Return to the Holy Land (Daily Portion 10203)
In this vision, Zechariah sees a man measuring the breadth and length of Jerusalem. Though Zion has been scattered, the people are to return to the holy land where God will dwell in the midst of them. He shall choose Jerusalem again.
What Does It Say?
- In this vision, Zechariah saw a man with a ____________ line in his hand.
- An angel reported that Jerusalem shall be ____________ as towns without _________.
- The Lord had spread Israel abroad as the four ________ of the heaven.
- “Deliver thyself, O _________, that dwellest with the daughter of ______________.”
- The Lord shall inherit Judah his ________in the ________ land, and shall choose ______________ again.
What Does It Mean?
- God promises to be a wall of fire about Jerusalem and the glory in the midst of her (v.5). What is the Lord referring to and when do you think He will bring this about?
- The Lord says that he who touches Israel touches the apple of His eye (v.8). The apple of the eye is mentioned five times in the Bible (Deuteronomy 32:10He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
See All...; Psalm 17:8Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
See All...; Proverbs 7:2Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
See All...; Lamentations 2:18Their heart cried unto the LORD, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
See All...; Zechariah 2:8For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
See All...). What is the apple of the eye? Look up the references. What does God say about the apple of the eye? - The Lord prophesies when, “many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people” (v.11). To what does this refer? How will many nations become the people of the Lord?
What Does It Mean to Me?
- The man with the measuring line goes to measure Jerusalem (v.1-2). What is the purpose of the measuring? In Ezekiel 42:20He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place.
See All..., a man measures the court of the temple in order to “make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place.” The measuring is done in order to set boundaries between the sacred and the profane. How might this apply to the prophecy in Zechariah? How might apply spiritually to our own lives? - All flesh is told to be silent before the Lord as He rises up out of His holy habitation (v.13). Compare this with Habakkuk 2:20But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
See All... and Zephaniah 1:7Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
See All.... What is the unifying factor in these three passages? What do they tell us about God? What do they say about our relationship to God?
Suggested Memory Verses
Zecharaiah 2:5Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
See All...; Zecharaiah 2:12-13 [12] Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
[13] Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?
See All...