Bible Stories for the Young
Green triangles are narrated and fully illustrated and will have simple animation added along the way. Yellow triangles have narration, but the illustrations aren't done yet. Videos with red triangles are planned. New and updated videos will be added very often.
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Once the people were back at work on God’s House, one night an angel woke Zechariah up and said, “Wake up! Wake up! Look! What do you see?”
Zechariah said, “I…I see a lampstand made of pure gold, with a bowl for oil on the top. There are seven lamps, each with a pipe connected for its oil. There are two olive trees — one on each side of the bowl, giving it a constant supply of oil to keep it lit. But what are they?”
The angel asked Zechariah, “You don’t know?”
Zechariah answered, “No, sir, I don’t.”
So the angel told him, “It is a picture-message for Zerubbabel. God is saying, ‘It’s not with might, or power, numbers or strength, but it’s by God’s Spirit.’”
(God’s message was about His House… that it’s not man’s strength or power that gets the job done, but it’s by the anointing oil of His Spirit.)
The angel continued, “Aahh! What are you, ‘big’ mountain? You’re gonna be smashed down flat in front of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel is going to get the job done to shouts of, ‘Grace, Grace, Grace! God Bless it! God Bless it!’”
“Zerubbabel’s hands laid the foundation, and his hands will finish it. So don’t you dare despise the day of small beginnings, because the eyes of the Lord rejoice when they see the measuring line in the hand of Zerubbabel?”
Then Zechariah asked the angel, “What are the olive trees that pour out the golden oil?”
The angel asked back, “Don’t you know?”
“Uhhh… No, sir,” Zechariah said.
So the angel told him, “Those are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”
Woah… This all sounds like it has something to do with God’s Big Plan, doesn’t it? Oh yeah…Through the oil of His Spirit in gifted men and women the Lord Almighty has a plan to build a Home for Himself in the lives of people.
So even though this was a message for Zerubbabel, it was a message for us too. Because lots of people want to try to do “great things for God.” And maybe they work with all their might and power to try to build big flashy things “for God.”
But let me tell you a little secret… if those things don’t have God’s anointing oil, if God is not building the house, then (Phht! sound) they won’t have the power to change your life. And you’ll find out later in this story that Jesus is all about changing lives. God was never after a building (He doesn’t need a building) — He’s after a people.
So keep those Heaven-Eyes peeled… and watch for God’s anointed Life. And never underestimate the power of the little things, or the small starts. Changing one life at a time (even with a cup of water) may seem small… but it’s a big deal.
And you’ll hear in the stories to come, that God promised that by the time He‘s finished, through those small beginnings, He‘s gonna build something BIG in the lives of people.”