We are becoming familiar with the book of Zechariah. For most Christians, it is a closed book. But God is opening this word to us because it is so relevant to world events today and to our personal journey in God.
Today we enter Zechariah’s third vision recorded in chapter 2. The vision, as a whole, is a word of encouragement to all God’s people throughout the ages. It is first a word to the Jews in Zechariah’s day. However, its total fulfillment for the nation of Israel occurs in the last days. And the promises in this vision apply to us as children of Abraham by faith (Gal. 3:7). We will consider all three applications in our study today.
Within this vision are four messages:
1) Verses 3-5 contains a message addressed to the man with a measuring line in his hand.
2) Verses 6-9 relays a message directed toward the Jews remaining in Babylon.
3) Verses 10-12 is a message promising blessing to all God’s people.
4) Verse 13 is a message to all of humanity.
These messages are all interrelated and are understood together. But it is easier to analyze them individually as they appear in the vision. Once we understand the details better we can then comprehend the flow of whole vision.
I. The message addressed to the MAN WITH A MEASURING LINE in his hand is in VERSES 3-5:
“Then I raised my eyes and looked.” The NIV says, Then I looked up. . . .” That phrase is used to introduce the new vision. Are you looking up? That’s where the encouragement is. We look around at the world, and we see a lot of discouraging trends. But when we look up—when we turn our eyes toward the Lord, we are encouraged by what we see. There is encouragement in an upward look].
“Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 So 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.’ 3 And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him, 4 who said to him, ‘Run, speak to this young man, saying: 'Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. 5 For I,' says the Lord, 'will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”i
The SCENE in verses 1-2 begins with “a man with a measuring line in his hand.”
It is possible that this man is angelic. But Zechariah is probably seeing a man like himself. In fact, this man is representative of Zechariah’s thinking and the way all those in Jerusalem were thinking at the time.ii The question in their minds was this: What is going to happen to Jerusalem? And in that context, what is going to happen to us? How large will Jerusalem be when God fulfills the promises given in Haggai 2?iii
The measuring line in this context was an instrument used in Zechariah’s day for surveying the land. The man is proceeding to measure the future Jerusalem so the ancient property lines can be reestablished for the full reoccupation of Jerusalem.iv This vision explains more fully the revelation given in the first vision, Zechariah 1:16: “Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘And a surveyor's line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.’”v
Zechariah 2:3 introduces two angels in the scene. “The angel who talked with me” is the interpreting angel we encountered in the first vision.vi As he was leaving, another angel met him on the way with a directive: “Run, tell that young man. . .” There is an intensity, an urgency, perhaps excitement, in the activity: “Run, don’t walk!
Who is this second angel? He has more authority than the interpreting angel for we see him commanding the interpreting angel to run with the message. Additionally, he is the one who speaks the oracle of God. You may recall that the angel with the answers in the first vision was the Angel of the Lord, the preincarnate Christ. That terminology is not used in this vision the way it was in Zechariah 1:11, but the narrative here points to the preincarnate Christ as the second angel in this vision.vii
Who is the “young man” in Zechariah 2:4 who is to receive the message? Eugene Merrill thinks the “young man” is Zechariah.viii However, the urgency in the command to “run and tell” is to stop the surveyor from proceeding with an unnecessary task. The “young man” in verse 4 is the “man with the measuring line.”ix
The MESSAGE this young man is to receive is recorded in verses 4-5.
It begins with the revelation that “Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it” (NIV). From that statement we understand the measuring of Jerusalem would have included the walls that would protect it. The correction is this: Jerusalem will one day overflow in prosperity so much that walls could not contain the blessing. The presence of walls around the city in Zechariah’s day was primarily for protection from invaders. But the unintended consequence of walls is the restriction of the growth of the city.
Zechariah and his companions were thinking too small. They did not realize the extent to which God would bless his people. The reason given for Jerusalem being “a city without walls” is “because of the great number of people and animals in it” (NIV).
And do we sometimes underestimate the blessing God has in mind for us? We feel our own shortcomings and limitations. We aim low because we don’t feel we deserve more, or we don’t feel we can attain to more. But our mistake is this: We underestimate the favor bestowed on us through Christ. We underestimate the heart of God toward us. We don’t realize how marvelous his plans for us are. As a result, we limit the Holy One of Israel by measuring the walls of our lives based on our own limited ability.x Remember what God said in Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ says the LORD, ‘thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.’” Do you really think an out-of-control Federal government can stop that? God can prosper you in the midst of a depression. He is the one who gives you power to get wealth (Deut. 8:18). Is anything too hard for God?
We are entering into a time when we can trust God to do greater things than we have seen in the past. The devil is showing his hand. But when God raises his hand all else bows! Your future is not confined to what you can do in your puny natural strength. Your future depends on your trust in the living God. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31). “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). “‘Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you,’ says the Lord And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” Have you ever felt like a crushed worm? It’s hard to get any lower than a worm. After 70 years of captivity, the Jews felt like a lowly worm. But God has an answer for that: “I will help you.” Do you need some help today? He is the one that can help you. He is motivated by his love to help you. He knows the kind of help you need. He is more than able to meet that need. “For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’” Just take hold of his hand and let him lead the way.
The central message of this vision is God remembers. God has not forgotten his people. He is determined to bless them. And what he determines to do, gets done!
Zechariah 2:5 follows that up with this assurance. “‘For I,' says the Lord, 'will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.'" The NIV says, “. . . I will be its glory within.’” Here is the double blessing of God’s presence: within and without.
Jerusalem will need no physical walls because God himself will be a wall of protection around her. Remember that pillar of fire in the wilderness? It represented God’s presence guiding and protecting his people. When God opened the Red Sea for his people in Exodus 14, Pharaoh and his army pursued them with a vengeance. But Exodus 14:24-28 tells us what God did about it. “Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. 25 And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.’ 26 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.’ 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.” “Not one of them survived” (NIV). God knows how to take care of his people. He will take care of you and me.
He not only surrounds us with songs of deliverance (Ps. 32:7). He not only defends us as a wall of fire around us. (I wonder what that looks like to demonic spirits in the spiritual realm.) But he also empowers us from within with his glory. “‘And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within’” (NIV). For the Christian, that glory is in every believer through the indwelling Holy Spirit. The manifestation of that glory comes as we yield ourselves to the Lord and let him work through us.
The promise to Israel was that the glory of God would return to the nation. Ezekiel had seen the departure of God’s glory from the Jerusalem temple in a vision recorded in Ezekiel 10-11. The gentiles could have never destroyed the temple if that had not happened. But God’s judgment on sinning Israel was the removal of his glory from their midst. But now in our text comes the promise that glory will return. The fullness of that promise will occur during the Millennial reign of Christ. One manifestation of this promise was the incarnation of Christ. But the fullness did not come because Israel did not receive her Messiah. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was also a manifestation of the glory in preparation for the last-days fulfillment.
II. The message directed toward the JEWS REMAINING IN BABYLON is recorded in VERSES 6-9.
It begins with a WARNING. Zechariah 2:6-7: “‘Up, up! Flee from the land of the north,’ says the Lord; for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the Lord. 7 ‘Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.’”
Most of the Jews in Zechariah’s day had not left Babylon. Only the most devoted people were willing to uproot and take the difficult, dangerous journey to Jerusalem. The others had grown comfortable in Babylon. But Haggai’s message and Zechariah’s visions warn of a coming judgment on Babylon.xi The only way to escape that judgment was for the Jews to obediently get out of there. Could God protect them while in Babylon? Yes, he could. In fact, he had done that for 70 years. But when God says, “Get out,” and we don’t obey, then the protection is not guaranteed.
There is an application of this principle in 2 Corinthians 6:17 where Christians are instructed: “Therefore ‘Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.’” This fleeing the wrath to come was exemplified by Lot’s departure from Sodom when God destroyed that city.xii
Just as Zion, the city of God, represents the center of God’s presence and activity in the earth, the city of Babylon represents the center of the worldly system in opposition to God.xiii Its destruction is prophecied in Revelation 18. There was a partial destruction of Babylon in Zechariah’s day, but the utter downfall of Babylon is prophecies for the end times in Revelation 18. There again is the instruction for God’s people is to avoid the judgment by separating from Babylon. Revelation 18:4: “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.” What fellowship has light with darkness. You and I can not partake of the world’s lifestyle and claim the protection of the Lord at the same time.xiv The protection is found in coming under the Lord’s headship in obedience.xv
God sent Israel into the Babylonian captivity as a judgment on their unfaithfulness. But that was a judgment measured with mercy. It was to only last 70 years. The time has come for them to return to their homeland. The “land of the north” in verse 6 parallels the statement in verse 7, “Escape, you who dwell with the daughters of Babylon.”xvi
The land of the north is Babylon but may have larger eschatological implications. The phrase “for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven” (NIV) follows. Boda sees no eschatological implication in that language. xvii Hill also understands it as a figure of speech declaring the “Hebrew exiles would return to Judah and Jerusalem from all directions.”xviii But other scholars disagree. While Merrill acknowledges the dispersion is couched in terms of a Babylonian exile, he believes the “four winds” is a reference to the whole earth. Identifying this as an eschatological “dispersion far more serious and widespread than anything known in biblical times,” He says, “It is the great scattering yet to come that is the subject here.”xix We do know the Jews were scattered all over the world after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
The warning is tempered with a message of COMFORT in verses 8-9.
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. 9 For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me.’”
The parenthetical statement in verse 8 was spoken to these imperfect Jews. But it is God’s heart toward his people in every age: “for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.” God is very sensitive and defensive of his people. The “apple of His eye” refers to the most sensitive and protected part of the body. It could be translated “pupil of His eye.”xx
As was emphasized in vision two, God will judge the nations that oppress Israel. Babylon is manifestly in view here. But any nation that abuses God’s people, Jews and gentile Christians, will come under the judgment of God. In verse 9 God says, “I will surely [This is certain] raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them” (NIV).
The Bible consistently teaches the omnipotence of God. When its time for God to judge a nation, there is no struggle. He simply raises his “hand against them” and the judgment falls.xxi There is a false understanding of the cosmic battle between light and darkness which conceives of God’s power as slightly more than Lucifer’s. In reality, Lucifer’s power is finite, and God’s power is infinite. In God’s infinite power and wisdom, he is able to use Satan’s opposition for his purposes—for preparing his elect for eternity—for demonstrating his own character and glory. When those purposes are fulfilled, God does not even bother to throw Satan into the pit himself. He has an angel take care of it.xxii
The specific judgment released is a reversal of fortunes to the Babylonians: “they shall become spoil for their servants” or as the NIV translates it: “their slaves will plunder them.” When people get in power and privilege there is a tendency to think that will continue forever. But they have that position only because God allowed it, and the moment he signals the change, it can all turn around. “By the grace of God, I am what I am” Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:10. He recognized God as the source of everything. It is something we must never forget. America has enjoyed a privileged place of prominence among the nations for decades. But that came as God shed his grace on our country. With one wave of God’s hand, it can all go away.
The most challenging statement in this oracle is the phrase in verse 8: “‘He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you.” There are two key issues that must be resolved when interpreting this sentence.
First, what does “after glory” mean in the text? The Hebrew is only two words: ‘achar [after] and kabhodh [glory]. The NKJV has wisely translated it as precisely as possible. The NIV adds too much interpretation into the translation: “After the Glorious One has sent me. . . .” In an effort to clarify the meaning, the NIV has distorted it. Kabhodh could be a reference to God who is glorious. But if that were the intent, it could have been stated more clearly in the Hebrew. The obvious translation of the two words is “after glory.” But what does that mean in this context?
The Hebrew translated “after” might be an adverbial conjunction of time. If so, the sending sprang from the glory.xxiii However, Merrill, Leupold, and other competent scholars correctly understand ‘achar to be an adverbial conjunction of purpose.xxiv Thus, Phillips understands the passage to mean: “In pursuit of glory he has sent me against the nations.”xxv
The other key issue is who the “Me” is in the passage. Some commentators understand Zechariah as the “me”: the one sent against the nations.xxvi While Merrill correctly recognizes ‘achar (“After”) as an adverbial conjunction of purpose, he incorrectly understands the “Me” as a reference to Zechariah. Therefore, he writes, “The idea is that the prophet has been sent in order to restore and magnify the glory of YHWH.”xxvii “The problem is that the prophet is not identified as the speaker here.”xxviii
Leupold rightly understands the speaker to be the Angel of the Lord, the preincarnate Christ (the second angel in verse 3). He arrives at the best interpretation of this difficult phrase. It is difficult to improve on Leupold’s explanation of this Messianic passage:
“It must plainly be the Angel of the Lord who says: ‘After glory hath He sent Me.” But what is ‘after glory,’ ‘achar kabhodh? The Angel of the Lord is speaking, and He says that He was commissioned to ‘go unto the nations which plunder Israel’ and acquire glory through vanquishing and subduing them. One of the proper works of the Savior is ‘to put all His enemies under His feet,’ and those who are enemies of His people are enemies of His. To subdue such and put to naught their wicked devices is a work that redounds unto His glory. This is the glory He refers to.”xxix
Christ is the center of this passage, and he is the Sent One who will bring glory to the Father by subduing the nations. The end result is then declared in verse 9: “Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me [Messiah]” The translators of the NLJV obviously agree with Leubold’s assessment since the capitalize “Me” in the passage.
Conclusion:
We will deal with the rest of this chapter next week. We have analyzed the details of the first two messages in this vision. We will now read Zechariah 2 with the objective of observing the overall flow and message of the vision. In these eight visions the details are sometimes obscure, but the overall message is loud and clear. And that is the main take-away we always want from our studies.
Zechariah 2:1-13:
“Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 So 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.’ 3 And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him, 4 who said to him, ‘Run, speak to this young man, saying: 'Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. 5 For I,' says the Lord, 'will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.' 6 "Up, up! Flee from the land of the north," says the Lord; "for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven," says the Lord. 7 ‘Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.’ 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. 9 For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me. 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,’ says the Lord. 11’"Many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. 12 And the Lord will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. 13 Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!’"
God has awesome plans for you and me. Do not allow the daily grind and temporal problems to block out the eternal work of God in your life and through your life. Keep your eye on the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14). For when he comes it will be joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Pet. 1:8). Maranatha. Even so come Lord Jesus.
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
ii While the narrative in the first vision led to an understanding of the man mounted on the red horse (Zech. 1:8) as representing the Angel of the Lord, there is nothing in this vision indicating the man with the measuring line is anything but a man. The fact that he is being corrected (Zech. 2:4-5) points more toward human error rather than an angel fulfilling his assignment. Taking this position Leupold writes, “We shall do bet, therefore, to consider him only ‘a man,’ all the more so since the angels appearing later are so distinctly labeled as angels.” Leupold, Exposition of Zechariah (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1971) 53. Rydelnik thinks the man is Zechariah himself, but that is an unnecessary injection into the text. The interaction in verse 2 argues against that interpretation. Michael Rydelnik, “Zechariah” in The Moody Bible Commentary, M. Rydelnik and M. Vanlaningham, eds. (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014) 1419. Achtemeier sees the man “as a visionary symbol of human expectations for the city.” While that concept is what is being corrected in Zech. 2:4-5, there is no reason to not take the text at face value: Zechariah saw a man. Elizabeth Achtemeir, Nahum—Malachi (Atlanta: John Knox,
1996), 116 as quoted by Richard D. Phillips, Zechariah, Reformed Expository Commentary, R. D. Phillips and P. G. Ryken, eds. (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing Co., 2007) 42.
iii Cf. Leupold, Exposition of Zechariah, 53-54.
iv “What Zechariah sees is a remeasurement of Jerusalem in order to reestablish the ancient boundary lines preparatory to the city’s full reoccupation.” Eugene H. Merrill, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Exegetical Commentary (Dallas, TX: Biblical Studies Foundation, 2003) 107. Jer. 32:6-15; Andrew E. Hill, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, TOTC, D. G. Firth, ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012) 140.
v Zech. 1:16 promises a rebuilding of the temple (“My house will be built in it”) and the rebuilding of the city, Jerusalem. Ezekiel sees the rebuilt temple (Ezek. 40-48) and Zechariah is being given revelation concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem. For an analysis of Zechariah’s use of Ezekiel material see Mark J. Boda, The Book of Zechariah, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, eds., R. K. Harrison and R. L. Hubbard, Jr. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016) 167-169.
vi Zech. 1:9.
vii This cannot be established with certainty. However, Leupold (p. 54) and Boda (p .222) allow for that possibility. Mark J. Boda, Haggai, Zechariah, The NIV Application Commentary, Terry Muck, gen. ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004) 222.
viii Merrill, 108-109.
ix Cf. Boda (NIV Application Commentary), 222-223; Leupold, 55; Hill, 141; Phillips, 42.
x Cf. Ps. 78:41; Gen. 18:14; Jer. 32:27; Luke 1:37.
xi Cf. Jer. 25:2.
xii Gen. 19:15-26.
xiii This begins at the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9). Cf. Eph. 2:1-3; 1 John 5:19; Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019) 404-431.
xiv Cf. 2 Cor. 6:14; 1 Cor. 10:21.
xv It is interesting that safety in Jeremiah’s day was found in going to Babylon (Jer. 29:1-10). Now safety is found in leaving Babylon. Yesterday’s directive may not be applicable to today’s situation. We cannot just do what we did in the past. We must stay in communion with the Lord, hear his voice in the now, and obey. Cf. Eccl. 3:1-8.
xvi “The fact that Zion is living in Babylon is why they are called to flee/escape from the ‘land of the north,’ a common image representing the Mesopotamian lands—in this case, the Babylonians, who subjugated the people of Judah.” Although Babylon is nearly due east of Jerusalem, the path of invading Mesopotamian armies was always from the north as they followed the ancient roads of the Fertile Crescent.” Boda (NIV Application Commentary), 233.
xvii Boda, The NIV Application Commentary 233.
xviii Hill, 144.
xix Merrill, 113. Rydelnik agrees with Merrill. Rydelnik, Moody Commentary, 1419.
xx Cf. New Jewish Publication Society, 1985; Strong’s Concordance OT: 0892; Merrill, 115; Deut.32:9-10; Ps. 17:8.
xxi The NKJV translates it “I will shake My hand upon them.” The Hebrew could be translated either way. Quoting Meyers and Meyers, Hill writes, “To ‘wave the hand’ is a signal that will set in motion God’s destructive ‘action against those who so much as touch his people.” Meyers and Meyers (1987: 167) as quoted by Hill, 145.
xxii Cf. Rev. 20:1-10.
xxiii Merrill recognizes this possibility. If that is the case, ‘achar kabhodh might mean something like: “After (the display of His) glory, He sent me.” Support for this position can be found in the fact, says Merrill, that “the self-disclosure of YHWH’s glory was often the occasion or motivation for the ministry of the prophets (cf. Isa. 6).” However, Merrill correctly prefers to interpret ‘achar (“After”) as an adverbial conjunction of purpose. Merrill, 114.
xxiv Merrill, 114; Leupold, 59; Phillips, 53. Phillips also cites Thomas McComiskey as a supporter of this position.
xxv Phillips, 53.
xxvi Hill and Boda erroneously understand Zechariah as the one sent. Hill, 144; Boda, The NIV Application Commentary, 236.
xxvii Merrill, 114.
xxviii Rydelnik, Moody’s Commentary, 1419.
xxix Leupold, 59. Phillips embraces Leupold’s understanding of ‘achar. Phillips, 53. Cf. John 8:50; 1 Cor. 15:24.
