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. Zechariah 2 ESV
Zechariah 2 Man With A Measuring Line
…12But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; Your renown endures to all generations. 13You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favor — the appointed time has come. 14For Your servants delight in her stones and take pity on her dust.… Psalm 102: 12-14
Let me give you a little, fast history, hang on. It first appears in Scripture as the city of Salem, ruled by a man by the name of Melchizedek. In Genesis 14, he is called the king of Salem. Most people assumed that the name Jerusalem or Salem comes from the Hebrew shalom which means peace. Twenty centuries before Christ, it existed as the city of Salem.
The next time we see Jerusalem in history, it appears as a Canaanite stronghold with an allegiance to Egypt. Soon after that, we see it in reference to Joshua. This is 600 years after the Genesis record, or 1,400 years before Christ. Joshua, in chapter 10, sets his sights on this city as he conquers Canaan.
And in chapter 15, Joshua says that this territory, including this city, has been given to Judah when the land was divided among the tribes. But even though it was 1,400 years before Christ that the city was said to belong to Judah, it wasn’t till 1003 B.C. that David stormed Jerusalem, which was then a fortress of the people called the Jebusites. And according to 2 Samuel chapter 5, David took the city which later was to bear the name the City of David.
The city never really became much under David. It wasn’t until David’s brilliant son Solomon that Jerusalem reached its golden age. And under Solomon, the wall was extended, and incredible palace was built – an amazing and marvelous wonder of the world. The temple was accomplished, and Jerusalem became something astonishing, something astounding.
But after Solomon, the ages that flowed on brought no comparable glory to Jerusalem. And by 586 B.C., or about 400 years after Solomon, the city was a rubble, destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.
Nehemiah went back and rebuilt it, but it remained rather insignificant from then on. Finally, in 70 A.D., after the birth of Jesus Christ some 70 years, the city was wiped out again and destroyed by the Roman army as we saw last week. Jerusalem rose rather meekly from the ashes a little after 70 A.D., but by 132 A.D., whatever was left was crushed by the emperor Hadrian from Rome.
And until modern times, even in our modern era, Jerusalem has been kicked back and forth between the Turks and the Christian nations; the Muslims and the Christians kicking it back and forth. And finally, in our generation, the marvelous rebirth of the state of Israel has occurred. A miracle of sociology, a miracle of the perpetuity of a race of human beings, I daresay nobody has ever met a Jebusite, a Hivite, an Amorite, a Moabite, an Edomite, or any other “ite” around the Bible, but we sure have Israelites, because God has preserved them in their own land. They’ve come back. But they hold it very tenuously, don’t they? Surrounded by enemies. In fact, on every side of them that is land, they are locked in with literally bloodthirsty enemies. And their hold is tenuous, and they are always on the edge of war. And incredible as it is, from Melchizedek in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis to 1977, the story of Jerusalem weaves its way through history. Cities come and go, but not that city. It just continues. The city of Melchizedek, the city of David, the city of Christ, the city of Paul, the city of Saladin, the city of General Allenby, the city of Ben-Gurion, the city of Moshe Dayan, it is ever the perpetual city, and someday it’ll be the city of the seed of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, yet again. - J Mac
A man with a measuring line in his hand - So we just saw in the last post, from the previous chapter, that God has an army, has awareness of what is going on, but He also has a future plan for Jerusalem. We discussed the time of the gentiles, and how each world power in its turn would fall to the next, and then finally, the last world power, all the nations will eventually come for one final battle, and they will be crushed by the "stone that was cut from the mountain without human hands". Daniel has other visions of these kingdoms as well and here is one from Daniel 7 that sums up the history of the world, and when you read it you will see that it fits well with the vision of Daniel 2, discussed in last post: see link below
To measure Jerusalem - Why? It probably seemed pretty desolate to those who had returned from Babylon, and remember, a lot of people stayed in Babylon, they didn't come out of her. So now this angel is measuring the city because God has a plan for the city, regardless of all the different peoples that lay claim to it throughout it's history, and His right will hold, the Creator holds the deed and those that would try to take it by force from Him, they will know a force far more irresistible in return. It's His city, the City of David, and Christ is the seed of David, the Lion of Judah, Messiah will take the throne and rule in that city. So here we are, getting a picture that there will be an end to the times of the gentiles and all those horns will be brought down.
…2Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. 3You will be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem in the palm of your God. 4No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be His bride.… Isaiah 62: 2-4
Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls - It says for the multitude of people and livestock in it, and they are probably looking around, like those that go to a Bible believing, Bible preaching and teaching church, those that feel so much and are so often in the minority in this world, looking at all the empty chairs and wondering, from where? There are only a few of us, a small remnant, but God has a larger remnant at the end, and He has had in every age a remnant of those who believed. But how can you have a city without walls? The people who returned from Babylon knew no such peace in their time. During the time of rebuilding this was also known as the time of the Sword and the Trowel, for you built the wall with one hand and in the other you held your sword. This looks forward to a time unprecedented in Israel's history, the time of Messiah, the time of the fulfilling of God's promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This will be the time of God's fulfillment of His covenant with David, a time when Israel stretches all the way to the Euphrates River. This hasn't happened yet, but God said it's going to, so I am watching, waiting, expecting.
And I will be her wall of fire all around her - God will be her protector, and the imagery of the fire and the cloud is ancient, recalling her days in the wilderness, when she was led and covered by a cloud by day and fire by night. God kept her enemies at bay, she needed no brick or mortar, and the Shekinah dwelt in her midst.
…25They will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They will live there forever with their children and grandchildren, and My servant David will be their prince forever. 26And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever. 27My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people.… Ezekiel 37: 25-27
Flee from the land of the north - He had dispersed the people everywhere. The Assyrians had taken Jews to the north, which then fell under Babylonian rule, but like we saw before, a lot of people didn't return, they fell into complacency, they were absorbed into this world's system, they sought friendship with the world, and they learned materialism. If they left the system then they would be outcast, and they stood to lose a lot of earthly, temporal gain.
…4Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues. 5For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.… Revelation 18: 4-6
Yes, but from Jerusalem, everything is north because it’s the only way out of the city. And all the conquerors had come from the north. Nebuchadnezzar came from the north. Even in 70 A.D., Titus Vespasian came from the north. Everybody who ever entered the city as an enemy came from the north because is the only access. - J Mac
Touches the apple of His eye - This was His wife, His love, those that try to take her covet something that belongs to God, and those that harm her will incur His wrath.
Now, I want you to watch this. Now watch. A very difficult but interesting verse. Look what it says in verse 8; this is terrific. “For thus says the Lord of Hosts, ‘After the glory hath He sent Me.’” Now, the Lord of Hosts says, “After the glory hath He sent Me.’” Who in the world sends the Lord of Hosts? That’s what I said. The answers in verse 9, “‘For, behold, I will shake My hand on them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants. And you shall know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent Me.’” Who sends the Lord of Hosts? The Lord of Hosts sends the Lord of Hosts.
You say, “Now, wait a minute. Jehovah sends Jehovah?”
If you reject the New Testament, you got a problem with that. Right? If you accept the New Testament, you don’t have a problem with that. The Lord of Hosts the Father sends the Lord of Hosts the Son. Isn’t that great? And He is the one who comes to deliver His people. He is the one who comes to conquer the nations. And He is after glory. He is after glory. Listen, everything is done for glory for God. The nations are judged that God may be glorified. Summing it up, He says, the second person of the Trinity, the Savior, the Messiah, is sent by the first person of the Trinity, the Father, in order that He may judge the nations to bring glory to God because God too long has been looked down on because His people have been downtrodden. And God says, “In the end, when I exalt My people, then the world will know that I am God.” - J Mac
“He esteems them as much as men value their eyesight, and is as careful to protect them from injury, as men are to protect the apple of their eye. The pupil of the eye is the tenderest part of the tenderest organ, and very fitly sets forth the inexpressible tenderness of God’s love.” (Spurgeon)
I will shake My hand over them - This is an "off with you", as to say an insignificant expenditure for the One Who spoke the world into existence. It will be that short and simple for Him.
And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord that day - This is a great reminder of God's intention to fulfill His covenant with Abraham.
…3Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4“As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.… Genesis 17: 3-5
In the Holy Land -
Thirdly, God’s portion, verse 12. “And the Lord shall inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.” That’s the only place in the Bible where it’s called the holy land. That’s the only time that phrase is ever used. And I’ll hasten to add it has never been the holy land, it isn’t the holy land, but it will be. It will be. That’s the millennial title for Israel. “And He shall choose Jerusalem” - and the best way to translate “again” would be “before all is done,” or, “at the end.” - J Mac
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