Return from Exile: Zechariah 1-3 (3)

Pray Psalm 52.8, 9.
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
I will praise You forever,
Because You have done it;
And in the presence of Your saints
I will wait on Your name, for it is good.

Sing Psalm 52.8, 9.
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
But as for me may I be seen in God an olive ever green!
Ever in God, most kind and just, shall I with joy and gladness trust!

Thanks evermore to our Savior be raised! His faithfulness be ever praised!
Here with Your people, loving God, I wait upon Your Name, so good!

Read and meditate on Zechariah 2.1-5.

Preparation
1. What was the man with the measuring line going to do?

2. What was the angel sent to say to this man?

Meditation
Ancient Israel featured two kinds of cities. Walled cities, like Jerusalem, were larger and strategically placed to defend sections of the land. In times of war, people would resort to the walled cities until danger passed. Most of the cities did not have walls. We would call them villages or towns, and they were smaller, like rural towns in our country.

Zechariah saw “a man with a measuring line in his hand” (v. 1). He was on his way to take the measure of Jerusalem (v. 2). This man foreshadowed Nehemiah, who would be sent by God to survey and rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and whose story we will consider a bit later in this series.

But an angel arrived to Zechariah and his angelic companion, fresh, as it were, from the Lord (v. 3). He instructed Zechariah’s angel to tell the young man with the measuring line that Jerusalem would be like a city without walls. God would surround Jerusalem with a wall of fire, to protect it against all enemies (v. 4).

So a real wall was to be built, but the people who lived in Jerusalem were not to look to that wall for their defense. Nor were they to consider that their wall would mark the true border of their city, for Jerusalem was the City of God. And the City of God would grow to include multitudes (v. 4). God would guard His City by His own glory, for He was coming to dwell amid His people (v. 5).

God’s people must not limit themselves to, nor put their trust in, material boundaries, assets, or resources. In our day, we have become captive to such things, thinking this is how we should build the Church. But God is in our midst, and He will guard and provide for us by His Presence and glory. But we will not know that glorious Presence until we renounce our dependence on worldly things and work to build His Church His way.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
We were without power all day yesterday.
Our house still looked the same. The pictures were all still neatly hung. The roof remained in place. From the outside and inside everything looked fine.

However, nothing worked.

Is it possible that the captive Church today is suffering from the same glitch? No power?
Is the Church bypassing the source of power found only in the Holy Spirit?
And thinking that maybe a new praise song, new program, or more fun is the answer?

God clearly stated, “I will be the glory in her midst” (Zech. 2.5).

God never requires that His people do anything that He has not given us the power to do.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;
I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a new heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and
you will keep My judgments and do them” (Ezek. 36.26, 27).

“God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn” (Ps. 46.5).

The Church today has more lovely buildings, impeccably cared-for landscapes, more praise tunes than could be sung in a lifetime, and more fun programs and pizza to satiate the amused-challenged congregants than in the history of churchdom; and yet, little change or power is evident in the peoples and communities they serve. Looks can be deceiving.

But God continually offers a way out of the morass of this captivity.
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten…
you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
and My people shall never be put to shame.
Then you will know that I AM in the midst of Israel:
I AM the LORD your God and there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame” (Joel 2.25-27).

Jesus said, “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth…” (Jn. 14.16, 17).

Our Wall of Fire is Jesus Christ. And when we, His people, are filled with His Spirit and His power, and agree to follow His Law (Jn. 14.15) with our lives set firmly in Him—He is with us. For He said, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I AM there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18.20).

Power on.

For reflection
1. How do you experience Jesus as a “wall of fire” throughout the day?

2. Why have Jesus and the Father sent the Holy Spirit into our lives? What difference does His Presence make in your life?

3. Whom will you encourage today to lay hold on the power of Jesus so that they don’t become captive to the world?

Jerusalem would be safe, though without any fortifications; for God alone would be sufficient for walls, for towers, for fortresses, according to what is said by other Prophets: "God will be to thee a wall and a fortress", (Isaiah 26:1), again, "he will be to thee a stronghold". It is, therefore, a sentence in accordance with other prophecies when Jehovah testifies, that he would be a wall of fire. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Zechariah 2.5

Pray Psalm 52.1-7.
Pray for God to protect His people against all their enemies. Call on Him to protect you today against spiritual forces that will try to tempt, discourage, or otherwise defeat you.

Sing Psalm 52,1-7.
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
Why do the mighty boast in sin? God’s love endures, it knows no end!
They with their tongues vain boasts repeat, and like a razor, work deceit.

Men more than good in evil delight, and lies prefer to what is right.
They utter words, both harsh and strong, with their devouring, deceitful tongue.

God will forever break them down, uproot, and cast them to the ground!
He from their safety tears them away, no more to know the light of day.

The righteous see and laugh and fear, and say, “Behold, what have we here?
Such are all who at God conspire, and wealth and evil ways desire.”

T. M. and Susie Moore

Two books can help us understand our own captivity and lead us to seek revival and renewal in the Lord. The Church Captive asks us to consider the ways the Church today has become captive to the world. And Revived! can help us find the way to renewal. Learn more and order your free copies by clicking here and here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available free by clicking here.