April 27, 2022 -- Zechariah 2:1-5 -- God's gift of hope revived

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

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.’”
Zechariah 2:1-5 ESV

It has been said a man can live 40 days without eating, three days neither eating nor drinking anything, but cannot survive a single day without hope. Zechariah is prophesying to a community of exiles who'd recently been returned to the Promised Land. This people were supposed to rebuild the temple and inhabit Jerusalem. Instead of doing this, they languished. Broken and dispirited. The hope had fled from them. They were sinners, descended from sinners, far from the realization of the nearness of the grace of God. So, the LORD spoke, to revive His people, to grace His people with a vision of hope.

A city without walls was unprotected. It would be vulnerable to the attacks of surrounding nations. Surely the people just returned from exile would be too exhausted to contemplate any disaster or face any threat. The LORD showed them His gracious presence. Jerusalem would be without walls, so that it would be open enough to accommodate any and all the people who would choose to return there. It is an inviting picture, a sign of welcome to those who return from foreign wandering.

And the LORD will be a wall of fire all around Jerusalem. What a show of strength and protection that is. Imagine it, a city ringed by divine fire! No one would dare attack that for any enemy would not be facing dispirited, helpless people, but would be facing the very strength and unlimited power of the Living God Who pledged Himself to protect His people. 

This people will be orphaned no more. They are given a land, given protection, and given a Father. The glory of the LORD will be in their midst. Those who are Christians, read this passage as interpreters who see with the clarity of the New Testament. We know glory of the LORD visited His people in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the glory of God, come to earth, to rescue the exiles, find the lost and break the chains of those enslaved to sin and bound over to the wrath of God.

The long-ago prophesied fire did fall, it fell at Pentecost, when the Spirit of God made the dwelling place of God to be limitless—an ever-expanding city to encompass the ever-expanding people of God. The people of God have a name—sons and daughters of the Most High God who have been made such by the blood of Jesus Christ. The family of God are walled in by His holy fire, so that their lives, their work, and even their death all these happen under the ever-vigilant care of the One Who is able raise up the dead to newness of life.

People of God, live in hope! See the power of God at work right now—that power which is a wall of fire around you, bringing you safely through the sufferings of this world, as your life and words bear witness to Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God continuously gives you the assurance that the glory of the LORD is near you right now and will be everlastingly visible and known to you in eternity!

May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 
Blessing and prayer: Romans 15:13 ESV

https://youtu.be/Jcl6WSNVcHM

Copyright © 2022 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.