🛑 Zechariah 4:6 | My End, His Beginning

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Today, we’re looking at three Hebrew words - let’s get right into it!

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Then he said to me, “____ __ ___ ____ __ ___ ____ to Zerubbabel: ___ __ _____, nor by _____, but by my _____, says the Lord of hosts.

Zechariah 4:6

Let’s sit with the words of Zechariah 4:6. A whole world opens when we look closely at three Hebrew words.

1. chayil (KHIGH-yul) — “might”

Meaning: strength in numbers, as in armies, resources, or manpower.

This word often describes military force or collective human strength. It’s the kind of strength people admire: impressive, visible, measurable.

But God tells Zerubbabel that His work will not be accomplished through sheer manpower or visible momentum. The temple won’t rise because the people finally got strong. It will rise because God is present.

2. koach (KO-akh) — “power”

Meaning: personal ability, as in skill, endurance, or inner strength.

If might is group strength, power is individual strength.

It’s the kind of ability you feel responsible to generate: “I should be able to do this.” or “If I just try harder, I can push through.”

Zerubbabel didn’t lack desire. He lacked capacity. The obstacles were simply too much for one man and God wanted him to know that this wasn’t his burden to carry alone.

His vision directs attention away from Zerubbabel’s ability and toward the God who empowers him.

3. ruach (ROO-akh) — “spirit”

Meaning: breath, wind, life, as in the empowering presence of God.

This is the turning point of the verse.

In the vision in Zechariah 4, oil flows continually into the lamp stand, symbolizing God’s Spirit as the source of unending light and strength. The lamp never runs out. The rebuilding isn’t powered by exhausted humans but by a God who never grows tired.

This whole vision is meant to show (as we’ve pointed out many times in many ways because that’s how the Bible teaches) success comes only through God’s Spirit, not human effort.

Ruach: Where our strength ends, His begins.

God is not asking you to be mighty.
God is not asking you to be powerful.

God is asking you to be dependent.

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Imagine you’re trying to carry a couch through a doorway alone.

You angle it. You twist it. You mutter your “church-appropriate” frustrations.
You’re determined to make it work. And then someone taps your shoulder and says, “Hey… want help?”

Suddenly the impossible becomes surprisingly manageable. That is ruach — God’s Spirit — in everyday life.

Not swooping in as a last-minute rescue, but standing beside you, nudging you to let Him help you. Think of one area where you’ve been relying on your own might or power. Name it quietly before God.

Reflect on what God said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9:

Then pray this simple line, slowly:

“Lord, I don’t need to be strong today. I just need to be dependent on You.”

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Then 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 of hosts.

Zechariah 4:6