Shouts of "Grace"
Scripture Reading: Zechariah 4:7
Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”
The book of Zechariah is full of prophetic imagery, some difficult to sort through. Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture here helps us understand what this is about. One of the main themes in the book is the rebuilding of the Temple after the return from the Babylonian exile.
Years ago I was in the middle of a job and had just finished framing up a roof for an addition to a home. The night after I finished the framing and before the roof decking was installed, a huge storm came through and the high winds pushed the framing over. I can say that it was more discouraging and it felt like a more daunting task to rebuild what had been torn down than it was when I started with a blank slate.
When the exiles returned to Jerusalem, and they looked at the ruble pile that, 70 years prior, had been their city and temple, rebuilding seemed to be an impossible task. Zerubbabel was one of the leaders tasked with leading the rebuilding effort.
This prophecy promised that the temple would be completed and Zerubbabel would be around to see it finished. Biblical scholars think that the mountain referred to here was the mountain of debris that stood on the temple mount that would have to be leveled before rebuilding the temple could commence.
According to this word of the Lord, given through Zechariah the prophet, that mountain was nothing. It would become a plain before Zerubbabel. And he would not only clear the ground, he would see the temple built and he would lay the capstone that would mark its completion.
But before we get ahead of ourselves in praise of Zerubbabel, his tenacity, and leadership skill, note what is prophesied about what would be the shouts of the people as the capstone was set in place… “Grace, grace to it!”
When the work was finished, there would be a general agreement and acknowledgment that it was all a work of grace. Yes, Zerubbabel was the human instrument God used, and yes there were stone masons, artists, carpenters, and a whole host of other laborers involved in the temple reconstruction work. But these shouts of grace were a joyful recognition that apart from the grace of God, all human effort would have produced nothing, and the temple would not have been finished.
There is a temple of God being built today. In the New Testament, sometimes the individual Christian is referred to as the temple of God. Other times, it is the whole church that is spoken of as God’s temple. The point applies to both, and that point is this:
The building of God’s temple will be completed. The sanctification work in Christians will end in glorification, the eradication of sin, and the perfection of the image of Christ in them. The building of the church will be finished as well. The gates of hell will not prevail against her. Every member, stone upon stone, will be carefully and beautifully placed in the church of Jesus Christ. And when that work is finished, whether the glorification of the saint or the building of God’s church, all of creation will stand back and look and shout, “Grace, grace to it.”
Yes, people did their part. They evangelized and discipled; they prayed and preached. But apart from God’s working in and through our work, all is vain. In the end, we will all know it was all by grace, and this we will joyfully shout.
