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Zacarias 2

ARC · Chapter 2/14

1Tornei a levantar os meus olhos, e vi, e eis aqui um homem em cuja mão estava um cordel de medir.

2E eu disse: Para onde vaes tu? E elle me disse: Vou a medir Jerusalem, para vêr qual é a sua largura e qual o seu comprimento.

3E eis que saiu o anjo que fallava comigo, e outro anjo lhe saiu ao encontro.

4E disse-lhe: Corre, falla a este mancebo, dizendo: Jerusalem será habitada como as aldeias sem muros, por causa da multidão dos homens e dos animaes que estarão no meio d'ella.

5E eu, diz o Senhor, serei para ella um muro de fogo em redor, e serei para gloria no meio d'ella.

6Olá, oh! fugi agora da terra do norte, diz o Senhor, porque vos estendi pelos quatro ventos do céu, diz o Senhor.

7Olá, Sião! livra-te tu, que habitas com a filha de Babylonia.

8Porque assim diz o Senhor dos Exercitos: Depois da gloria elle me enviou ás nações que vos despojaram; porque aquelle que tocar em vós toca na menina do seu olho.

9Porque eis que levantarei a minha mão sobre elles, e elles virão a ser a preza d'aquelles que os serviram: assim sabereis vós que o Senhor dos Exercitos me enviou.

10Exulta, e alegra-te ó filha de Sião, porque eis que venho, e habitarei no meio de ti, diz o Senhor.

11E n'aquelle dia muitas nações se ajuntarão ao Senhor, e me serão por povo, e habitarei no meio de ti, e saberás que o Senhor dos Exercitos me enviou a ti

12Então o Senhor herdará a Judah por sua porção na terra sancta, e ainda escolherá a Jerusalem.

13Cala-te, toda a carne, diante do Senhor, porque elle se despertou da sua sancta morada.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Zechariah sees a man measuring Jerusalem, but is told that the city will grow so much that it cannot have ordinary walls — God Himself will be a 'wall of fire' around it, and many nations will join themselves to the LORD.

Explanation

The act of measuring the city would normally indicate a rebuilding plan with defined physical boundaries, but the divine answer is surprising: Jerusalem would grow so large, with so many people and animals, that conventional walls would be inadequate — instead, God's own protection, described as a 'wall of fire,' would be its security. The phrase 'he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye' reveals God's extremely personal and sensitive care for His people, comparable to the most protected and sensitive part of the human body. The promise that 'many nations shall be joined to the LORD' on that day widens the scope of the promised blessing beyond Judah to include Gentile peoples. The application for today: the true security of God's people does not depend on human structures or defenses, but on God's direct protection.

Fun facts

  • 'The apple of the eye' is an ancient Hebrew expression referring to the pupil, the most vulnerable and vital part of the eye — instinctively protected by automatic reflexes, making the comparison to God's care especially vivid.
  • The promise of Gentile nations joining God's people (v.11) anticipates themes that would become central in the New Testament regarding the inclusion of the Gentiles in the covenant, through the coming of Christ.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Zacarias 2:1This vision shows a man with a measuring line going out to calculate the size of Jerusalem — a kind of symbolic surveyor anticipating the city's future growth.
  2. Zacarias 2:2The man with the measuring line explains his mission: to calculate Jerusalem's future size, a city that will grow far beyond its old limits.
  3. Zacarias 2:3A second angel enters the scene to meet the first and deliver an urgent message to the young man measuring the city.
  4. Zacarias 2:4The message reveals a twist: Jerusalem will grow so full of people and cattle that it will be inhabited 'as towns without walls,' too large for any traditional fortification.
  5. Zacarias 2:5Promising that God Himself will be 'a wall of fire round about' a Jerusalem without ordinary walls is a way of saying the city would grow so large and populous that stone walls could not contain it — only God's direct protection would be enough.
  6. Zacarias 2:6God calls those still scattered in 'the land of the north' (the region of Babylon) to flee from there and return, since His own people had been spread abroad like the four winds of heaven.
  7. Zacarias 2:7The specific appeal is to Zion, urged to free herself from still dwelling with 'the daughter of Babylon' — that is, in the midst of the very power that had exiled her.
  8. Zacarias 2:8'The apple of his eye' is an expression for the pupil, the most sensitive and protected part of the body — used here to show how strongly God reacts to any attack on His people.
  9. Zacarias 2:9God promises to turn the tables: the very nations that enslaved His people will become spoil to those who once served them — proof that it was the Lord who was acting all along.
  10. Zacarias 2:10The call to sing and rejoice anticipates the vision's central promise: God Himself will dwell in the midst of His people, not merely watch from a distance.
  11. Zacarias 2:11The promise that 'many nations shall be joined to the Lord' broadens the reach of the covenant beyond Israel, including foreigners who choose to turn to this same God.
  12. Zacarias 2:12God reaffirms that He will claim Judah as His special portion in the holy land, choosing Jerusalem again after the period of judgment.
  13. Zacarias 2:13The chapter closes calling for reverent silence from all humanity, because God is actively rising from His holy dwelling to act in history.

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