Project 119: Zechariah 2

 |  Project 119  |  Amy Hirsch

When I was little, my grandfather worked as a carpenter. To this day, when I see a measuring tape, I can picture the one he would keep in his tool belt. I can’t imagine him cutting wood without first measuring it; without a measuring tape, he would be prone to inaccuracy, which would be wasteful and costly!  

But we see that the measuring line used in Zechariah’s third vision ends up being obsolete and unnecessary, doesn’t it? At first, Zechariah witnesses a man going out to measure the city of Jerusalem. As the vision continues, we see God declare that one day, Jerusalem will be a city “filled to the brim” with people—she will have so many inhabitants that walls will be unnecessary! This probably sounded crazy to post-exilic audience, as they attempted to put the pieces of their lives back together in a ransacked town, but the vision God gives Zephaniah is one where multitudes flock to Jerusalem.

There seems to be a spiritual and a physical reality at work here, doesn’t there? When we look to the New Testament, we see the good news of the gospel preached to the nations, who respond in faith. Through the work of the Holy Spirit empowering the early church, many come to “join themselves to the LORD” (Zechariah 2:11, ESV). Jews and Gentiles, those who trust in the name of Jesus, are known as God’s people, spiritual Jerusalem.

But I think that Zechariah is also pointing forward to something physical in the future: to the day when God’s people will dwell in the New Jerusalem...and when He will dwell with them there. Certainly this passage points us forward to the incarnation of Christ, when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). And we are also reminded that, at Pentecost, God gave the gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in believers, encouraging us, advocating for us, and pointing us to the Father. But the man with the measuring line is unknowingly pointing us forward to a day when we will dwell in a new heaven and a new earth, in a place that cannot be measured: the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God (Revelation 21:10). On that day, God’s promise to Abraham, to make Him a great nation, will be finally and fully realized, where God be with His people as their God—not in the tabernacle or in the temple, but as “a wall of fire all around…[and] the glory in her midst” (Zechariah 2:5, ESV).

The next time I see a tape measure, I’m sure I will think of my grandfather. But I hope I will also think of that new city, the one God is preparing for His people—the place where we will behold Him face to face.

Zechariah 2 (ESV):

A Vision of a Man with a Measuring Line

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 me 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.