A verse by verse commentary on Zechariah 2 dealing with a man with a measuring line to measure Jerusalem. God declares that his people are the "apple of His eye,"

1. ZECHARIAH 2 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
A Man With a Measuring Line
1 [a]Then I looked up, and there before me was a
man with a measuring line in his hand.
BAR ES, "A man with a measuring line in his hand - Probably the Angel of
the Lord, of whom Ezekiel has a like vision. Jerome: “He who before, when he lift up his
eyes, had seen in the four horns things mournful, now again lifts up his eves to see a
man, of whom it is written, “Behold a man whose name is the Branch” Zec_6:12; of
whom we read above, “Behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the
myrtle trees, which were in the bottom” Zec_1:8. Of whom too the Father saith; He
builded My city, “whose builder and maker is God” Heb_11:10. He too is seen by Ezekiel
in a description like this, “a man whose appearance was like the appearance of brass”
Eze_40:3, that is, “burnished and shining as fire, with a line of flax in his hand and a
measuring reed” Eze_1:7. The office also seems to be one of authority, not to measure
the actual length and breadth of Jerusalem, but to lay down what it should be, (Cyril),
“to mark it out broad and very long.”
CLARKE, "A man with a measuring-line in his hand - Probably a
representation of Nehemiah, who got a commission from Artaxerxes Longimanus to
build up the walls of Jerusalem; for hitherto it had remained without being enclosed.
GILL, "I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked,.... And saw a third vision; which,
as Kimchi owns, refers to the times of the Messiah; though it might be of use to the Jews
then present, to encourage them to expect the rebuilding of Jerusalem, in a literal sense:
and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand: by whom is meant, not
Nehemiah, nor Zerubbabel; see Zec_4:10 who were concerned in the building of
Jerusalem; nor any mere man, nor even a created angel; for, though he may be the same
with the other angel, that did not talk with the prophet, Zec_2:3 as Kimchi observes;
seeing he seems to be superior to him that did; yet not a ministering spirit, but the
Messiah, who in this book is often spoken of as a man; See Gill on Zec_1:8 and by "the
measuring line in his hand" may be meant eternal predestination, the Lamb's book of

2. life, which is in his keeping; and is the measure and rule by which he proceeds in the
calling, justification, and glorification of the firstborn, whose names are written in
heaven; or the Scriptures of truth, the measure and rule of doctrine, discipline, worship,
and conversation; and according to which Christ forms, constitutes, and regulates
Gospel churches; see Eze_40:3.
HE RY 1-5, "This prophet was ordered, in God's name, to assure the people (Zec_
1:16) that a line should be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Now here we have that
promise illustrated and confirmed, that the prophet might deliver that part of his
message to the people with the more clearness and assurance.
I. He sees, in a vision, a man going to measure Jerusalem (Zec_2:1, Zec_2:2): He lifted
up his eyes again, and looked. God had shown him that which was very encouraging to
him, (Zec_1:20), and therefore now he lifted up his eyes again and looked. Note, The
comfortable sights which by faith we have had of God's goodness made to pass before us
should engage us to lift up our eyes again, and to search further into the discoveries
made to us of the divine grace; for there is still more to be seen. In the close of the
foregoing chapter he had seen Jerusalem's enemies baffled and broken, so that now he
begins to hope she shall not be ruined. But that is not enough to make her happy, and
therefore that is not all that is promised. Here is more carpenter's work to be done.
When David had resolved to cut off the horns of the wicked he engaged likewise that the
horns of the righteous should be exalted, Psa_75:10. And so does the Son of David here;
for he is the man, even the man Christ Jesus, whom the prophet sees with a measuring
line in his hand; for he is the master builder of his church (Heb_3:3), and he builds
exactly by line and level. Zechariah took the boldness to ask him whither he was going
and what he designed to do with that measuring line. And he readily told him that he
was going to measure Jerusalem, to take a particular account of the dimensions of it
each way, that it might be computed what was necessary for the making of a wall about
it, and that it might appear, by comparing its dimensions with the vast numbers that
should inhabit it, what additions were necessary to be made for the receiving and
containing of them; when multitudes flock to Jerusalem (Isa_60:4) it is time for her to
enlarge the place of her tent, Isa_54:2. Note, God takes notice of the extent of his
church, and will take care that, when ever so many guests are brought in to the wedding
supper, still there shall be room, Luk_14:22. In the New Jerusalem, my Father's house
above, there are many mansions.
II. He is informed that this vision means well to Jerusalem, that the measuring line he
saw was not a line of confusion (as that Isa_34:11), not a line to mete out for destruction,
as when God purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion he stretched out a line
(Lam_2:8); but it is as when he divided the inheritance by line, Psa_78:55. The angel
that talked with the prophet went forth, as he designed, to measure Jerusalem, but
another angel went out to meet him, to desire that he would first explain this vision to
the prophet, that it might not occasion him any uneasy speculations: Run, and speak to
this young man (for, it seems, the prophet entered upon his prophecy when he was
young, yet no man ought to despise his youth when God thus highly honoured it); he is a
young man, not experienced, and may be ready to fear the worst; therefore bid him hope
the best; tell him that Jerusalem shall be both safe and great, 1. As safe and great as
numbers of men can make it (Zec_2:4): Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without
walls; the inhabitants of it shall increase, and multiply, and replenish it to admiration,
so that it shall extend itself far beyond the present dimensions which now there is an
account taken of. The walls of a city, as they defend it, so they straiten and confine it, and
keep its inhabitants from multiplying beyond such a pitch; but Jerusalem, even when it

3. is walled, to keep off the enemy, shall be inhabited as towns without walls. The city shall
be in a manner lost in the suburbs, as London is, where the out-parishes are more
populous than those within the walls. So shall it be with Jerusalem; it shall be extended
as freely as if it had no walls at all, and yet shall be as safe as if it had the strongest walls,
such a multitude of men (which are the best walls of a city) shall there be therein, and of
cattle too, to be not only food, but wealth too, for those men. Note, The increase of the
numbers of a people is a great blessing, is a fruit of God's blessing on them and an
earnest of further blessings, Psa_107:38. They are multiplied, for he blesses them. 2. As
safe and great as the presence of God can make it, Zec_2:5. (1.) It shall be safe, for God
himself will be a wall of fire round about it. Jerusalem had no walls about it at this time,
but lay naked and exposed; formerly, when it had walls, the enemies not only broke
through them, but broke them down; but now God will be unto her a wall of fire. Some
think it alludes to shepherds that made fires about their flocks, or travellers that made
fires about their tents in desert places, to frighten wild beasts from them. God will not
only make a hedge about them as he did about Job (Zec_1:10), not only make walls and
bulwarks about them, Isa_26:1 (those may be battered down), not only be as the
mountains round about them, Psa_125:2 (mountains may be got over), but he will be a
wall of fire round them, which cannot be broken through, nor scaled, nor undermined,
nor the foundations of it sapped, nor can it be attempted, or approached, without danger
to the assailants. God will not only make a wall of fire about her, but he will himself be
such a wall; for our God is a consuming fire to his and his church's enemies. He is a wall
of fire, not on one side only, but round about on every side. (2.) It shall be great, for God
himself will be the glory in the midst of it. His temple, his altar, shall be set up and
attended there, and his institutions observed, and there then shall the tokens of his
special presence and favour be, which will be the glory in the midst of them, will make
them truly admirable in the eyes of all about them. God will have honour from them, and
put honour upon them. Note, Those that have God for their God have him for their
glory; those that have him in the midst of them have glory in the midst of them, and
thence the church is said to be all glorious within. And those persons and places that
have God to be the glory in the midst of them have him for a wall of fire round about
them, for upon all that glory there is, and shall be, a defence, Isa_4:5. Now all this was
fulfilled in part in Jerusalem, which in process of time became a very flourishing city,
and made a very great figure in those parts of the world, much beyond what could have
been expected, considering how low it was brought and how long it was ere it recovered
itself; but it was to have its full accomplishment in the gospel-church, which is extended
far, as towns without walls, by the admission of the Gentiles into it, and which has God,
the Son of God, for its prince and protector.
JAMISO , "Zec_2:1-13. Third Vision. The man with the measuring-line.
The city shall be fully restored and enlarged (Zec_2:2-5). Recall of the exiles (Zec_2:6,
Zec_2:7). Jehovah will protect His people and make their foes a spoil unto them (Zec_
2:8, Zec_2:9). The nations shall be converted to Jehovah, as the result of His dwelling
manifestly amidst His people (Zec_2:10-13).
man with a measuring-line — the same image to represent the same future fact as
in Eze_40:3; Eze_47:4. The “man” is Messiah (see on Zec_1:8), who, by measuring
Jerusalem, is denoted as the Author of its coming restoration. Thus the Jews are
encouraged in Zechariah’s time to proceed with the building. Still more so shall they be
hereby encouraged in the future restoration.

4. K&D 1-5, "Whilst the second vision sets forth the destruction of the powers that were
hostile to Israel, the third (Zec_2:1-5) with the prophetic explanation (Zec_2:6-13)
shows the development of the people and kingdom of God till the time of its final glory.
The vision itself appears very simple, only a few of the principal features being indicated;
but in this very brevity it presents many difficulties so far as the exposition is concerned.
It is as follows: Zec_2:1. “And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold a man, and in
his hand a measuring line. Zec_2:2. Then I said, Whither goest thou? And he said to
me, To measure Jerusalem, to see how great its breadth, and how great its length. Zec_
2:3. And, behold, the angel that talked with me went out, and another angel went out to
meet him. Zec_2:4. And he said to him, Run, speak to his young man thus: Jerusalem
shall lie as an open land for the multitude of men and cattle in the midst of it. Zec_2:5.
And I shall be to it, is the saying of Jehovah, a fiery wall round about; and I shall be for
glory in the midst of it.” The man with the measuring line in his hand is not the
interpreting angel (C. B. Mich., Ros., Maurer, etc.); for it was not his duty to place the
events upon the stage, but simply to explain to the prophet the things which he saw.
Moreover, this angel is clearly distinguished from the man, inasmuch as he does not go
out (Zec_2:3) till after the latter has gone to measure Jerusalem (Zec_2:2). At the same
time, we cannot regard the measuring man as merely “a figure in the vision,” since all the
persons occurring in these visions are significant; but we agree with those who
conjecture that he is the angel of Jehovah, although this conjecture cannot be distinctly
proved. The task which he is preparing to perform - namely, to measure Jerusalem -
leads unquestionably to the conclusion that he is something more than a figure. The
measuring of the breadth and length of Jerusalem presupposes that the city is already in
existence; and this expression must not be identified with the phrase, to draw the
measure over Jerusalem, in Zec_1:15. Drawing the measure over a place is done for the
purpose of sketching a plan for its general arrangement or the rebuilding of it. But the
length and breadth of a city can only be measured when it is already in existence; and the
object of the measuring is not to see how long and how broad it is to be, but what the
length and breadth actually are. It is true that it by no means follows from this that the
city to be measured was the Jerusalem of that time; on the contrary, the vision shows the
future Jerusalem, but it exhibits it as a city in actual existence, and visible to the spiritual
eye. While the man goes away to measure the city, the interpreting angel goes out: not
out of the myrtle thicket, for this only occurs in the first vision; but he goes away from
the presence of the prophet, where we have to think of him as his interpreter, in the
direction of the man with the measuring line, to find out what he is going to do, and
bring back word to the prophet. At the very same time another angel comes out to meet
him, viz., the angelus interpres, not the man with the measuring line. For one person
can only come to meet another when the latter is going in the direction from which the
former comes. Having come to meet him, he (the second angel) says to him (the angelus
interpres), “Run, say to this young man,” etc. The subject to ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ּאמ‬ ַ‫ו‬ can only be the second
angel; for if, on grammatical grounds, the angelus interpres might be regarded as
speaking to the young man, such an assumption is proved to be untenable, by the fact
that it was no part of the office of the angelus interpres to give orders or commissions to
another angel. On the other hand, there is nothing at all to preclude another angel from
revealing a decree of God to the angelus interpres for him to communicate to the
prophet; inasmuch as this does not bring the angelus interpres into action any further
than his function requires, so that there is no ground for the objection that this is at
variance with his standing elsewhere (Kliefoth). But the other angel could not give the
instructions mentioned in Zec_1:4 to the angelus interpres, unless he were either

5. himself a superior angel, viz., the angel of Jehovah, or had been directed to do so by the
man with the measuring line, in which case this “man” would be the angel of Jehovah. Of
these two possibilities we prefer the latter on two grounds: (1) because it is impossible to
think of any reason why the “other angel” should not be simply called ‫ה‬ָ‫ּו‬‫ה‬ְ‫י‬ ְ‫ך‬ፍ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫,מ‬ if he
really were the angel of the Lord; and (2) because, according to the analogy of Eze_40:3,
the man with the measuring line most probably was the angel of Jehovah, with whose
dignity it would be quite in keeping that he should explain his purpose to the angelus
interpres through the medium of another (inferior) angel. And if this be established, so
far as the brevity of the account will allow, we cannot understand by the “young man”
the man with the measuring line, as Hitzig, Maurer, and Kliefoth do. The only way in
which such an assumption as this could be rendered tenable or in harmony with the rest,
would be by supposing that the design of the message was to tell the man with the
measuring line that “he might desist from his useless enterprise” (Hitzig), as Jerusalem
could not be measured at all, on account of the number of its inhabitants and its vast size
(Theod. Mops., Theodoret, Ewald, Umbreit, etc.); but Kliefoth has very justly replied to
this, that “if a city be ever so great, inasmuch as it is a city, it can always be measured,
and also have walls.”
If, then, the symbolical act of measuring, as Kliefoth also admits, expresses the
question how large and how broad Jerusalem will eventually be, and if the words of Zec_
2:4, Zec_2:5 contain the answer to this question, viz., Jerusalem will in the first place
(Zec_2:4) contain such a multitude of men and cattle that it will dwell like pe
râzōth; this
answer, which gives the meaning of the measuring, must be addressed not to the
measuring man, but simply to the prophet, that he may announce to the people the
future magnitude and glory of the city. The measuring man was able to satisfy himself of
this by the measuring itself. We must therefore follow the majority of both the earlier
and later expositors, and take the “young man” as being the prophet himself, who is so
designated on account of his youthful age, and without any allusion whatever to “human
inexperience and dim short-sightedness” (Hengstenberg), since such an allusion would
be very remote from the context, and even old men of experience could not possibly
know anything concerning the future glory of Jerusalem without a revelation from
above. Hallâz, as in Jdg_6:20 and 2Ki_4:25, is a contraction of hallâzeh, and formed
from lâzeh, there, thither, and the article hal, in the sense of the (young man) there, or
that young man (cf. Ewald, §103, a, and 183, b; Ges. §34, Anm. 1). He is to make haste
and bring this message, because it is good news, the realization of which will soon
commence. The message contains a double and most joyful promise. (1) Jerusalem will
in future dwell, i.e., to be built, as pe
râzōth. This word means neither “without walls,” nor
loca aperta, but strictly speaking the plains, and is only used in the plural to denote the
open, level ground, as contrasted with the fortified cities surrounded by walls: thus ‛ārē
pe
râzōth, cities of the plain, in Est_9:19, as distinguished from the capital Susa; and 'erets
pe
râzōth in Eze_38:11, the land where men dwell “without walls, bolts, and gates;” hence
pe
râzı, inhabitant of the plain, in contrast with the inhabitants of fortified cities with high
walls (Deu_3:5; 1Sa_6:18). The thought is therefore the following: Jerusalem is in future
to resemble an open country covered with unwalled cities and villages; it will no longer
be a city closely encircled with walls; hence it will be extraordinarily enlarged, on
account of the multitude of men and cattle with which it will be blessed (cf. Isa_49:19-
20; Eze_38:11). Moreover, (2) Jerusalem will then have no protecting wall surrounding

6. it, because it will enjoy a superior protection. Jehovah will be to it a wall of fire round
about, that is to say, a defence of fire which will consume every one who ventures to
attack it (cf. Isa_4:5; Deu_4:24). Jehovah will also be the glory in the midst of
Jerusalem, that is to say, will fill the city with His glory (cf. Isa_60:19). This promise is
explained in the following prophetic words which are uttered by the angel of Jehovah, as
Zec_2:8, Zec_2:9, and Zec_2:11 clearly show. According to these verses, for example, the
speaker is sent by Jehovah, and according to Zec_2:8 to the nations which have
plundered Israel, “after glory,” i.e., to smite these nations and make them servants to the
Israelites. From this shall Israel learn that Jehovah has sent him. The fact that,
according to Zec_2:3, Zec_2:4, another angel speaks to the prophet, may be easily
reconciled with this. For since this angel, as we have seen above, was sent by the angel of
Jehovah, he speaks according to his instructions, and that in such a manner that his
words pass imperceptibly into the words of the sender, just as we very frequently find
the words of a prophet passing suddenly into the words of God, and carried on as such.
For the purpose of escaping from this simple conclusion, Koehler has forcibly broken up
this continuous address, and has separated the words of Zec_2:8, Zec_2:9, and Zec_
2:11, in which the angel says that Jehovah has sent him, from the words of Jehovah
proclaimed by the angel, as being interpolations, but without succeeding in explaining
them either simply or naturally.
CALVI , "Added now is another vision for the same end; not that the former was
difficult to be understood, but because there was need of confirmation in a state of
things so disturbed; for though the return of the people was no common evidence of
the goodness and favor of God yet as Jerusalem was not flourishing as formerly, as
the temple was like a cottage as there was no form of a kingdom and no grandeur, it
was difficult to believe what had been already exhibited. This is the reason why God
confirms by many proofs the same thing; for we know how difficult the contest is,
owing to the infirmity of the flesh, when grievous and sharp trials assail us.
Hence Zechariah says, that he saw in the hand of a man a measuring line. He calls
him a man, who appeared in the form of man; and it is well known, and a common
thing, that angels are called men. For though they put on a human form only for a
time, yet as it was the Lord’s will that they should be seen in that form, they are
called men, though with no propriety. If it be asked, whether angels did really put
on human nature? the obvious answer is, that they never, strictly speaking, became
really men. But we know that God treats us as children; and there is the same
reason for the expression as for the thing itself. How was it that angels appeared in
human form? even that their access to men might be easier. Hence God calls them
men as in this place. Zechariah then says, that an angel appeared to him in the form
of a man, having in his hand a measuring line.
COKE, "Introduction
CHAP. II.
God, in the care of Jerusalem, sendeth to measure it. The redemption of Zion. The
promise of God's presence.

7. Before Christ 519.
THIS chapter contains the substance of a third vision. In conformity to what was
said, chap. Zechariah 1:16 a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem; a man, or
an angel, appears with a measuring line in his hand, going, as he says, to take the
dimensions of Jerusalem, in order to its being rebuilt according to its former extent,
which was afterwards done by ehemiah. This is accompanied with a message
delivered to the prophet, shewing the great increase of her population and wealth;
her perfect security under the divine protection; the recal of her exiles from the
north country, and the punishment of those who had oppressed them; the return of
God's presence to dwell in her; and the conversion of many heathen nations; and
lastly, the reinstatement of Judah and Jerusalem in the full possession of all their
ancient privileges.
COFFMA , "This chapter has the vision of a man with a measuring line, a vision
which is number three in a series of eight. Evidently, the purpose of this vision was
merely to suggest, rather than to demonstrate, the dimensions of the Jerusalem to be
measured, as no measurements appear to have been either made or delivered to the
prophet.
In this vision, the meaning of it was given by Zechariah in the last half of the
chapter (Zechariah 2:6-13). The Jerusalem which is revealed is not the physical
Jerusalem at all, but the unlimited and glorious Jerusalem which is "above, which is
our mother" (Galatians 4:26). As in all the other visions, there are the most definite
Messianic implications in it.
Zechariah 2:1
"And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, a man with a measuring line in his
hand."
The purpose here, evidently, is to suggest the dimensions of Jerusalem, not to
determine them. o measuring was done.
"A man with a measuring line ..." It is usually agreed among commentators that this
person was actually an angel of God, some even declaring him to be the angel of the
Covenant. This Biblical method of introducing an angel as a "man" is used rather
extensively, as for example, when the angels who visited Lot prior to the destruction
of Sodom were called "men" (Genesis 18:2). However, we must reject the
identification which would make him the angel of the Covenant, a being who was
always more specifically designated.
There are quite a number of these "measuring line" scenes in the Bible. See Ezekiel
40:3; Revelation 11:1; 21:15,16.
Dummelow and other scholars make the "man" here to be the same as "the young
man" in Zechariah 2:4;[1] but there is no reason for this. See under Zechariah 2:4.

8. CO STABLE, "Verse 1-2
In the next scene of his vision, Zechariah saw a man (i.e, an angel who looked like a
man) with a measuring line in his hand (cf. Zechariah 1:11; Zechariah 6:12; Ezekiel
40:2-3). When the prophet asked him where he was going, he replied that he was
going to measure the dimensions of Jerusalem. This surveying would have been
preparation for restoring and rebuilding the city. The restoration of Jerusalem in
progress in Zechariah"s day was only a foreview of a much grander future
restoration to be described (cf. Jeremiah 32:15; Ezekiel 40:3; Ezekiel 40:5;
Revelation 11:
BE SO , "Verses 1-5
Zechariah 2:1-5. I lifted up mine eyes, &c., and behold a man — An angel in the
form of a man, probably representing ehemiah, under whose direction the wall
was rebuilt, according to the ancient line marked out by the ruins. See ehemiah 3.,
&c, &c. And the angel that talked with me went forth — Went away from me, as if
he had performed his commission in regard to me, and was to commune with me no
longer. And another angel went out to meet him — But, as he was going away, I saw
another angel meet him. This appears to have been an angel sent with fresh
commands, from the superior personage among the myrtle-trees, to the angel who
communed with the prophet. And said, Run, speak to this young man — Hasten
with all diligence, and communicate to the young and inexperienced prophet what
will check his fears, and encourage him to proceed in the execution of his prophetic
office. Saying, Jerusalem — Which hath so long lain in ruins, and seemed to be in a
hopeless state, shall be inhabited as towns, &c. — Shall overflow with inhabitants,
who shall occupy spaces beyond the circuit of the walls: that is, its inhabitants will
multiply so fast, that the houses within the walls will not be able to contain them,
and they will be obliged to seek habitations in the neighbouring country in villages,
which shall be of as great extent as towns, which, although without walls, shall be
safe and secure against the attacks of enemies; their own multitude of men being a
sufficient defence to them. And their cattle will increase in proportion. That this was
a fact with regard to Jerusalem, see Josephus, De Bell. Jud., lib. 5. chap. 4, where we
learn that “the city, overflowing with its number of inhabitants, by degrees extended
itself beyond its walls;” and that Herod Agrippa fortified the new part called
Bezetha. For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire — Which cannot be
scaled or undermined, as it would soon consume any that might attempt to do the
one or the other. Thus, in regard to her inhabiting without walls, God engages to
secure her as effectually as if she were surrounded with a wall of fire. “The image is
most sublime, and expresses very strongly the protection of God. It must have
reminded the Jews of the pillar of fire by which God directed and defended their
ancestors.” — ewcome. He says, Round about, to signify that no part should be left
unguarded, or open to the enemy. And will be the glory in the midst of her — My
presence and favour shall render her glorious. He alludes to the symbol of the divine
presence in the holy of holies. Observe, reader, those that have Jehovah for their
God have him for their glory: and they that have him in the midst of them have
glory in the midst of them. And all those persons and places that have God in the
midst of them, have him for a wall of fire round about them; for upon all that glory,

9. there is, and shall be, a defence, Isaiah 4:5. This prophecy was fulfilled in part in
that Jerusalem, which, in process of time, became a very flourishing city, and made
a very great figure in those parts of the world, much beyond what could have been
expected, considering how low it had been brought, and how long it was before it
recovered itself. But it was to have its full accomplishment in the gospel church,
which is extended far, like towns without walls, by the admission of the Gentiles into
it; and which hath the Son of God, and God himself, for its prince and protector.
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "The Man with the Measuring Line
Zechariah 2:1-2
The vision.—This vision is really the protest of the Prophet against the attempt the
Jews were making to narrow down the Divine purposes to the limit of their own
paltry plans. In his vision the Prophet sees a young Prayer of Manasseh , who stands
for the Jewish people, with a measuring line in his hand. The Prophet hails the
young Prayer of Manasseh , and asks him whither he is going, and what is his
errand. The young man answers, "I go to measure Jerusalem, to see what is the
breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. The young man"s notion of
Jerusalem was of a city strictly limited, compassable, and measurable, whose
dimensions could be stated in so many yards and feet. But that was not God"s
Jerusalem at all. God"s Jerusalem was vast, illimitable, boundless. That is the truth
set forth in the angel"s reply. "Run and speak to this young Prayer of Manasseh ,"
says the one angel to the other—"run and speak to this young man. Tell him he is
attempting the impossible. Tell him he is trying to measure the immeasurable. Tell
him he might as well try to count the stars in the midnight sky, or the grains of the
sand on the seashore, or the drops of water in the vasty deep, as seek to measure the
Holy City with his tape. Run and speak to this young man—tell him Jerusalem
cannot be measured; tell him it is to be no narrow, paltry, mountain fortress; tell
him it is to be inhabited as villages, without walls, by reason of the multitude of men
and cattle therein; tell him it is to be a spacious, vast, illimitable city, so that no
measuring line on earth is sufficient to compass it."
The amplitude, the vastness of God"s design, and the impossibility of compassing it
by any human measurement, that is the superficial and obvious lesson of the text.
I. Let me illustrate the text with reference to the kingdom of God. There is need still
to insist upon the wideness of the kingdom, for men are busy still trying to narrow
its boundaries.
II. ext let me illustrate it with reference to the love of God. In all ages, men have
been applying the measuring line to the love of God. Go back eighteen centuries,
and you find the Pharisees and Scribes busy with the measuring line.
And yet, in spite of the life and witness of Jesus, men have not ceased to think God"s
love can be measured. They have tried to limit it by theological theories. Men
preached a hateful theory of election, asserting there were some whom God loved

10. and saved, and some on whom He visited His wrath and damned. They have
preached a "limited atonement," as if Christ died only for a section of the race, and
His blood availed to cleanse but a few. And I do not hesitate to say that that doctrine
of election and that doctrine of a limited atonement are a slander and libel upon the
love of God.
I know nothing of love for an "elect few". My gospel says, "God so loved the
world". I know nothing of a limited atonement. My gospel says, "He is the
Propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole
world". The love of God knows no limit—it is vast, boundless, infinite. It embraces
every man—it endures to all eternity.
III. Let me illustrate it further with reference to man"s destiny. Man"s destiny is
beyond the reach of any earthly measuring line. "Beloved, now are we children of
God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be." It doth not yet appear what we
shall be; the splendour of our destiny is beyond the utmost reach of our imagination
and thought, for we know that when He shall appeal", we shall be like Him, for we
shall see Him as He is.
IV. We tax our imaginations to try and picture to ourselves the glory and bliss of
heaven. But the measuring line of the human mind is not equal to the task. It
exceeds our utmost stretch of thought John has given us a glowing picture in the
Apocalypse. But heaven is better even than John"s sketch of it. Even his soaring
imagination could not take in all its splendour and beauty. Heaven"s glory baffles
description, defies every measuring line. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
hath entered into the mind of man the things which God hath prepared for those
who love Him."
—J. D. Jones, The Elims of Life,p202.
A Man with a Measuring Line
Zechariah 2:1-2
It was a difficult time in Jewish history. People were coming back from the
captivity. They had to rebuild Jerusalem, to restore the Temple, to make a new
nation, as it were, out of the old fragments that were left. o wonder that hearts
failed on all sides. Zechariah rises to meet these evils, vision after vision passes
before his eyes, and among these visions there is this man of the measuring line, the
cautious Prayer of Manasseh , the prudent Prayer of Manasseh , the calculating
man. "What is the good? You can do nothing. What can you poor people do to build
a city like the old Jerusalem—to guard it, to fence it round, to make its ramparts
strong? You must be cautious and careful, you must take heed what you are about
lest you fail." Very useful are such counsels in life, but they may be over-done.
Prudent worldliness has not much room in the household of God. Small is the
company of those who have begun and not been able to finish compared with those
who have been scared back at the outset. As an old proverb says," The best is often

11. the enemy of the good". Because we cannot do at once in a moment all that we want
to do, because we cannot always see our way to accomplish anything at all, or very
little, because the task seems too much, and our abilities too small, those are the sort
of feelings that unman us, that bar all progress.
I. What Faith has Done.—Take the case of the Apostles, when Jesus said unto them,
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature"; or when He
added, "beginning at Jerusalem ". I can fancy the man with the measuring line
there saying, "What can you do here in Jerusalem among the learned Scribes and
righteous Pharisees, you poor Galilean fishermen? What can you do? You had
better hold your tongues. You will not succeed." Or afterwards, "What! Do you
think you will capture Rome, the greatest power in the world, the capital of the
greatest empire that was ever seen? Better try humbler things, my friends, than
that." But the Twelve went on calmly, quietly, facing the odds, content to do little so
long as they did it, satisfied if only they were walking in the Master"s steps, laying
foundation-stones for others to build on after they were gone. On they went, because
all the while they felt that God was with them, and that He would not fail. Just as
Zechariah the Prophet was sustained by the recollection of what God had done for
Israel, so the Apostles, with the whole history of the past before their eyes,
recollecting what the history of Jerusalem had been, went on calmly, quietly, just
doing the work that lay straight before them, attempting no great things, hoping no
great things, but just trying to fulfil their Master"s command.
II. What Faith can Do.—How many of us are disposed to say, "Well, what can we
do?" We want, perhaps, to achieve a character, we would like to be good people. We
want to be men of faith, like St. Paul; men of zeal, like St. Peter; men of love, like St.
John , but we feel we never can attain to it. We are so ill-tempered, unbelieving,
unconcerned and indifferent. What can we do? What is the use of our trying? We
have not the power, the opportunities that others possess. It seems to us as if we
never should win our way upwards. We want to begin at the top of the ladder and
not at the bottom. We want to soar instantly to the heights without having to tramp
the weary way, but God"s way is not our way, nor His thoughts our thoughts. The
man with the measuring line, our own doubting hearts this time, our own prudence,
perhaps, suggests how little we can do, how useless it all is. Why should we attempt
more? evertheless it is good for us to remember that the history of the saints has
been the history of small things, small efforts, small hopes, of small prayers. Every
prayer tells, every hope is answered, every act of faith becomes a victory, if not for
ourselves for those who come after. Go on struggling, and by and by when a great
crisis comes, as such crises come in every human life, when you have to be tried for
what you are, before God and Prayer of Manasseh , you will find that strength, and
faith, and zeal are abundant, and love cannot fail. You have won without knowing it
the topmost rung, you have built the tower stone by stone.
ISBET, "Verse 1-2
‘A MA WITH A MEASURI G LI E’
‘I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in
his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure

12. Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.’
Zechariah 2:1-2
It was a difficult time in Jewish history. People were coming back from the
Captivity. They had to rebuild Jerusalem, to restore the Temple, to make a new
nation, as it were, out of the old fragments that were left. o wonder that hearts
failed on all sides. Zechariah rises to meet these evils, vision after vision passes
before his eyes, and among these visions there is this man of the measuring line, the
cautious man, the prudent man, the calculating man. ‘What is the good? You can do
nothing. What can you poor people do to build a city like the old Jerusalem—to
guard it, to fence it round, to make its ramparts strong? You must be cautious and
careful, you must take heed what you are about lest you fail.’ Very useful are such
counsels in life, but they may be overdone. Prudent worldliness has not much room
in the household of God.
I. Think of what faith has done.—Take the case of the Apostles, when Jesus said
unto them, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature’; or
when He added, ‘beginning at Jerusalem.’ I can fancy the man with the measuring
line there saying, ‘What can you do here in Jerusalem among the learned scribes
and righteous Pharisees, you poor Galilæan fishermen? What can you do? You had
better hold your tongues. You will not succeed.’ Or afterwards, ‘What! Do you
think you will capture Rome, the greatest power in the world, the capital of the
greatest empire that was ever seen? Better try humbler things, my friends, than
that.’ But the Twelve went on calmly, quietly, facing the odds, content to do little so
long as they did it, satisfied if only they were walking in the Master’s steps, laying
foundation stones for others to build on after they were gone. On they went, because
all the while they felt that God was with them, and that He would not fail. Just as
Zechariah the prophet was sustained by the recollection of what God had done for
Israel, so the Apostles, with the whole history of the past before their eyes,
recollecting what the history of Jerusalem had been, went on calmly, quietly, just
doing the work that lay straight before them, attempting no great things, hoping no
great things, but just trying to fulfil their Master’s command.
II. Think of what faith can do.—How many of us are disposed to say, ‘Well, what
can we do?’ We want, perhaps, to achieve a character, we would like to be good
people. We want to be men of faith, like St. Paul; men of zeal, like St. Peter; men of
love, like St. John: but we feel we never can attain to it. We are so ill-tempered,
unbelieving, unconcerned, and indifferent. What can we do? What is the use of our
trying? The man with the measuring line, our own doubting hearts this time, our
own prudence, perhaps, suggests how little we can do, how useless it all is. Why
should we attempt more? evertheless it is good for us to remember that the history
of the saints has been the history of small things, small efforts, small hopes, of small
prayers. Every prayer tells, every hope is answered, every act of faith becomes a
victory, if not for ourselves for those who come after. Go on struggling, and by and
by when a great crisis comes, as such crises come in every human life, when you
have to be tried for what you are, before God and man, you will find that strength,
and faith, and zeal are abundant, and love cannot fail. You have won without
knowing it the topmost rung, you have built the tower stone by stone. Perhaps we

13. desire to do something while we are here to leave the world a little brighter than we
found it. The man with the measuring line at our side is ready to say, ‘You have no
ability, your friends want your time, they do not want you to spend it in doing other
work.’ You feel all incapable, you are not learned enough, you do not know enough,
you have not the gifts. You have just the spirit of a person that the measuring line
would keep back, but the spirit of Christ would push forward. Go forward,
Christian brother, Christian sister, go forward in your work for God, whatever it
be. Your conscience demands it of you. Do not let the measuring line of prudence
and calculation and over-safety keep you back.
—Rev. Prebendary Shelford.
PETT, "The Third Vision. The Man With The Measuring Line (Zechariah 2:1-13).
Having learned that nothing has been happening among the nations which will aid
in the recovery of YHWH’s people (Zechariah 1:7-11), and having received an
oracle to the effect of God’s displeasure at the situation (Zechariah 1:12-17), and
having learned that He has now begun to work to that end (Zechariah 1:18-21),
Zechariah now sees evidence of God’s intentions. The fact that Jerusalem is to be
established (in other words God's dwellingplace with His people) is indicated by it
being measured up by ‘a man with a measuring line’.
Zechariah 2:1-2
‘And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold a man with a measuring line in his
hand. Then I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure
Jerusalem, to see what its breadth is and what its length is."
The act of measuring Jerusalem is a sign that God has plans for its rebuilding and
establishment. It may seem to have had poor beginnings but it will finally prosper
under His hand. This is why He has pared back the nations. This will be partly
fulfilled in the making of Jerusalem secure and prosperous prior to the first coming
of Christ, but more completely fulfilled in the new Jerusalem which is above.
TRAPP, "Zechariah 2:1 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man
with a measuring line in his hand.
Ver. 1. I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked] i.e. I looked wistfully, not sluggishly,
as between sleeping and waking, as Zechariah 4:1. I saw further by the spirit than
common sense could have carried me. I beheld Jerusalem in her future glory, I
looked intently, I took aim, not by the things which are seen, but by the things which
are not seen, 2 Corinthians 4:18, Hebrews 11:27, Galatians 4:26.
And behold a man] The man Christ Jesus, as his mother is called a virgin, Isaiah
7:14, the virgin, that famous virgin that conceived and bare a son, that got a man
from the Lord, Genesis 4:1. This man (called before and after an angel, as
appearing in human shape) is here seen and set forth as an architect or master

14. builder, going to take the plot of his Church, see Revelation 21:15; and observe, by
the way, how in that book the Holy Ghost borrows the allegories and elegancies of
the Old Testament to set out the story of the ew in succeeding ages.
PULPIT, "Zechariah 2:1
(Hebrews 2:5.) I lifted up mine eyes again (comp. Zechariah 5:1; Zechariah 6:1;
Daniel 8:3). This third vision makes a further revelation of God's mercy to Israel.
Consequent on the destruction of enemies shall be the growth and development of
the chosen people till the time of their final glory (comp. Zechariah 1:16). There is
some difficulty in arranging the details of this vision, depending in great measure on
the decision we arrive at with regard to the identification of the "young man" of
Zechariah 2:4. Those who, as Theodoret, Hitzig, Schegg, Trcehon, Wright, Perowne,
etc; consider him to be the man with the measuring line of Zechariah 2:1, do not
explain why the message should be given to him instead of to the prophet who had
asked for information. or is it at all certain that the measurer is meant to be
regarded as having made a mistake in attempting to define the limits of what was
practically unlimited—viz. the restored Jerusalem—and was stopped accordingly in
his proceedings. It seems preferable, with Jerome, Cornelius a Lapide, Pusey, Keil,
Knabenbauer, etc; to regard the "young man" as Zechariah himself. Then the
vision is thus presented: The prophet sees a man with a measuring line; he asks
whither he is going, and is answered that he was going forth to measure Jerusalem.
Upon this the interpreting angel leaves the prophet's side to receive the explanation
of the man's proceedings, and is met by a superior angel, who bids him hasten to tell
the prophet the meaning of the vision. A man. Probably an angel in human form, as
Zechariah 1:8. A measuring line. This is not the same word as that in Zechariah
1:16; but the idea there proposed is taken up here, and its fulfilment is set forth
(comp. Ezekiel 11:3; Revelation 11:1; Revelation 21:15, Revelation 21:16).
BI 1-4, "A man with a measuring line in his hand
The man with a measure
The prophet asks where the man is going, and the answer given is—“to measure”; and
then he shows what would be the measure of Jerusalem, that it would hereafter extend
beyond the walls, as that compass would not contain the vast number of the people.
“God will extend,” he says, “far and wide the holy city; it will no longer be confined as
before to its own walls, but will be inhabited through all its villages.” There is then no
doubt but that God intended here to bear witness respecting the propagation of His
Church, which was to follow a long time afterwards, even after the coming of Christ. For
though Jerusalem became wealthy and also large in its compass, and, as it is well known,
a triple city, and heathen writers say that it was among the first of the cities of the East
when Babylon was still existing, yet this prophecy was not verified in the state of
Jerusalem, for it was not inhabited without its walls, nor did it spread through the whole
of Judaea. We hence conclude that the spiritual Jerusalem is here described which
differs from all earthly cities. Here is described the heavenly Jerusalem, which is
surrounded by no walls, but is open to the whole world, and which depends not on its
own strength, but dwells safely though exposed on all sides to enemies; for the prophet
says, not without reason, “through the villages shall Jerusalem be inhabited”; that is, it

15. shall everywhere be inhabited, so that it will have no need of defence to restrain or
hinder enemies to come near; for a safe rest shall be given to it, when every one shall
quietly occupy his own place. Though few returned from exile, God was yet able to
increase the Church, and to make it a vast multitude, and this was certain and decreed,
for it was shown by the vision that however unequal they were to their enemies, God was
still sufficiently strong and powerful to defend them; and that however destitute they
were of all blessings, God was still rich enough to enrich them, provided they relied on
the blessing which He had promised. (John Calvin.)
The optimism of faith
Zechariah was the most uniformly hopeful of all the prophets. He was a young man. His
little book is the work of a youthful imaginative mind, richly endowed with poetic gifts,
as well as steeped in the diviner fount of inspiration. He saw all things bathed in the
glory of the morning. The time in which he wrote was near the end of the Babylonian
captivity. The prophet draws one picture after another of the glorious things which were
nigh. Here the prophet sees a young man going with a measuring line in his hand, and
asks “Whither? To measure Jerusalem,” is the answer, and straightway he marches on.
Then the angels appear, and one says to the other, “Go after that young man, and tell
him that his measuring line is too short. Jerusalem will expand beyond all boundaries
and all measurements, because of the number of people in it. Tell him that he is going to
measure the immeasurable.” This allegory contains these two Gospel truths.
1. Faith realises that which does not exist.
2. These Divine things which faith realises are so great that even faith cannot
measure them.
I. Faith realises that which is to be. This young man was going to do an apparent
absurdity. He was going to measure a city which had not yet been built. All the practical,
materialistic, matter-of-fact people of the world would call that the very climax of folly.
The Gospel of common sense says, Let us have no illusions. Give us facts, for anything
which is not built upon facts is foolishness. Our religion indulges throughout in this
foolishness, if foolishness it may be called. Faith realises the city that is not yet built.,
grasps coming events as though they were already present. All the best and greatest men
and women that have ever been upon this earth have lived and moved and had their
being in what was called a world of dreams, a world, that is, of fair, sweet hopes, of
treasures and of glories that had not yet been created. Illustrated by Abraham, David,
etc. It is the source and secret of all our strength and confidence, that where other eyes
see only imperfections, we see a city of God which He will most assuredly build.
II. These Divine things which faith realises before they come into existence are so great
that even faith cannot measure them. The angel speaks to the young man, to rebuke him
for the presumption of thinking that he can measure the city—it is immeasurable. We
cannot measure anything that God builds. You cannot gauge moral influences or
tabulate spiritual forces. There is no plummet that can sound the depths of love Divine.
You could have measured Giant Goliath, but you could not have measured the faith and
the courage of the young man who came up to meet him in the name of the Lord.
Illustrated from the company carried by the Mayflower; or by comparing the French
Revolution with the beginning of missionary enterprise. You cannot measure the
Church, the Church of Christ. It is infinitely broader, larger, stronger, than the most
flattering statistics show. (J. G. Greenhough, M. A.)

16. The man with the measuring line
It was natural enough. We dream of what occupies our waking thoughts; and probably
Jerusalem was full of surveyors, engaged in mapping out the new streets and walls.
1. The pessimist comes with his measuring line, and draws the plan of the city within
the narrowest possible boundaries. He justifies his forecast by quoting such a text as
“Fear not, little flock”; or “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto
life, and few there be that find it.” Sometimes he fears that he will not enter, at other
times he doubts all others but himself.
2. The bigot comes with his measuring line and insists that the city walls must
coincide with his shibboleth, and follow the tracings of his creed.
3. The experimentalist is apt to refuse to consider as Christians those who have not
experienced exactly the same doubts, fears, ecstasies, deliverances, and cleansings
which he himself has felt.
4. The universalist goes to the other extreme, and practically builds his walls around
the entire race of man, including within their circumference every member of the
human family. It is not for us to fix the boundaries, or insist on our conceptions.
These are secret things which belong to the Lord our God. So shall it be with the
saved. We have no right to include in their ranks any who know not God, and obey
not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus, who have loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil. But apart from these, there will be a multitude which no man
can number, out of every nation and of all tribes, and peoples, and tongues; as stars
in the midnight sky, or the sand grains on the seashore. (P. B. Meyer, B. A.)
An interesting future of the world
I. The future increase of good men on the earth. Two remarks are suggested concerning
the extent of genuine religion. It is—
1. Measurable only by the Divine. Who had the “measuring line”? Not a mere man,
not any created intelligence, but the God-man, the Messiah. Men cannot measure the
growth of piety in the world. They attempt it, but make fearful mistakes. They deal in
statistics, they count the number of churches in the world and the number of
professed worshippers. But piety cannot be measured in this way. Have you scales by
which to weigh genuine love? Any numbers by which to count holy thoughts,
aspirations, and volitions? Any rules by which to gauge spiritual intelligence? Have
you any plummet by which to fathom even the depths of a mother’s affections? No
one but God can weigh and measure the holy experiences of holy souls.
II. The future security of good men on the earth. Who shall penetrate a massive wall of
fire? But that wall is God Himself, omnipotent in strength. Omnipotence is the Guardian
of the good.
III. The future glory of the good men on the earth. Good men are the recipients and the
reflectors of the Divine glory. They are the temples for the Holy Ghost to dwell in, and
they reveal more of Him than the whole material universe. Holiest souls are His highest
manifestations. (Homilist.)

17. The true glory of the Church
1. Although Zion has not yet lengthened her cords and widened her stakes to her
appointed limits, yet the measuring line has gone forth that gives her bounds to be
the habitable earth. Hence, if this future extension was a motive to the Jew, in his
work of rearing the temple of wood and stone, much more is it to us in our work of
erecting the great spiritual temple on the foundation, Jesus Christ (Zec_2:1-4).
2. We learn here the true glory of the Church. It is not in any external pomp or
power, of any kind; not in frowning battlements, either of temporal or spiritual
pretensions; not in rites and ceremonies, however moss grown and venerable; not in
splendid cathedrals and gorgeous vestments, and the swell of music, and the glitter
of eloquence, but in the indwelling glory of the invisible God. Her outward rites and
ceremonies, therefore, should only be like what the earth’s atmosphere is to the rays
of the sun, a pure, transparent medium of transmission (Zec_2:5).
3. The punishment of the wicked as truly declares the glory of God as the salvation of
the righteous (Zec_2:8).
4. The wicked shall ultimately be the slaves of their own lusts; those appetites and
passions which were designed to be merely their obedient servants, shall become
their tormenting and inexorable tyrants (Zec_2:9).
5. The incarnation of Christ and His indwelling in the Church are grounds of the
highest joy (Zec_2:10).
6. Christ is a Divine Saviour. In Zec_2:10-11, we have one Jehovah sending another,
and the Jehovah sent is identified with the angel of the covenant, who was to come
and dwell in the Church, whom we know to be Christ. Hence, unless there are two
distinct Jehovahs, one Divine and the other not, Christ, the Jehovah, angel of this
passage, is Divine.
7. The Church of God shall cover the earth, and become in fact, what it is in right, the
mightiest agency in human history. Though now feeble and despised, she shall one
day include many nations, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that
Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Zec_2:11).
8. Delay of punishment is no proof of impunity. God often seems to be asleep, but
He is only awaiting the appointed time; in the end, when all seems as it was from the
foundation of the world, the herald cry shall go forth, Be silent, O earth, for Jehovah
is aroused to His terrible work, and the day of His wrath is come. Let men kiss the
Son whilst He is yet in the way, before His anger is kindled but a little, and they
perish before Him like stubble before the whirlwind of flames. (T. V. Moore, D. D.)
The man with the measuring line
In this vision God presented to the prophet, and through him to the nation at large, the
prospect and the assurance of the restoration of Jerusalem, and the reestablishment of
the Jewish state as it had been before the captivity. The city should not only be rebuilt,
but greatly extended: the temple should be restored, and the worship of Jehovah
resumed; His presence should be with His people, and they should enjoy His protection;
and whilst they were thus blessed, judgment should come upon those nations that had
oppressed them, and they should have supremacy over those by whom they had been

18. enslaved. All this was literally fulfilled. But even in these promises there seems to be a
reference to things of still higher import, and of spiritual significancy Who can such a
speaker be but that Being who in the fulness of time appeared in our world, uniting in
His one person the human and the Divine natures? May we not say, then, that there is
here a promise of blessing to the Church through the advent of the Redeemer? Then
certainly was glory brought to the temple of the Lord. The Church of God, under the
latter dispensation, may take to herself as her own the comfort and encouragement
which those promises, given to the Church in the old times, were intended to convey.
Security, protection, glory, grace, blessing, extension, and final triumph are all assured
to her by the promise of Him whose word cannot fail. (W. L. Alexander, D. D.)
2 I asked, “Where are you going?”
He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to find
out how wide and how long it is.”
GILL, "Then said I, Whither goest thou?.... As it showed great freedom and
boldness in the prophet to put such a question to the man with the measuring reed, it
was great condescension in him to return him an answer, as follows:
and he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem; not literally understood, which was
not yet thoroughly built; but the Gospel church, often so called; see Heb_12:22 and this
measuring of it denotes the conformity of it to the rule of God's word; a profession of the
true doctrines of it, and an observance of the ordinances of it, as delivered in it; and an
agreement of the walk, life, and conversation of its members with it:
to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof; the length
of the New Jerusalem is as large as the breadth; its length, breadth, and height, are
equal, Rev_21:16.
JAMISO , "To measure Jerusalem — (Compare Rev_11:1; Rev_21:15, Rev_
21:16).
to see what is the breadth ... what is the length — rather, “what is to be the due
breadth and length.”

19. CALVI , "He then asks him where he was going; the answer given is, to measure
Jerusalem, to see what was its breadth and its length. The design of the prophecy is
then stated, Behold, inhabited shall be Jerusalem throughout all its villages, (29) as
it could not contain within its walls so large a multitude of men. God then would so
increase his people, that they could not be contained within its walls, but that the
limits of the Church would be spacious. Inhabited then shall be Jerusalem
throughout all its villages, that is, through the whole country around. This is the
meaning.
We now see the design of the Holy Spirit. As a small portion only had returned from
exile, the faithful might have become disheartened when they found that the
restoration of the Church was very far from being so splendid as what had been so
often predicted and promised. It was therefore necessary that they should be
encouraged, in order that they might patiently wait while God was performing by
degrees, and step by step, what he had testified. That they might not then confine
God’s favor to a short period, or to a few days, the Prophet says here, that the
measure of Jerusalem was different in the sight of God from what it was in the sight
of men. With regard to the “line”, it was according to the ancient custom; for we
know that they did not then use a ten foot pole or some such measure, but a line.
The Prophet, by saying that he raised up his eyes and saw this man, reminds us that
Jerusalem was to be regarded prospectively: for they could hardly be induced then
to build the city as a small and obscure town. We hence see that a difference is to be
here noticed between the external aspect of Jerusalem, such as it was then, and its
future condition, for which they were to look though not then visible. This then is
the design of the prophecy, when it is said, that when Zechariah raised up his eyes,
he saw a measure or a line in the hand of a man. He further reminds us that he was
attentive to these visions, for by asking he proves that he was not asleep or
indifferent, as many are who extinguish every light by their sloth; and I wish there
was no such torpor prevailing among us in the present day! for we justly suffer
punishment for our contempt, whenever we heedlessly and negligently attend to
what God sets before us. Let us then learn greater attention and diligence from the
Prophet’s example.
He asks where he was going, the answer given is, to measure: and then he shows
what would be the measure of Jerusalem, that it would hereafter extend beyond the
walls, as that compass would not contain the vast number of the people. “God will
extend,” he says, “far and wide the holy city; it will no longer be confined as before
to its own walls, but will be inhabited through all its villages.” There is then no
doubt but that God intended here to bear witness respecting the propagation of his
Church, which was to follow a long time afterwards, even after the coming of
Christ. For though Jerusalem became wealthy and also large in its compass, and, as
it is well known, a triple city, and heathen writers say that it was among the first of
the cities of the East when Babylon was still existing, yet this prophecy was not
verified in the state of Jerusalem, for it was not inhabited without its walls, nor did
it spread through the whole of Judea. We hence conclude, that the spiritual

20. Jerusalem is here described, which differs from all earthly cities.
COFFMA , "Verse 2
"Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to
see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof."
This emphasizes the purpose of the vision, the portrayal of the unlimited, glorious
extent of God's city. This was not done by the announcement of any dimensions, but
by a heavenly interruption that revealed the utter impossibility of measuring the
city. o attempted "measuring" ever took place.
"To measure Jerusalem ..." That this is impossible of any application whatever to
the physical Jerusalem is clear enough from the fact that the indicated greatness of
it far surpasses anything that could have ever been true of the literal Jerusalem.
This is also clear from the Messianic overtones that dominate the whole chapter.
TRAPP, "Verse 2
Zechariah 2:2 Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure
Jerusalem, to see what [is] the breadth thereof, and what [is] the length thereof.
Ver. 2. Whither goest thou?] This was great boldness; but the prophet understood
himself well enough; and Christ approves and assents to it in a gracious answer
here, and especially Zechariah 2:4. Great is the confidence of a good conscience
toward God, 1 Peter 3:21. See Isaiah 63:16-17, Habakkuk 1:12. We may come boldly
to the throne of grace, Hebrews 4:16.
To measure Jerusalem] This had been promised before, Zechariah 1:16. But for
their further confirmation, who saw a little likelihood of such a rebuilding and
repeopling, it is repeated. Thus the Lord, tending our infirmity, seals to us again
and again in the holy sacrament, what he had said and sworn to us in his word.
3 While the angel who was speaking to me was
leaving, another angel came to meet him

21. BAR ES, "The angel that talked with me went forth - Probably to receive the
explanation which was given him for Zechariah; and another angel, a higher angel, since
he gives him a commission, “went forth to meet him,” being (it seems probable)
instructed by the Angel of the Lord, who laid down the future dimensions of the city. The
indefiniteness of the description, another angel, implies that he was neither the Angel of
the Lord, nor (were they different) Michael, or the man with the measuring line, but an
angel of intermediate rank, instructed by one higher, instructing the lower, who
immediately instructed Zechariah.
GILL, "And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth,.... See Zec_1:9
and he "went forth" from the place where the prophet was, with whom he had been
conversing:
and another angel went out to meet him: the same that was seen among the
myrtle trees, Zec_1:8 and here, with a measuring line in his hand, Zec_2:1.
JAMISO , "angel that talked with me ... another angel — The interpreting
angel is met by another angel sent by the measuring Divine Angel to “run” to Zechariah
(Zec_2:4). Those who perform God’s will must not merely creep, nor walk, but run with
alacrity.
went forth — namely, from me (Zechariah).
went out — from the measuring angel.
CALVI , "It is said, that the angel went forth, and that another angel met him. It
hence appears as from the whole of what the Prophet says, how carefully God
provides for the safety of his Church; for he has ever angels as his emissaries, who
hasten at his nod, and aid the Church in its necessities. Since then angels thus unite
to secure the well-being of the Church, we hence perceive how dear to God are the
faithful, in whose favor he thus employs all his angels; and we also see, that it was
the Lord’s will that this prophecy should be clear and manifest to all the godly: go,
and run to that young man, he says, and tell him. Zechariah had indeed asked for an
explanation of the measure in the man’s hand, but from the fact that another angel
met him, it appears, as I have already said, that God does not neglect the request
and prayers of his people, provided only that they are desirous of learning; he will
then perform the part of a true and faithful teacher towards them. But the word
“run,” ought especially to be noticed: “go,” he says, “and even hasten, lest the youth
should longer doubt, and explain the purpose of this prophecy.” He calls the
Prophet a youth, because he was then among angels. He would not call him a man of
full age, because he had before called an angel man. What rank could the Prophet
hold among angels except that of a youth? This circumstance ought therefore to be
observed as the reason why Zechariah spoke disparagingly or humbly of himself.
ow as to the import of the prophecy, we have already said, that here is described
the heavenly Jerusalem, which is surrounded by no walls, but is open to the whole
world, and which depends not on its own strength, but dwells safely though exposed

22. on all sides to enemies; for the Prophet says not without reason, “through the
villages shall Jerusalem be inhabited;” that is, it shall everywhere be inhabited, so
that it will have no need of defense to restrain or hinder enemies to come near; for a
safe rest shall be given to it, when every one shall quietly occupy his own place. It
follows —
COKE, "Zechariah 2:3. The angel that talked with me— Many interpreters have
thought, that the angel who talked with Zechariah, and interpreted to him, was no
other than Jehovah himself, the second person in the blessed Trinity. In examining
some passages which follow, I think it will appear to be without sufficient
foundation. In the mean time, let me observe, that here he is not only called simply
A A GEL, (that is, a ministering spirit, as the apostle to the Hebrews explains the
term, expressly contrasting it with the Son; Hebrews 1:14.) but he is addressed by
the other angel, not, I think, as a superior, but as a fellow servant, to whom he
delivers orders, as from a common master. See the Reflections.
COFFMA , "Verse 3
"And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out
to meet him, and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem
shall be inhabited as villages without walls, by reason of the multitude of men and
cattle therein."
"Speak to this young man ..." It is perfectly clear that the person indicated by this is
not an angel of God, a fact inherent in the indication of his age. "Young is
inapplicable and unapplied to angels, who have not our human variations of age,
but exist, as they were created."[2] Therefore, we understand this as a reference to
Zechariah himself. After all, Zechariah is the only one who had requested
information about any of these visions; and to suppose that the young man was an
angel would do violence to that basic factor in all of these visions.
Seeing this young man as the prophet instead of making him into another angel also
avoids another error, namely, that of supposing one of God's angels to have been
ignorant of God's counsels[3] and thus desiring to measure Jerusalem but being
stopped from doing so. There is no way that such an explanation is reasonable.
Failure to understand the "young man" as the prophet Zechariah leads to a
multitude of unsupported "guesses," none of which has ever received universal
support:
The foolish Mormon conceit which makes this young man to be Joseph Smith, the
pseudo-prophet, and the angel to be Moroni, who reveals to him the golden plates of
the book of Mormon.[4]
The young man is typical of the rising generation, more eager for city walls than for
the Temple.[5]
The young man in the vision represents those Jews who thought only of physical

23. Jerusalem.[6] The young man is the angel of Zechariah 2:1.[7]
"The young man" therefore represents the average opinion of that day.[8]SIZE>
Take your choice; but it seems impossible to this writer that the young man could
possibly be anyone except Zechariah himself. As Unger expressed it, "If the allusion
is not to Zechariah, it can be to no other; for angels are ageless, and it would be
pointless to describe an angel as a youth."[9]
In addition to all of the above considerations, the basic purpose of these visions was
to convey information to God's people through Zechariah; and, inasmuch as "the
young man" was represented in this passage as receiving that information, it is safe
to conclude that he indeed is that prophet. The vision definitely is not a means of
God's correcting some erring angel!
"Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls ..." This never applied to the literal
Jerusalem, except for part of a century before the people were able to rebuild the
walls. The simple meaning is that God's eventual city, as realized in the Church of
Jesus Christ, shall not be a fortified citadel, but a worldwide fellowship that no
walls could limit or contain.
CO STABLE, "Verse 3-4
Another angel, possibly the angel of the Lord ( Zechariah 1:11-12), came forward to
meet Zechariah"s guiding angel as he was going out toward the "man" with the
measuring line. He instructed him to tell "that young Prayer of Manasseh ,"
Zechariah , that Jerusalem would expand beyond its walls because so many people
and cattle would live in it (cf. Ezekiel 38:11). Another interpretation is that the
young man was the angel with the measuring line. [ ote: E.g, Leupold, p55.] But it
seems more probable that the other angel gave this revelation to Zechariah directly.
During the restoration period, the Jews built walls around the city to make it secure,
yet few people wanted to live in it (cf. ehemiah 11:1-2; ehemiah 7:4). This
prophecy must have a future fulfillment, though it doubtless encouraged
Zechariah"s contemporaries to rebuild the city in their day. [ ote: See Merrill,
pp116-18 , for defense of this "both in Zechariah"s day and in the future"
interpretation.]
PETT, "Zechariah 2:3-4
‘And behold the angel who talked with me went forth, and another angel went out
to meet him, and said to him, "Run, speak to this young man saying, "Jerusalem
will be inhabited as villages without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle
within it."
The angel who has been speaking with him goes out to see what is happening, but he
is immediately sent back by another angel who tells him to race back to the young
prophet to tell him that Jerusalem will yet be so heavily populated and will have
such abundance of cattle that it will be impossible to build a wall large enough to go

24. round it. or will they need a wall, for God will be their protection.
As we know as we look at the times of Jesus, Jerusalem did grow and extend, and
reach out beyond its walls and become prosperous. But this glorious vision found an
even deeper fulfilment when ‘Jerusalem’ spread and spread to take in all the people
of God around the world (compare Isaiah 2:3). And, of course, its final fulfilment is
found in the ew Jerusalem in Heaven, ‘Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem’ (Hebrews 12:22; compare Galatians 4:26), where God's people
will dwell with Him in glory for ever (Revelation 21:1 to Revelation 22:5).
Six Oracles Concerning His People.
1) "For I," the word of YHWH, "will be to her a wall of fire round about, and I
will be the glory in the midst of her" (Zechariah 2:5).
2) "Ho, ho, flee from the land of the north," the word of YHWH (Zechariah
2:6).
3) "For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven," the word of
YHWH. "Ho, Zion, escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon."
(Zechariah 2:7).
4) For thus says YHWH of Hosts, "After glory has he sent me to the nations
who spoiled you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye." (Zechariah
2:8).
5) "For behold I will shake my hand over them and they will be a spoil to those
who served them, and you will know that YHWH of Hosts has sent me" (Zechariah
2:9).
6) "Sing and rejoice, Oh daughter of Zion. For lo I come and I will dwell in the
midst of you," the word of YHWH (Zechariah 2:10)
TRAPP, "Verse 3
Zechariah 2:3 And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another
angel went out to meet him,
Ver. 3. And behold the angel] Zechariah’s angel, as one calleth him.
Went forth] to take direction from Christ, and to give the prophet further
information. {See Trapp on "Zechariah 1:9"}
And another angel went out to meet him] So ready is Christ to answer prayers and
to satisfy his weak but willing people, that draw near unto him with a true heart,
Hebrews 10:22. If any such ask and miss it is because they ask amiss, James 4:3.

25. 4 and said to him: “Run, tell that young man,
‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of
the great number of people and animals in it.
BAR ES, "And said unto him, Run, speak unto this young man - The
prophet himself, who was to report to his people what he heard. Jeremiah says, “I am a
youth” Jer_1:6; and, “the young man,” “the young prophet,” carried the prophetic
message from Elisha to Jehu. “Youth,’” common as our English term in regard to man, is
inapplicable and unapplied to angels, who have not our human variations of age, but
exist, as they were created.
Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls - Or as villages (see the
notes at Hab_3:14), namely, an unconfined, uncramped population, spreading itself
freely, without restraint of walls, and (it follows) without need of them. Clearly then it is
no earthly city. To be inhabited as villages would be weakness, not strength; a peril, not a
blessing. The earthly Jerusalem, so long as she remained unwalled, was in continual fear
and weakness. God put it into the heart of His servant to desire to restore her; her wall
was built, and then she prospered. He Himself had promised to Daniel, that “Her street
shall be rebuilt, and her wall, even in strait of times” Dan_9:25. Nehemiah mourned 73
years after this, 443 b.c., when it was told him, “The remnant that are left of the captivity
there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is
broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire” Neh_1:3. He said to
Artaxerxes, “Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my
fathers’ sepulehres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?” Neh_2:3.
When permitted by Artaxerxes to return, he addressed the rulers of the Jews, “Ye see the
distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with
fire; come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach; and
they said, let us rise and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work”
Neh_2:17-18. When “the wall was finished and our enemies heard, and the pagan about
us saw it, they were much cast down in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work
was wrought of our God” Neh_6:15-16.
This prophecy then looks on directly to the time of Christ. Wonderfully does it picture
the gradual expansion of the kingdom of Christ, without bound or limit, whose
protection and glory God is, and the character of its defenses. It should “dwell as
villages,” peacefully and gently expanding itself to the right and the left, through its own
inherent power of multiplying itself, as a city, to which no bounds were assigned, but
which was to fill the earth. Cyril: “For us God has raised a church, that truly holy and far-
famed city, which Christ fortifies, consuming opponents by invisible powers, and filling
it with His own glory, and as it were, standing in the midst of those who dwell in it. For

26. He promised; “Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world.” This holy city
Isaiah mentioned: “thine eyes shall see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation; a tabernacle that
shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither
shall any of the cords thereof be broken” Isa_33:20; and to her he saith, “enlarge the
place of thy, tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitation; spare not;
lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes. For thou shalt break forth on the right
hand and on the left” Isa_54:2-3. For the church of Christ is widened and extended
boundlessly, ever receiving countless souls who worship Him.” Rup.: “What king or
emperor could make walls so ample as to include the whole world? Yet, without this, it
could not encircle that Jerusalem, the church which is diffused through the whole world.
This Jerusalem, the pilgrim part of the heavenly Jerusalem, is, in this present world,
inhabited without walls, not being contained in vile place or one nation. But in that
world, where it is daily being removed hence, much more can there not, nor ought to be,
nor is, any wall around, save the Lord, who is also the glory in the midst of it.”
CLARKE, "Run, speak to this young man - Nehemiah must have been a young
man when he was sakee, or cup-bearer, to Artaxerxes.
As towns without walls - It shall be so numerously inhabited as not to be contained
within its ancient limits. Josephus, speaking of this time, says, Wars 5:4:2, “The city,
overflowing with inhabitants, by degrees extended itself beyond its walls.”
GILL, "And said unto him,.... That is, the other angel said to the angel that had been
talking with the prophet,
Run, speak to this young man: meaning Zechariah, who was either young in years,
as Samuel and Jeremiah were when they prophesied; or he was a servant of a prophet
older than he, and therefore so called, as Joshua, Moses's minister, was, Num_11:28 as
Kimchi observes:
saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls; this shows that
this is not to be understood of Jerusalem in a literal sense, for that was not inhabited as
a town without a wall; its wall was built in Nehemiah's time, and remained until the city
was destroyed by Vespasian; yea, it had a treble wall, as Josephus says (b); but of the
church of Christ in Gospel times; and denotes both the safety and security of it; see Eze_
38:11 and the populousness of it; and especially as it will be in the latter day, when both
Jews and Gentiles are called, and brought into it; which sense is confirmed by what
follows:
for the multitude of men and cattle therein; the Jews being meant by "men"; see
Eze_34:31 and the Gentiles by "cattle", to which they used to be compared by the
former: this will be fulfilled when the nation of the Jews will be born at once, and all
Israel will be saved, and the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in; for the number of
the spiritual Israel, the sons of the living God, both Jews and Gentiles, shall be as the
sand of the sea, which cannot be measured, Hos_1:10 and when there will be such a
large increase of converts; and such flockings to Zion, to the spiritual Jerusalem, the
church of God, that the place will be too small for them, Isa_49:19 whereas, when
Jerusalem in a literal sense was rebuilt, after the Babylonian captivity, there was a want
of persons to inhabit it, and lots were cast for one out of ten to dwell in it; and they were

27. glad of others that offered themselves willingly to be inhabitants of it, Neh_11:1 for there
was but a small number that returned from Babylon to repeople the city of Jerusalem,
and the whole country of Judea; no more came from thence but forty two thousand,
three hundred, and threescore, besides men and maid servants, which amounted to
seven or eight thousand more, Ezr_2:64 Neh_7:66 which were but a few to fill such a
country, and so many cities and towns that were in it, besides Jerusalem; and yet
Josephus (c) affirms, that the number of those of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, that
came up from thence, and were above twelve years of age, were four millions, six
hundred, and twenty eight thousand; in which he is followed by Zonaras (d), and it is
admitted and approved of by Sanctius on the place; which is not only contrary to the
accounts of Ezra and Nehemiah, but is incredible; that such a number that went into
captivity, which was not very large, should, under all the distresses and oppressions they
laboured, in seventy years time so multiply, and that two tribes only, as to be almost
eight times more than all the twelve tribes were at their coming out of Egypt; a number
large enough to have overrun the Babylonian monarchy; and too many to be supported
in so small a country as the land of Canaan: wherefore, upon the whole, it must be best
to interpret this of spiritual and mystical Jerusalem, and of the populousness of the
church of Christ in the latter day.
JAMISO , "this young man — So Zechariah is called as being still a youth when
prophetically inspired [Grotius]. Or, he is so called in respect to his ministry or service
(compare Num_11:27; Jos_1:1) [Vatablus]. Naturally the “angel that talked with”
Zechariah is desired to “speak to” him the further communications to be made from the
Divine Being.
towns without walls for the multitude ... Cattle — So many shall be its
inhabitants that all could not be contained within the walls, but shall spread out in the
open country around (Est_9:19); and so secure shall they be as not to need to shelter
themselves and their cattle behind walls. So hereafter Judea is to be “the land of
unwalled villages” (Eze_38:11). Spiritually, now the Church has extended herself beyond
the walls (Eph_2:14, Eph_2:15) of Mosaic ordinances and has spread from cities to
country villages, whose inhabitants gave their Latin name (pagani) to pagans, as being
the last in parting with heathenism.
COKE, "Zechariah 2:4. Jerusalem shall be inhabited— Houbigant renders this,
Jerusalem, without a wall, shall be inhabited for the multitude, &c. And he supposes
the prophesy to refer to the new Jerusalem spoken of Revelation 21:2 to which alone
he thinks the following verse can be applied; rendering the latter part, And within
her a pillar of light. Most of the commentators suppose this to refer to a future state
of the church.
ELLICOTT A D GREAT TEXTS, "Verse 4
(4) And said unto him.—Some commentators suppose that it is the angel-interpreter
who here speaks; but if this were the case, an “other angel” would be a superfluous
figure in the vision, for the angel-interpreter might have addressed “this young
man” directly. Accordingly, we agree with the Authorised Version in taking this
“other angel” as the speaker.

28. This young man is by some supposed to be Zechariah: but it gives a much more
definite turn to the meaning of the vision to understand the expression as referring
to “the man with the measuring line.”
Towns without walls—i.e., unfortified towns. A similar expression in the Hebrew is
contrasted with “fortified cities” in 1 Samuel 6:18. The “other angel,” for the
instruction of Zechariah, directs the angel-interpreter to inform the man who was
measuring that there could be no object in taking an exact measure of Jerusalem,
since “for the multitude of men and cattle” it would soon exceed its original limits. It
would be an unnecessary forcing of the words to suppose with some commentators
that the measurer is called a “young man” on account of his simplicity and
ignorance. That this prophecy was fulfilled in the grandeur and extent of Jerusalem
may be seen by a reference to the descriptions of it, after its restoration, by Aristéas
(Ed. Schmidt), Hecatæus, &c. Josephus (Bell, Jud i. 5. 4, 92) says that in the time of
Herod Agrippa Jerusalem had, “by reason of the multitude” or its inhabitants,
gradually “extended beyond its original limits,” so that another hill had to be taken
in, which was fortified, and called “Bezethá.”
Verse 4-5
The City Without Walls
Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, by reason of the multitude of
men and cattle therein. For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round
about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.—Zechariah 2:4-5.
The prophet Zechariah lived in a time of discouragement and distress. It was that
pathetic yet heroic crisis in the national history when a remnant of Israel had
returned from the long captivity in Babylon. Few if any of them had ever seen
Jerusalem. They had been born in exile; but their fathers had told them of the dear
Homeland, and they had been dreaming of it and yearning for it all their days; and
now at length in the providence of God they were brought back. They had travelled
across the desert in high hope, eager to see the land of their dreams and the Holy
City and the encircling mountains; but their arrival was a cruel disillusionment.
They found Jerusalem a desolation and her Temple a ruin; and they had to face the
task of reconstruction.
At the best it would have been a heavy task, but for that weak remnant it was
overpowering. They had been bondsmen all their days, and the yoke had crushed
them. Their spirit was broken, and their poor souls fainted in face of an ordeal
which demanded not only a strong hand but, even more, a stout heart. It was a
perilous crisis, and their supreme need, if ever they would be a nation again, was a
brave leader who should rally them, inspire them with faith and hope, and nerve
them to the work. And he appeared. In the providence of God the time always
brings the man; and the man at that crisis was the prophet Zechariah.
His message was a call to faith in God and to courageous endeavour. Expect great
things from God: attempt great things for God. And it did not fail. The peoples
hearts leaped to the challenge, and they girded themselves to the work. Their
purpose was to rebuild and restore Jerusalem; but the prophet had a larger ideal.

29. The work was begun. A surveyor had gone forth with his measuring line to map out
the ancient site—the circle of the walls, the lie of the streets, and the position of the
houses—that the city might be rebuilt on the old scale and the old design. That was
their ideal reconstruction; but it was not Zechariahs.
He saw the surveyor at work, and a message came to him from the Lord. By the
prophets side there stood an angel-interpreter, just as Virgil or Beatrice stood beside
Dante in his visions; and when another angel appeared upon the scene, the
interpreter bade him run and stop the young man with the measuring line, and for
this reason: the Jerusalem of the future was not to be rebuilt on the same lines as the
Jerusalem of the past; no measurements would be needed; for the new city was to be
built upon a larger scale, to make room for the large increase of its citizens; it was to
lie open like an unwalled town, capable of indefinite expansion; and as for defences,
stone walls would not be needed, for Jehovah Himself would be a wall of fire round
about, and His glorious Presence would dwell within the city. Observe the fine
mingling of the outward and the inward. The material fabric is not to be dissolved
into a mere symbol or picture; there is to be a city and it is to be inhabited by a
multitude of men and cattle; but the material fabric is to be spiritualized, the
circumference a wall of fire, the centre Jehovahs Presence in glory; matter and
spirit, human and Divine, welded into one corporate whole. As we follow the track
of the prophets thought, we catch already a glimpse of the shining climax to which it
leads.
The prophets vision serves to bring into prominence two great ideas regarding the
City of God—
Its Expansion.
Its Security.
I
The Expansion of the City
“Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls.”
Surely there is great boldness of faith underlying this promise. A city without a wall
was unknown in the prophets time, and it is only in recent times that by the creation
of large countries with common sentiments and interests it has become an actual
fact. For many centuries the very idea of a city was that of a walled space, the centre
of a district, where men could flee for refuge when the enemy scoured the open
country. Within these walls were found the sanctuary where men worshipped their
God and the fortresses where they resisted the last attack of their foes. For a man to
believe that God would be present with His people in such a living sense that the
common material defences would be superseded was a supreme act of faith. There is
splendid audacity in the thought, but we are not strong enough even now to accept it
in all its fulness. It is an ideal which worldly common sense regards with scorn as
the mere play of religious fancy.
Faith realizes the city that is not yet built, grasps coming events as though they were
already present, finds strong bulwarks, stately palaces, and the very city of God
where other eyes see very little except ruins. It is the grand secret of Faith, her

30. prerogative, that the better things which are going to be, the glories which are only
promised, the Divine creations still afar off, are to her as real and solid as the
ground under her feet or the fact of God Himself.1 [ ote: J. G. Greenhough, The
Cross in Modern Life, 150.]
1. The young man with the measuring line represents the narrow and mechanical
interpretation of prophecy which led to sad disappointments and grievous loss in the
history of Judaism, and is by no means extinct among us now. For it is a tendency in
human nature to imagine that we can apply our human measurements to Gods plan
and purpose. Those Jewish exiles imagined that the future was simply to reproduce
the past; the Jerusalem they had in their minds was the strong fortress which could
resist attack, the guardian of the nations throne and altar, wherein Israel might
dwell secure from the heathen world outside. On these lines, then, the city was to be
measured out; the first business was to see what should be the breadth thereof and
what should be the length thereof.
There are in every community men of mathematical mind, who lay great stress on
the statistics of a subject. If they hear of a city they wish at once to know its exact
size and population. That is good in its place, it checks mere dreaming and limits
unbridled imagination; but there are facts to which figures do scant justice and
forces that cannot be imprisoned in a definite formula. When it is a matter of Gods
presence, our small measurements are put to shame.
All written or writable law respecting the arts is for the childish and ignorant; in the
beginning of teaching, it is possible to say that this or that must or must not be done;
and laws of colour and shade may be taught, as laws of harmony are to the young
scholar in music. But the moment a man begins to be anything deserving the name
of an artist, all this teachable law has become a matter of course with him, and if,
thenceforth, he boast himself anywise in the law, or pretend that he lives and works
by it, it is a sure sign that he is merely tithing cummin, and that there is no true art
nor religion in him. For the true artist has that inspiration in him which is above all
law, or rather which is continually working out such magnificent and perfect
obedience to supreme law, as can in nowise be rendered by line and rule. There are
more laws perceived and fulfilled in the single stroke of a great workman, than
could be written in a volume. His science is inexpressibly subtle, directly taught him
by his Maker, not in any wise communicable or imitable. either can any written or
definitely observable laws enable us to do any great thing. It is possible, by
measuring and administering quantities of colour, to paint a room wall so that it
shall not hurt the eye; but there are no laws by observing which we can become
Titians. It is possible so to measure and administer syllables as to construct
harmonious verse; but there are no laws by which we can write Iliads. Out of the
poem or the picture, once produced, men may elicit laws by the volume, and study
them with advantage, to the better understanding of the existing poem or picture;
but no more write or paint another, than by discovering laws of vegetation they can
make a tree to grow. And therefore, wheresoever we find the system and formality
of rules much dwelt upon, and spoken of as anything else than a help for children,
there we may be sure that noble art is not even understood, far less reached.1 [ ote:

31. Ruskin, Stones of Venice, vol. iii. chap. ii. § 89.]
2. The last thing that Zechariah wished was to discourage and hinder the rebuilding
of the material walls of the ruined city. The very life of Jerusalem depended on the
wall; the patriotic ehemiah and his helpers had to combine the use of sword and
trowel in order to complete the fortifications. The Jews at this time had many
troublesome neighbours, and to ensure a peaceful place on the earth it must be
enclosed and protected by a well-built wall. The angel was sent forth, not to prevent
the young man from accomplishing his task, but to remind him of the greatness of
Israels spiritual ideal—not to tell him that his present project was altogether futile,
but to show him that any reconstruction engaged in at that time was only the Divine
foreshadowing of a far more glorious destiny. The surveyors task, indeed, could not
thus be set aside. It was the one pressing necessity of the hour; and no dreams of a
possible increase of population in the future could justify them in neglecting it.
Every generation, it is true, has a clear duty towards the future, even though, as
some retort, posterity has done nothing for us. Still, the present duty must always
have the prior consideration; and to suggest that because of some problematic
increase of population, municipal corporations, in any age, should provide, not
simply for the present necessity, but for future possibilities as well, is nothing better
than the proverbial half-truth, which is never independent of some necessary
qualification. Israel could well afford to peer into the future and think of the
greatness of her coming destiny; but the present duty of the returned exiles was
clear and urgent. It was not to arrest the youthful surveyor in his efforts to map out
the city walls, but to begin at once the work of restoration, that, having secured a
firm footing in the land of their fathers, they might be ready for all eventualities.
The interest of this Vision is not only historical. For ourselves it has an abiding
doctrinal value. It is a lesson in the method of applying prophecy to the future. How
much it is needed we must feel as we remember the readiness of men among
ourselves to construct the Church of God upon the lines His own hand drew for our
fathers, and to raise again the bulwarks behind which they sufficiently sheltered His
shrine. Whether these ancient and sacred defences be dogmas or institutions, we
have no right, God tells us, to cramp behind them His powers for the future. And
the great men whom He raises to remind us of this, and to prevent by their ministry
the timid measurements of the zealous but servile spirits who would confine
everything to the exact letter of ancient Scripture—are they any less His angels to us
than those ministering spirits whom Zechariah beheld preventing the narrow
measures of the poor apprentice of his dream?1 [ ote: G. A. Smith, The Book of
The Twelve Prophets, ii. 290.]
3. But while Zechariah, like a wise teacher, was intensely interested in the plans of
the builders, he at the same time tried to fire their imagination by emphasizing the
greatness of Israels calling. As the people of Jehovah, the nation was destined to
hand on to future ages, not a political economy, but a religion. She was summoned
to hold aloft the torch of revelation, and thus fulfil the part of a great missionary
people. Her ideal was not political, but religious. She was not an empire, but a
Church.