Zech. 2:1-13: A city without walls

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1)     2:1-5

A)   vv. 1-2

1)     This man was like a surveyor preparing to rebuild Jerusalem.

2)     This is a pretty standard picture after the Babylonian captivity (all point to messianic fulfillment).

(a)   1:16

(b)   Jer. 31:38-39 (context of the new covenant, v. 31)

(c)   Ezek. 40:1-3 (context of the new temple thru ch. 48)

3)     Text: Where are you going? To measure Jerusalem. Got it – God will restore Jerusalem.

4)     But this vision throws a wrench in the normal vision.

B)    vv. 3-4

1)     Another angel came running to say, “Don’t waste your time measuring the city and the walls because, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, BECAUSE of the multitude of people and livestock in it.’”

(a)   i.e. No walls are going to be able to hold all of the people in the city where God is.

(b)   NOTE: Nehemiah is eventually going to rebuild the walls. This is a figurative vision.

C)    Wait! How can we survive in a city without walls?

1)     v. 5a – “I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord…”

2)     cf. Ex. 13:21-22; 14:23-25

D)   v. 5b – “…and I will be the glory in her midst.”

1)     This is not just A city. It is THE city where God’s presence is.

2)     2:6-9

A)   vv. 6-7

1)     Leave your comfortable lives in Babylon, and escape to Babylon.

2)     Babylon is not just Babylon in the Bible. It is the city build BY man FOR man.

3)     God’s call was to leave Babylon and go to the place where he is.

(a)   The people were not technically captives anymore, but the invisible chains are often harder to break than iron ones.

(b)   They were comfortable and secure and had settled in. They had businesses and families and houses and stable predicable lives.

(c)   cf. Ex. 16:2-3; Num. 11:4-6. They were slaves, but they want to go back to their settled predictable lives.

4)     Up! Up! Flee… – This is frantic urgency. Get out of Babylon!

B)    vv. 8-9 – Why leave Babylon?

1)     “for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye”

(a)   When we say “the apple of my eye” we are describing affection. “My grandkids are the apple of my eye.”

(b)   But “the apple of my eye” just refers to my pupil.

(c)   So, what happens if I try to touch the apple of your eye / pupil? You will blink and turn your head and flick me a way.

(d)   If you mess with God’s people, it’s like poking him in the eye, and he doesn’t like that very much, and he will respond.

2)     v. 9 – “they shall become plunder for those who served them”

C)    cf. Rev. 18:2, 4-5 – Get out!

3)     2:10-12

A)   The ultimate blessing for leaving Babylon is not that you get a better version of Babylon. This is a return to Eden: God’s presence, provision, peace.

B)    Rev. 6-7: Who can stand after the 6 seals? (6:17)

1)     7:1-3 – God’s people need to be marked/sealed/protected first. *God will be a wall around his city.

2)     7:4 – What I heard / expected from the OT

3)     7:9-10 – What I saw / spiritual reality. *No city wall is going to contain the people of Jesus’ kingdom.

C)    The New Jerusalem

1)     Rev. 21:2-3

2)     Rev. 21:10ff.

(a)   v. 16 – Perfectly square (i.e. the Holy of Holies)

(b)   vv. 22-27 – Open and full of the nations

4)     2:13

A)   v. 10 says to sing and rejoice. v. 13 says to be silent (DLB – Silence!, Quiet!, Hush!, Be Still!)

1)     Note from Revelation above (Rev. 8:1)

B)    “Be silent”

1)     Hab. 2:20 – “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”

2)     Zeph. 1:7 – “Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near…”

3)     Ecc. 5:2 – “Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.”

4)     Ps. 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth!”

C)   When the creator of the universe stands up to act, it’s time for everybody to be quiet.

D)   cf.

1)     Rev. 7:9-12 – Lots of noise

2)     Rev. 8:1-2, then v. 5

E)    We praise God and worship and rejoice, BUT when he acts there is fear and awe.