Zechariah 2

Read Zechariah 2

God sent a heavenly messenger to Zechariah to instruct the Lord's covenant community about a future “Jerusalem” that would be full of the presence of the Almighty. “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 around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.” Who would dwell in this city of peace? Exiles fleeing “from the land of the north” would come, but they would be joined by “many nations” from the other tribes of the earth who would seek to “join themselves to the Lord.”

All those foreigners who would eventually love the God of Israel would do whatever was necessary to “escape to Zion.” The “Babylon” of the powers of this world would no longer be a safe haven. A multitude of diverse worshipers would turn to “the Lord of Hosts” and would be recognized as rightly taking their place among those who were “the apple of His eye.”

How would this miracle come to pass in which countless non-Jews would be fellow citizens in the kingdom of Jehovah? The great I-AM would be commissioned by a being called here “the Lord.” This sovereign work of the only One who could ever be what the Nicene Creed calls “God from God,” would build up a new gathering of the elect. They would be His “Judah” and the Lord's own “Jerusalem” despite the fact that they would not be the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

In John 1 New Testament readers are introduced to “the Word” who is both “God” and “with God.” We hear of the Father and the Son also in Psalm 110 which begins, “The Lord says to My Lord: 'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.'” Jesus confounded His foes by asking them how the Messiah of Psalm 110 could be both David's son and David's Lord.” The same mystery of at least two persons in one Godhead is preserved for us in the words of Zechariah 2.

The Lord Jesus who was sent by His Father to build up a holy Jerusalem has now revealed Himself to Israel and the world. God is very much at work through His Son. “Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, what is the measure of Your church? Will we be like a nation without walls? Will we be faithful to Your commands? You alone are the glory in our midst, O Lord. Be with us forever, and gather Your people from every tribe and tongue and nation. Protect us, for we are the apple of Your eye. Come to us, and dwell with us. May we be a glorious inheritance for Your Son. We are Yours, O Lord.