June 13 - Zechariah 2

June 13 - Zechariah 2:1-13

The Man with a Measuring Line

As Jerusalem is being rebuilt, Zechariah has a vision about a surveyor who is there to measure the city. Just as this process is beginning, a second angel shows up, saying that Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the huge number of people and animals that will live there. But, God will be a wall of fire around it for protection and the glory within. (Zechariah 2:3-5)

In Revelation 11:1, we find an angel handing a measuring stick to John and telling him to temple of God and the altar and to count the worshipers there.

Both of these types of measurement indicate that there is something to be built. In Revelation, the implication is that of the new temple in the new Jerusalem, in Zechariah, the city walls were rubble left from the destruction by the Babylonians. But, the promise from God is that people will fill Jerusalem again and it will grow too large to be encompassed by mere walls. Only the protection of the Lord God will be enough to keep the people of Jerusalem safe.

The land of the north in Zechariah 2:6 is more than likely Babylon, though it lay directly to the east. However, the desert separated the two lands and to travel there, you had to begin by traveling north out of Jerusalem. The Lord is encouraging the exiles to return to their home. He promises to punish the nations that plundered Judah and in Zechariah 2:10, I promises to live among His people once again.

Our promise comes in Zechariah 2:11. "Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you."

We will be His people. Our response?

"Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling." (Zechariah 2:13)