Main Idea: God will fulfill His promises for His people.
A Look at the Text:
Zechariah’s night visions continue in chapter 2 with a third vision. Here, Zechariah saw a man with a measuring line going to measure Jerusalem (Zech. 2:1). It is at that moment an angel rushed to tell “that young man,” possibly the surveyor or Zechariah himself, what will come for Jerusalem:
“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’” (Zech. 2:4-5).
Jerusalem, though presently desolate, would one day be bursting with residents (Zech. 2:4). Even more, on that day, they wouldn’t need walls for their safety, for the Lord Himself would be not only their protection but would also be their glory (Zech. 2:5).
As such, distant exiles still in Babylon (now conquered by Persia) were admonished to return back to the land (Zech. 2:6-7). Jerusalem was the apple of God’s eye, and He would again bless them (Zech. 2:8). Looking to the future, they ought to sing and rejoice for God would dwell with them (Zech. 2:10-11). God had roused Himself, and surely He would act (Zech. 2:13).
Bringing it Home:
God is a God of action.
He is a God who promises to dwell with His people and who will one day fulfill His promise. While Jerusalem was yet unrepaired, Zechariah had this vision of coming glory where Jerusalem would be indwelt to a greater degree than before and restored in climactic glory with God’s dwelling amongst them.
God would dwell with His people, and even other nations would join with them in this blessed state.
While Jerusalem would go on to be rebuilt within a century, the fulfillment of these things is yet awaited. As we look to the end, Revelation presents to us a new Jerusalem coming down from heaven—the place where God will dwell with people for all eternity (Rev. 21:2-3).
God’s restoration of His people and their blessing to all the nations as promised to Abraham, fulfilled through Jesus Christ, will finally be consummated. The God who acts in history will have brought His purposes to their final completion.
If God were to speak with such confidence to a group of returned exiles living amongst ruins, then certainly those of us who stand today on the other side of the cross should be able to look to the future with great hope! He will bring His purposes to pass, and the end will be glorious.
Challenge:
Does the discrepancy between the promised future and the present state cause me to hope or doubt?