Day 901: More than we imagine - Zechariah 1 vs 18 – 2 vs 5

18-19 And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns! And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20-21 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.

Chapter 2 vs 1-2 And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! 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 and said to him, 4-5 “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all round, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’” Zechariah 1:18-2:5 (English Standard Version)

We're still in the string of visions that God gave Zechariah by which he was to encourage the Jews who'd returned to their towns and cities after years of exile. Animal horns symbolized power, so the horns Zechariah saw symbolized nations such as Assyria and Babylon who had caused the jews to be scattered to other regions. What was the Lord's message concerning those who had scattered His people? (vs 20-21)

The horns that had scattered would themselves be shattered! The craftsmen Zechariah saw were likely artisans such as carpenters and blacksmiths. One can think how easily the hammer of a blacksmith could break horns upon an anvil. I wonder if the fact that they were crafstmen was also a hint of how they would not only shatter the nations who'd scattered Israel and Judah, but also be instrumental in rebuilding Jerusalem. This happened when a King of the Perians who’d crushed Babylon gave permission to a man named Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem in order to rebuild the city and its walls.

And so it was that, after the craftsmen, Zechariah saw a man with a measuring line in his hand on his way to take measurements for Jerusalem. That will have lifted Zechariah's heart already, but there was even better news. In an almost amusing vision he sees one angel telling another angel to run after the man with the measuring line and give him an important update! What was the main point of that update? (vs 4-5)

It seems to have been that the Lord had bigger plans in store for Jerusalem than what they imagined. He speaks of a multitude of people and livestock. More than that, He gave an assurance that they would not need walls because He Himself would be like a wall of fire around them. Looking back over history it's difficult to see a physical fulfilment of those words because the Jews did build a wall around the city, and a new temple too. So maybe we need to look further than a physical city and see here a much wider promise of the city which was to come about through the Messiah.

The book of Hebrews in the New Testament, written for Jews who'd believed on Jesus, says: “You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant.” (Hebrews 12:22-24)

Many years before Zechariah's visions, God had given a promise through the prophet Jeremiah. He said to the Jews: “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) In the New Testament the apostle Paul reminds Christians that we serve a God who “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20) Yes, God will shatter those who have scattered His people through the millenia. And His people will live in the new Jerusalem which He has established forever. And I suspect that it's blessedness will be even more than we can imagine!