously. From the olive branches directly into the lampstand that gives light.

The earlier part of Zechariah 4 contains the famous verse — not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord. This image of the continuously flowing oil is the picture of what that looks like in practice. The light does not come from human effort. The building does not get completed through Zerubbabel’s strength alone. The oil flows from a source that is not human and it flows continuously.

We do not have to generate what only God can supply. We just have to stay connected to the source. The branches do not manufacture the oil. They receive it and let it flow.

The angel’s final explanation is simple but significant.

These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.

Anointed. Set apart. Empowered specifically for the purpose of serving. Not serving themselves. Not building their own platforms or advancing their own agendas. Serving the Lord of all the earth.

The anointing and the serving are inseparable here. The oil flows so that light can be given. The empowerment exists for the purpose of the mission. You are not anointed for your own comfort or to feel special. You are anointed because there is work to do and God needs people through whom His oil can flow.

This speaks directly into the life of anyone who feels called to something. The calling is always toward service. The gifting is always for others. The oil that flows through you is never meant to stay with you.

The thread running through this whole passage is one of perspective.

The people around Zerubbabel saw a small unimpressive rebuilding project and felt disappointed. God saw a capstone in the hand of His chosen builder and rejoiced.

The gap between those two perspectives is enormous. And it is the gap between despising the day of small things and understanding how God works.

He starts small. He uses the modest beginning. He sees the finished thing while it is still in pieces. His eyes range throughout the entire earth and nothing that He is building escapes His attention no matter how unimpressive it looks in its early stages.

And through the whole process the oil flows. Not because of human effort or human strength. Because His Spirit is the source and the source does not run dry.

Do not despise what God is building in you right now just because it looks small.

His seven eyes see it. He is already rejoicing over what it is becoming.

Stay connected to the source. Let the oil flow through you. Serve the Lord of all the earth with what He has placed in your hands.

The capstone is already in the builder’s hand.

If this reflection spoke to you, consider subscribing to follow along my journey of faith, meditation, and rebuilding — one day at a time. Your support truly means more than you know ❤️