Zechariah 2 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Zechariah 2

A Vision of a Man with a Measuring Line

2:1 ¹ And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! 2 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.” 3 And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him 4 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. 5 And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

6 Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the LORD. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the LORD. 7 Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. 8 For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me² to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: 9 “Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me. 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. 11 And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. 12 And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”

13 Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Footnotes

[1] 2:1 Ch 2:5 in Hebrew
[2] 2:8 Or he sent me after glory

Commentary

v1-4: See 1.16; the measuring line over Jerusalem. Here is a longer term prophecy, predicting a time of peace, but different from that under Nehemiah, when the people have to fight to ensure their security.

v5: The Lord's protection around Jerusalem; certainly there is a partial fulfilment in Zechariah's time and beyond; under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, as they worked to restore the temple and the city walls. Not only will the Lord be the wall of fire around the city, but its glory within.

v6-7: Jews in Assyria (the land of the north) and in Babylon are called to flee, to return to Jerusalem. Once more, the Lord has promised to bless the land, and their responsibility is to be there; see Rev 18.4.

v8-9: The Lord's jealousy for His own people, and consequent judgment upon Gentile nations. The nations, having plundered Israel and Judah and elsewhere, become plunder themselves.

v10-13: Christ to dwell in their midst in Zion; many nations will be joined to the Lord (14.16). This is consistent with Rev 1.9-17, where the multitude of nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, have come through the great tribulation.