Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

December 5– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“[In a vision] the Lord showed the prophet, Zechariah, four carpenters.”

—Zechariah 1:20

In the vision described in this chapter, the prophet had seen four terrible horns (which often represent kings). They were pushing this way and that way, causing great destruction. The prophet asked the Lord, “What are these?” And the answer was, “These are the horns which have scattered Israel.” He saw before him a representation of those powers which had oppressed the church of God. There were four of them because the church is attacked from all sides.

As Zechariah saw the destruction these kings had caused, he had good reason to feel disappointed. But suddenly there appeared before him four carpenters. He asked the Lord, “What will these carpenters do?” These are the men God would use to break the horns into pieces. God always finds the right people for his work, and he finds them at the right time. The prophet did not see the carpenters at first but only the “horns.” But then, at the right time, the carpenters came into view.

Notice how the Lord finds the right number of carpenters. He didn’t find only three, but four; there were four horns, and there must be four carpenters to defeat them. God also finds the kind of men— not men with pens to write or architects to draw up plans but four builders to get dirty and do rough work. Rest assured that when the “horns” grow troublesome, the “carpenters” will be found. The church of God may be weak at certain moments, but don’t worry! There may be growing up in obscurity valiant reformers who will shake the nations. The Lord knows where to find his servants. He has a multitude of mighty men in hiding, and at his word they will engage in battle.

Let us remain faithful to Christ, and he, in the right time, will raise up for us a defense, whether it be in the day of our personal need, or in the season of danger to his Church. [M&E]