And behold, the angel that talked with me went forth; and another angel went forth to meet him,
The vision pauses here. A man has gone off to measure Jerusalem. Now two angels move: the one who had been explaining things to Zechariah, and a second who comes to meet him with an urgent errand. Who is "this young man," why must the messenger run, and what news could be so good that it interrupts a vision?
The errand starts with the measuring. Commentators read that act as a claim of possession, not a survey.
The measuring line is the symbol of taking possession. It can mean possession in title or possession in fact, when renewed dealings or restorations would follow. Here it means title, because the actual possession would wait for the overthrow of the Gentile powers. But the act of measuring showed even then that God intended to bless in this way.
The second angel hands over an errand about a Jerusalem that has never yet existed.
Verse 3 mentions two angels: the angel who talked with Zechariah, and another angel. The second tells the first to run and say to "this young man" (Zechariah) that "Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it." This can only be future. Jerusalem has never yet been so free from danger that it needed no "walls," no protection from raiding enemies. It looks forward, beyond the day of "Jacob's trouble," the great tribulation, to the thousand-year reign of the Lord Jesus.
Commentators differ on who the young man is.
It is the prophet Zechariah, and we learn this personal detail about him in passing. Some take the phrase to mean just a servant, with no reference to age, but that seems unnatural to me.
The age of the man addressed carries a lesson.
The aged and the elders have their place in the sphere of divine interests. But this word is, "Run, speak to this young man." Beloved, it is a blessed thing to take up divine interests with energy and exercise in our youth! God wants us growing up in these things, interested in the divine circle from the very moment we are spiritually born into that circle.
The haste fits the state of the people who would hear it.
To understand what this magnificent promise means, the reader must put himself in the place of the prophet and his people at that moment. They had been allowed to return from Babylon, and they were working to rebuild the temple against every form of discouragement and active opposition. Set beside Solomon's temple, built in the former splendour of the kingdom, this one only reminded them of their weakness and poverty. The Lord saw the hearts of His people, their fears, faithlessness and despondency, and He sent them the blessed encouragement of the future.
Zechariah could see the ruins. The message told him to expect something else.
At the time of this vision, the city of Jerusalem lay in ruins, its walls torn down, and only the foundations of the temple were in place. Yet the angel said: "I am going to measure Jerusalem"! … The future Jerusalem will reach far beyond anything it has ever been. It will be much larger than the city the returned exiles rebuilt, overflowing with people and cattle living in it. It will take an angel's measuring line to fix its dimensions. A lot must happen before things get that far. This future city is not the city of Nehemiah, nor the Jerusalem that rejected its Messiah and King.
The message the runner carries makes walls unnecessary.
Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls — a population that would grow and spread out on every side beyond all limits… But the secret of it all lies in the next verse. The LORD Himself will be a wall of fire round about her, a sure protection from her enemies, and will also be the glory in the midst of her… His presence is the source of blessing, and it is also protection. The wall of fire and the glory always go together.
- Measured — the line in the man's hand claims ownership. God shows His intention to bless long before He hands over possession.
- Met — one angel stops another. The news matters enough to break into the vision.
- Run — the errand goes at speed to people worn down by weakness, opposition and a greater past.
- Young — the word goes to "this young man." Commentators read him as Zechariah, and see God claiming the energy of youth.
- Walled by fire — the news is a city too full for walls. The LORD Himself is both its defence and its glory.
and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein;
Zechariah watches a man go out with a measuring line to measure a half-ruined Jerusalem. Before the measuring begins, a second angel sends the first running back to the prophet with news of a city too crowded for walls.
The word goes to a young man, not to the elders. One writer draws out what that says about serving God early.
The elderly and the elders have their place in the sphere of divine interests. But this word is, "Run, say to that young man." It is a wonderful thing to take up divine interests with energy and exercise while we are young! God would have us growing up in these things. He would have us interested in the divine circle from the very moment we are born into it spiritually.
Commentators differ over who this young man is.
It is the prophet Zechariah, and we learn this personal detail about him in passing. Some take the words to mean only a servant, whatever his age, but that seems unnatural to me.
Verse 4 explains why the man of verse 1 is measuring.
Measuring here comes before taking possession for blessing. It is an action directed by God just before He comes in once more to re-establish His dwelling place and to own His people. It is so in Zechariah. Jerusalem had been trodden down by the Gentiles and made desolate for her sins, as she still is today. But the eye and the heart of God were always on her.
The state of the city raised a real question.
Will God take an interest in a city that largely consists of "stones,... dust" (Ps. 102:14) and ruins? The man with the measuring line (v. 1) gives the answer. He is going to "measure Jerusalem," that is, take possession of it. The angel's message confirms it. One day so great a multitude will live in Jerusalem that it can have no walls — except the wall of fire, which is Jehovah Himself.
The reason for the open, unwalled settlements is sheer numbers. The promise takes in the livestock too.
The population would increase and break out on every side, beyond every limit that could hold it in. The cattle would share in this boundless blessing. Such prosperity speaks loudly of full blessing on earth under the peaceful rule of Immanuel.
A city without walls has no enemy left to fear. That test dates the prophecy.
This can only be future. Jerusalem has never yet been so free from danger that she needed no "walls," no protection from raiding enemies. It looks beyond the day of "Jacob's trouble," the great tribulation, to the thousand-year reign of the Lord Jesus. The size of Jerusalem will be greatly increased, since "villages" include not only many people, but domestic animals.
So which Jerusalem is this? Not any that has stood so far.
This future city is not the city of Nehemiah. It is not the Jerusalem that rejected its Messiah and King. It is not even the Jerusalem where the Jews will live after their return to Palestine, when they will become the people of the antichrist.
What replaces the missing walls is not better engineering but a change of ruler.
We look ahead to the day when the multitude of her inhabitants will break all bounds. Then, instead of living under Persian or Greek or Roman masters, they will have Jehovah Himself as their fortress and wall of defence.
The people who first heard this still had to live in the ruins.
In her present ruin, Jerusalem could attract the people of God only if they saw her with the eyes of faith, from the viewpoint of her future glory. Going to Jerusalem meant leaving everything else. That took a decision which faith alone could give and hope alone could sustain.
God's own method with discouraged people is worth noticing.
The Lord saw the hearts of His people — their fears, their lack of faith, their despair — and He sent them the blessed encouragement of the future. He unveiled before their eyes the glory of Messiah's presence. We would do well to heed this divine method. The cure for all discouragement over the weakness and confusion of the church today lies in looking at the future. That is where we draw our strength and hope.
- Ruins measured. The measuring line is not a damage report but a claim of ownership. God surveys Jerusalem just before He takes possession of her.
- Message rushed. The news is urgent: an angel must run with it, and it goes to a young man rather than to the elders.
- Multitude overflowing. The city has no walls because it has no room for them: people and livestock press out beyond every limit.
- Protection replaced. The city loses its stone walls and gains God Himself, the fortress and defence of an open city.
- Fulfilment future. No Jerusalem yet has matched this — not Nehemiah's, not the one that rejected its Messiah. It waits for the reign of Christ. Until then, faith holds it by hope.