For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
For who hath despised the day of small things? He reproves their ungrateful unbelief, which they felt because of the humble beginning compared with the greatness of the undertaking; and encourages them with the assurance that their progress in the work, though small, was an earnest of great and final success, because Yahweh's eye is upon Zerubbabel and the work, to support him with His favour. Contrast "great shall be the day of Jezreel" (Hosea 1:11) with "the day small of things" here.
For they shall rejoice ... with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord - rather (as there is no with in the Hebrew), 'they, even those seven eyes of the Lord (cf. Zechariah 3:9), which run to and fro though the whole earth, shall rejoice and see (i:e., shall rejoicingly see) the plummet (literally, the stone of tin) in the hand of Zerubbabel' (Moore): the plummet in his hand indicating that the work is going forward to its completion. The Hebrew punctuation and collocation of the words, however, favour the English version, of which the sense is, They who incredulously "despised" such "small" beginnings of the work as are made now, shall rejoicingly see it going on to completion under Zerubbabel, "with" (the aid of) those seven" - namely, the "seven eyes upon one stone" (Zechariah 3:9); which are explained, "they are the eyes of the Lord which," etc. (Pembellus.) So differently do men and Yahweh regard the "small" beginnings of God's work. Thus "many of the priests and Levites, and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice" (Ezra 3:12; Haggai 2:3). Men "despised" the work in its early stage: God rejoicingly regards it, and shall continue to do so.
Which run to and fro through the whole earth. Nothing in the whole earth escapes the eye of Yahweh, so that He can ward off all danger from His people, come from what quarter it may, and can "open great and effectual doors of usefulness," in spite of the "many adversaries," in prosecuting His work (Proverbs 15:3; 1 Corinthians 16:9).