Not By Might, Nor By Power, But By My Spirit, Says the LORD of Hosts

Continuing with understanding the breach in God’s house as the separation from His wisdom and into confusion, and the ongoing repair. As we have seen in previous posts it is often described in God’s word in the likeness of an unfaithful women leaving her husband and going after another, and the repair as their reconciliation.

Today a deeper look as the overflowing Divine correction that we’ve seen in previous posts, and this as flood of pure truth from God as if an immeasurable flash to enlightenment appearing in those receiving the epiphany. This idea can be seen summed up in a few verse from Isaiah 30: 25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD binds up the breach of his people, and heals the stroke of their wound.

Those studying with us know the mountains are the high places that rise out of the earth and describe the place of government. We also know these as the now unjust governments corrupted by the interference of men with their ideas of a “better way” than God’s, and by the ensuing confusion and chaos defined as Babylon (meaning confusion). These ideas of corrupted rule are what is depicted as being on “every high mountain, and upon every high hill” as the “towers,” that fall, as in the tower of Babble. We see them being destroyed by the rivers of water that overflow them, meaning the overflowing torrent of truth and correction that comes from God. These are the same as we looked at in detail yesterday.

We also know the sun and the moon to symbolize God’s form of church and civil government as they are intended to shine and reflect His reign of justice as light covering the earth. What we see spoken of is the demise of injustice in governing and the epiphany leading to what is depicted here as the light that shines seven times brighter that it was. We are also told this being the breach closed and the wound healed.

In the verses that follow in Isaiah 30 we see what brings this about. These should be viewed in the light of previous posts and Zechariah 4 & 5.

Isaiah 30
27 Behold, the name of the LORD comes from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.
29 You shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goes with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel.
30 And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.

Hebrews 12
25 See that you refuse not him that speak. For if they escaped not who refused him that spoke on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaks from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.

In recent days we have also looked at Hebrews 12 and its warning call to hear, and the connection to the Overflowing scourge of correction. Isaiah 30 begins by addressing the rebellious children that are taking counsel but not from the LORD, and covering themselves with a cover (their lies) that isn’t with His Spirit. It likens it to their going to Egypt and to Pharaoh, and in this it is likened to their returning to captivity they had been delivered from. It tells of the rebellion resulting in their being ruled (governed) by the confusion of man created systems opposed to God’s ways.

Isaiah 30
1 Woe to the rebellious children, says the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
4 For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.
5 They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.
6 The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.
7 For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
12 Wherefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:
13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a piece to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.
15 For thus says the LORD God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and you would not.
16 But you said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall you flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.
17 One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall you flee: till you be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: you shall weep no more: he will be very gracious unto you at the voice of your cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer you.
20 And though the LORD give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not your teachers be removed into a corner any more, but your eyes shall see your teachers:
21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk you in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left.
22 You shall defile also the covering of your graven images of silver, and the ornament of your molten images of gold: you shall cast them away as a soiled cloth; you shall say unto it, Get you hence.
23 Then shall he give the rain of your seed, that you shall sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall your cattle feed in large pastures.
24 The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.
25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD binds up the breach of his people, and heals the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.
29 You shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goes with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel.
30 And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.
31 For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian (the tyrant king) be beaten down, which smote with a rod.
32 And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the LORD shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it.
33 For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

(Tophet is in the valley of Hinnom – the great trash pit where the fires burned continually. It was outside Jerusalem in the place where the heathen once sacrificed their children into the fire to the idol Moloch. These are the depiction of hell and eternal torment, the word deriving from meaning a continual beating of a drum, as continually being held in contempt.)

This takes us to Zechariah 4 where in the beginning verses we see the seven lamps, as telling us what produces the light, seven pipes for pouring out, and the two olive trees telling us of the source of the oil that feeds the flame. This is telling of the same light, overflowing and source as we looked at above. We then see this explained as, “This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.”

The name Zerubbabel literally means the one flowing away from confusion; from zarab, meaning to flow away, and Babel, meaning confusion.

Zechariah goes on to address the Great corrupted governments of our time by saying, “7 Who are you, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shouting, crying, Grace, grace unto it.”

The two anointed ones are the two governments (church and civil under the LORD – sun and moon shining and reflecting His light) that have been anointed (endowed with/by the Holy Spirit) by the oil poured out. In this context we clearly see the meaning of the chapter.

Zechariah 4
1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And said unto me, What see you? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 So I answered and spoke to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Know you not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
6 Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.
7 Who are you, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
8 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and you shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.
10 For 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.
11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
13 And he answered me and said, Know you not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth.

Zechariah 5 then goes on to speak of stealing, falsely swearing in the name of the LORD, and of the ephah as symbolizing a set standard of measure. These speak of taking your neighbor’s property, of speaking lies and falsely swearing to it being truth, and the (false) unequal balance of justice. It is telling of the great commandments upon which not only do all the law and prophets hang, but upon which all hope of living in a civilized society is also dependents. The chapter is a direct reference to Leviticus 19 and to it as the origin of the commandment of reciprocal respect and equality in treatment of your neighbor. This is the objective of a just government – equally securing our God given rights, among them life, liberty, and property, no matter a person’s material station in life.

It’s only difficult to understand for those who refuse to see it because they disagree with its conclusions.

John 3
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hates the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Zechariah 5
1 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.
2 And he said unto me, What see you? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.
3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that steals shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that swears shall be cut off as on that side according to it.
4 I will bring it forth, says the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that swears falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
5 Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now your eyes, and see what is this that goes forth.
6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goes forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.
7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sits in the midst of the ephah.
8 And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.
10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?
11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.

(Shinar is a place in Babylon. It symbolizes the pinnacle of confusion as the balance of justice is now corrupted to its most extreme – as lead cast into the ephah. It is lifted between heaven and earth symbolizing injustice and inequality as what separated earth from heaven. It is telling that when it is reconciled heaven can be again on earth, as it is in heaven.)

Leviticus 19
11 You shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
12 And you shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
13 You shall not defraud your neighbor, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with you all night until the morning.
14 You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD.
15 You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: you shall not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.
16 You shall not go up and down as a talebearer among your people: neither shall you stand against the blood of your neighbor; I am the LORD.
17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart: you shall in any wise rebuke your neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him.
18 You shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD.