By My Spirit

“So he said to me, ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the LORD Almighty.’”—Zechariah 4:6

The Torah portion for this week is Behaalotecha, from Numbers 8:1–12:16 and the Haftorah from Zechariah 2:14–4:7.

David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, once said: “In Israel, to be a realist, you have to believe in miracles.” Ben Gurion recognized that the creation of Israel and her ability to survive was nothing other than miraculous. Israel is a living testimony that God – not politics or armies – controls the world. Our world is not a product of strength; it is a reflection of spirit.

In this week’s Torah portion, we read about the menorah, the seven-branched lamp that the priests would light in the Temple. In the Haftorah, we read a portion from Zechariah that includes his vision involving a menorah. This is also the Haftorah read on the Shabbat of Hanukkah, the holiday when we light our own menorahs in memory of the miraculous defeat of the Greek oppressors by the Jewish Maccabees.

You Have God's Powerful Spirit

When your life gets hard and you feel overwhelmed, you can tell yourself, "Well, at least I don't have it as tough as Zerubbabel." 

That man was the governor of Judea, whose monumental task it was to rebuild the shattered nation after the Babylonian armies' terrible destruction and after 70 years of neglect and abandonment. Judea was burned, broken, and choked with weeds. 

Zerubbabel was all too aware that he lacked both the people and resources to do this impossible job. The prophet Zechariah was commissioned to remind Zerubbabel that God always equips the people he calls. "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty" (Zechariah 4:6).

Do you know what that means for you? Since the Spirit is living in you, you have greater strength than you think. You are wiser than you think. You know what else? Zerubbabel got the temple rebuilt. 

      

Today's Grace Moment: 

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