Zechariah 2:1-5
A Vision of a Man with a Measuring Line
And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
Tag: God Protects those He Calls
The book of Zechariah is a stereotypical “prophet” book. When we think of a “prophet,” Zechariah fits the bill. The book is full of dreams and visions and oracles and confusing metaphors. The word pictures are odd, at times, but convey both past and future events and/or happenings. In the above passage Zechariah is sharing a dream he had. The dream is a man (we assume it was actually an angel, or maybe Jesus in the Old Testament, or, maybe even God Himself ... we just don’t know) measuring the city of Jerusalem ... as though “fitting” it for a new pair of pants. This was a time when the Israelites, who were in exile, are returning to the city. But, the city was in ruins. Zechariah was sent to motivate the returnees to build the Temple. However, the city they were living in and building in, was also in ruins. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had laid the city waste almost 70 years ago. The charred ruins were now these returnees, home. In the dream the city is being measured to be rebuilt. It will be a city that is so big and the habitants so many, that no walls could contain it. However, that would have freaked the current residents. A city, in those days, without walls meant danger. But, God assures them they don’t need walls, because He would not only be with them in their midst, He would be like a fiery wall surrounding them. God had called them back home. God had showed them that they were to be the chosen people to bring about the Messiah. The Messiah would usher in a kingdom. That Kingdom would have a city. That city would be vast. The walls of the City would be the protection, character and power of God ... like a fire. This assurance for the returning exiles would be refreshing. They would still have to see it by faith. Their current circumstances they could only see by the eyes of the flesh. Now they had to live by faith. The walls they could see were broken and stained with 70 year old residue. The wall God was speaking they could only see by faith and it was the fire and power and awesomeness of God. God is attempting to get their eyes off what the see and onto WHO is leading them and WHO will surround them. Today we have the same situation. Our eyes see danger, disappointment and despair all around us. Years of residue cling to us like the soot of a fire place. Yet, God promises to never leave us and to surround us with His EVERLASTING love. God will never allow anything to happen to us He has not already prepared for us and us for the circumstance. God is the fire around us and the glory within us.
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