When God Governs Through Others
Zechariah 4:1–7 ║ Genesis 41:39–52
“Not by Power, Not by Position, but by the Spirit”
“While the world rushes for control, God quietly prepares redemption—governing not by force or position, but by the steady work of the Spirit.”
The Twelve Voices Shneim Asar Kolot
Zechariah 4:1-7
The Spirit Accomplishes God’s Will
4 Then the angel who had been talking with me returned and woke me, as though I had been asleep. 2 “What do you see now?” he asked.
I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl of oil on top of it. Around the bowl are seven lamps, each having seven spouts with wicks. 3 And I see two olive trees, one on each side of the bowl.” 4 Then I asked the angel, “What are these, my lord? What do they mean?”
5 “Don’t you know?” the angel asked.
“No, my lord,” I replied.
6 Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 7 Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’”
Old Testament Chumash
Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 41
39 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.
40 You will be in charge of my court, and by your orders will all my people be provided for. Only by the throne will I outrank you.”
41 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby confer on you power over all Egypt.”
42 Pharaoh removed his signet ring from the finger of his own hand and put it on a finger of Joseph’s hand. He had him dressed in robes of linen and placed the gold chain of office around his neck.
43 He had him ride in his second royal chariot, and they proclaimed before him, “The king’s counselor! How wise he is for his young age! Bend the knee to him!” He was thus given kinglike authority over all Egypt.
44 Pharaoh then said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh. I decree that without your say, no man may lift his hand or his foot in all Egypt.”
45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Tzafnat Pa’ne’ach [“He who deciphers the cryptic”], and gave him Asenat, daughter of Potiphera, lord of On, as a wife. Joseph thus went out to oversee Egypt.
46 Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, and he traveled all throughout Egypt.
47 During the seven years of plenty, the inhabitants of the land gathered grain in unending handfuls.
48 Joseph collected all the surplus food during the seven years that had now come to pass in Egypt, and he placed the food in the cities. Joseph placed with the food some soil from the fields surrounding the city.
49 Joseph amassed quantities of grain as abundant as the sands of the sea, until the treasurer had to stop counting it since there was too much to count.
50 Two sons were born to Joseph before the first year of famine arrived, borne to him by Asenat, daughter of Potiphera, lord of On.
51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh [Menasheh, “causing to forget”]—“because,” he said, “God has made me forget all my past hardships, and all my father’s household.”
52 He named the second son Ephraim [from peri, “fruit”]—“because,” he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
CHIASTIC CENTER
Bereshit (Genesis) 41:39–52
A God-given wisdom recognized
B Power transferred (ring, robes, chariot)
C Identity changed / mission begins
D Stored abundance (CENTER)
C′ Family born within calling
B′ Authority exercised through naming
A′ God named as true source
Review
1. About Power
If God can accomplish His will without force, why are we so certain that urgency and control are signs of faithfulness?
2. About Waiting
What if waiting is not passivity, but the most demanding form of obedience God requires of us?
3. About Leadership
How might our understanding of leadership change if authority is proven not by visibility, but by what we quietly preserve for others?
4. About Redemption (Advent bridge)
If God often prepares deliverance long before it appears, where might He be working right now? (While we are still anxious, tired, or waiting)
WORD STUDY
רוּחַ — Ruach
Sustaining Spirit
→ Power that works without forceשֶׁפַע — Shefa
Flowing abundance
→ Provision that is managed, not consumedסוֹד — Sod
Hidden counsel
→ Wisdom revealed to the faithful stewardמְנוּחָה — Menuchah
Holy restraint / settled trust
→ The ability to wait, store, and not panicפְּרִי בַּצָּרָה — Pri Ba-Tzarah
Fruit in affliction
→ Ephraim’s theology in one phrase
