THE first vision in the prophecy of Zechariah of the Man amongst the myrtle trees was one of encouragement to Israel as they faced the daunting task of returning to Jerusalem from exile and finding the city and the temple in ruins. They were assured that the Angel of the Lord, whom we understand was their promised Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, was in the midst of his people, and he was concerned to intercede on behalf of his people before God, and gain God's mercy and blessing for them in the difficult task ahead, and also to assure Israel that through God's power they would succeed. This next vision is also one to encourage Israel as they see all their enemies around them, and assure them they are on the victory side, and that whatever the forces against them, there was a deliverer to give them victory over their enemies.

As in all visions in Zechariah, it is good in the first place to understand the vision and have the details firmly fixed in our minds. This is a vision that is reasonably clear. Zechariah sees four horns. The horn was a symbol of power in the Old Testament. Probably this was because, being an age when animal husbandry was a large part of their life, they saw that the strongest and largest animals were usually the ones with horns, and these horns were their effective weapon of power against other animals. The horn in the vision represents a powerful enemy coming against Israel. The number four surely must represent the fact that such enemies surrounded the small land of Israel, and so came from all four points of the compass. This meaning for the horns is given to Zechariah in the explanation. The angel speaking with Zechariah says that the horns represent powers that have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.

After the horns Zechariah is shown four craftsmen, and is told that the craftsmen, also four to match the horns, and show that the craftsmen acting in all directions, are strength to overcome the power of the horns and throw them down.

The vision is quite clear. It is an assurance to Israel, that although all the outward signs were showing Israel as weak, and their enemies much stronger than they were, yet the power that was for Israel was far greater than the power of the enemies surrounding Jerusalem. By this vision Israel was being told that they need not be afraid of the enemies they saw arraigned against them, because as each enemy attacked their would be the craftsmen, the power provided by God to overcome the enemy. The craftsmen is a particularly apt picture to encourage. A craftsman with saw and chisel could cut and break any horn completely.

So Israel is assured that as God was on their side, they were on the victory side, whatever the signs around them may say. This is a message which is constantly being explained in the Bible. We have the case of Elisha. When Gehazi comes to him in fear and tells him that the Syrian army was all around them in order to take Elisha captive, Elisha tells his servant to look again, and when he does he sees the spiritual armies of the Lord, far greater in power and number, all around them to defend them. Then as the story goes on the Syrian army is afflicted with blindness, and Elisha is able to go out and lead them into the hands of the army of Israel. In the New Testament we have Jesus indicating the same thing when the disciples were frightened as their boat was being engulfed by the waves in the storm on Galilee. Jesus is with them in the boat, though asleep. Jesus stills the storm and chides them for unbelief. The truth being portrayed is the fact that with Jesus with them, the boat could never have sunk, and would have eventually reached shore safely, though the storm brought great difficulty.

How comforting this vision must have been to Israel as they looked at the enemies all around their ruined city, and as they found their efforts to rebuild the Temple were frustrated all the time by the enemy action all around them. They must have be prone frequently to doubt that they could possibly accomplish anything, and even tempted to give up. Indeed when we read Ezra and Nehemiah, which is the short history of these times, we see the many difficulties they were faced with, and the many actions of their enemies against them.

God was telling them to be of good courage and not to be afraid. God was encouraging them to go forward however daunting the prospect was from the enemies they faced. God was assuring them that he would provide for them the power and the resources to defeat their enemies, because he was their God, and that his power would be effective in neutralising all the power brought against them. Here is the constant call for faith in God for God's people which is the theme running through the Bible.

What message do we glean for ourselves as Christians today, and for the church today and every day. Surely it is that he that is for us is greater than the power against us, and that for every evil there is a remedy, and for every enemy there is a deliverer.

For a church that is under persecution in those parts of the world where there is active and aggressive opposition and persecution, this vision will be a strong assurances that God will not forsake them, and that his power is available which is stronger than that of their persecutors. Even if God is pleased to allow the opposition to continue for a time, and for this reason the church has to suffer, the assurance is still there that the church will triumph in the end, and will not be overcome by the enemy however great the persecution.

The fact that the church has survived down the centuries, and spread and grown, is an indication that there is a craftsman provided by God who will in the end cut down the persecutor and enemy, and that the suffering of God's people will have an end. The fact that the church has survived stronger in China over the last 50 or so years is an indication of this. Then there is the assurance which Jesus gave when he told his disciples in the Gospel that we need not fear those who can destroy our bodies, for they are unable to destroy the soul of God's people, and death is the escape into eternal glory which is for all who believe on Jesus.

Then for the church wherever it may be found this vision has an application as the church has to face any difficulty or trial. Wherever the Gospel is being opposed, and God's work hindered, this vision gives us the assurance that this opposition will be overcome and destroyed in God's good time, and so God's people are encouraged to stand firm and work on for the Lord, believing in the power of the Lord to bring the victory.

This vision also has great application to the spiritual warfare which every believer is engaged in, and particular fellowships of believers. We have spiritual enemies.

There is the horn or power of unbelief that Satan uses to attack the Christian. Faith is a gift of God which we are granted, but we have to use the gift, and often our experience brings doubts to the mind. We are tempted to doubt when we have prayed for some mercy or deliverance, and still that prayer seems not to have been answered. Or we all know the problem of continual failure to overcome sin within us, and the temptation Satan brings that we can't believe we are in God's favour if we go on sinning and failing. The temptation to doubt God is one of Satan's most powerful ploys, and he is a grand master in subtleties in the employment of it.

Then there is the constant enemy of temptation. Satan is ever active to tempt in order to cause us to sin, or if we resist, to worry us in such a way that we find ourselves in severe trial and pain from this constant assault.

Then the world around us is always active in its seductions, and although we may be victorious in the big issues, we find we so easily succumb to the lesser evils of sloth, and false business. The world strongly opposes all our desires to engage with God in spiritual communion, and we find ourselves drawn away from communion with God by this earthly duty or this fleshly desire or inclination.

The flesh also fights against us. As Paul says, the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, and there is no let up in this struggle. All of us have weaknesses which cause us great trouble most, if not all, of the time.

In all these horns, and others not mentioned, which surround the Christian, God has provided craftsmen to destroy these horns of power against us. This vision assures us that God has provided all the resources for the struggle so that we shall be victorious, so we must not give up or lose faith.

Paul speaks of the struggle in Ephesians 6:10ff. He tells us that the devil's schemes are terribly powerful, and are continual in their action against us. Paul indicates that sometimes the day is very evil like a gale which is so strong it will blow us away. These are the rulers and authorities in spirit realm which are much stronger than we are, but Paul tells us we can be strong in the Lord and the power of his might, and that we have an armour provided by the Lord which can protect us from all that the devil may throw at us.

We are given the belt of truth - the whole revelation of God in the Bible which contradicts all the lies of Satan, and shows us all that God has done to save and protect us and reminds us that salvation has taken us from Satan's jurisdiction and placed us under the authority of the Lord in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Then we have the breastplate of righteousness. This is the righteousness of Jesus Christ which satisfies all the demands of God's holiness, and which has been put to our account in the bank of heaven, which causes us to be declared righteous before God and accepted.

Then we have the shoes of the Gospel of peace. We know peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and this gives us the assurance that God is with us, and he will always defend us, and never forsake us.

Then their is the shield of faith. This is the faith we have been given as a gift from God to lay hold of all the promises and assurances in the Gospel, so that all the darts of doubts and lies the devil throws at us bounce off and are neutralized.

Then our heads are protected by salvation. This is the whole work of our Saviour in his life, death and resurrection which secures for us eternal salvation, which, being perfect, secures for us everlasting life which never can be lost.

We also have the active attacking weapon of the word of God. Jesus used this to defeat Satan in the desert. We can use it to attack the devil and drive him off, and the best way to use this weapon is to so live in the Word of God, that God's love, and the blessings of his realm, so fill our hearts and minds that we have no room for the insinuations of the evil one.

This is just a brief summary of the craftsmen God has provided for us to cut down the horns of power against us.

The craftsmen are provided, this does not mean we should be inactive and passive, but rather be encouraged to live and fight on in the service of Christ, and apply ourselves to the Word of God and prayer