1 When I looked again, I saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 “Where are you going?” I asked. He replied, “I am going to measure Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is.”
3 Then the angel who was with me went to meet a second angel who was coming toward him. 4 The other angel said, “Hurry, and say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem will someday be so full of people and livestock that there won’t be room enough for everyone! Many will live outside the city walls. 5 Then I, myself, will be a protective wall of fire around Jerusalem, says the Lord. And I will be the glory inside the city!’”
Zechariah 2:1-5 (NLT)
Zechariah overview
I found this overview of Zechariah in Plano Bible Chapel website thanks to a friend. “As Zechariah’s contemporaries looked back, they saw former glory and recent shame. As they looked forward, they saw difficulty and felt discouragement. Zechariah ministered to inspire hope in the heart of this discouraged remnant of Israelites. That was his purpose.” (Dr. Thomas L. Constable, Plano Bible Chapel)
Constable continues, “The whole book is a revelation of the pervasive power and the persistent purpose of Yahweh. Zechariah revealed things about the future of the Jews that gave his discouraged contemporaries hope.”
Prophecy challenges
As we’ve mentioned previously, prophecy presents challenges in interpretation. These verses are no exception. Is the man with the measuring line Jesus? Is he Nehimiah, someone else? Who is the young man? Zechariah?
The Message
Rather than get stuck in a rut, just know that God encourages the Israelites by telling them Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and that it will actually extend beyond the walls due to so many people and animals – a sign of blessing.
Beyond that, He will be their wall of protection, a wall of fire. This is likely a reference to the pillar of fire that guided and protected Israel during their wilderness wanderings. And of course, this likely has fulfilment in multiple time frames.
Best of all, He “will be the glory inside the city!”
