I will be to her a wall of fire
Thu, 15 December, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.
1 And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! 2 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 4 and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. 5 And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
Zechariah’s ministry was during the return from the Babylonian captivity. He was used by God to encourage the people who had returned to Jerusalem in those difficult early years, and in his vision related in chapter 2, Zechariah tells them of God’s protection of his people.
In those days, people relied upon the walls of the local city for protection from enemies. Most likely, this was written before Nehemiah had returned and led the people in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, so the people were quite aware of the insecurity of having no wall. They didn’t have a wall yet. But in Zechariah’s vision, God promises a day when there will be no need for a physical wall. God promises to protect His people as a wall of fire all around them.
What do we learn from this?
We all need security. We need homes for shelter from the weather. We need the government to protect us from those who would be lawless and harm us and our property. We need insurance for our cars to protect us from financial liability in case of an accident. We need life insurance to meet the needs of our relatives if we should die during our wage earning years. We wear seatbelts when we drive our cars. In these ways and in many more, we seek to protect ourselves from that which would harm us. These are all natural and it is right for us to do so. We should reasonably seek to limit the risks we take. And so, Nehemiah would soon return to Jerusalem to lead them in rebuilding the wall. We should work to increase our security.
But in our efforts to gain security, we need to realize that ultimately, our protection is from God. We have no security that He does not provide. As the Psalmist tells us:
Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
Zechariah looks forward to the promise of God Himself dwelling among His people, and protecting them.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this promise. In Zechariah 2:10 we see: Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. The Lord came in the person of Jesus Christ, and has now ascended to heaven and is ruling over all. And now that the title of Jerusalem is inherited by the church, we see that He is now indwelling His church. He protects her and is the glory in the midst of His church. He is the wall of fire around His church, protecting her and keeping her against all enemies who would destroy her.
