The Heavenly Surveyor! – Zechariah 2:1-5

The Heavenly Surveyor!

Text: Zechariah 2:1-5

In Zechariah’s third vision, we see:-

1. PERSISTENCE in his Manner of Seeking God!

I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked. To have a vision for the things of God requires great persistence! Zechariah has already had two visions, but yet he lifted up his eyes again!     You will find that if you get a glimpse of Jesus through God’s Word, you will want more of Him! You will not be content until you have met Him again and again and again!   Luke 11:7-Ask, and keep asking! Seek and keep seeking! Knock and keep on knocking! Lift up your eyes to the Lord! It will encourage you to lift them up time and again!

Surveyor

2. PLANNING as Christ Builds His Church!

and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Now, the first thing that Zechariah sees in this vision is a surveyor, or an architect. Someone with a measuring line in His hand!

• The PERSON being Portrayed! and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me. Now, who is this man with the measuring line in his hand? I am going to suggest that he is the same Man who stood amidst the myrtle trees! Look at the Scriptures, for we see some characteristics of this man here!
  • He is described as an ANGEL! Zechariah 2:3 Christ is often described as ‘the Angel of the Lord’ in the Old Testament. In the Bible an angel is an ANNOUNCER! A Messenger of the will of God.   So this Man has come with a particular message! Here it is, that God has a plan for His People!
  • He is described as a surveyor or an architect. He is measuring! Now have you ever seen an architect without plans? They just love plans! Well, Christ has plans for His Church! In fact it is far more personal than that! He has plans FOR YOU! Don’t be too hasty to write yourself off! God has a plan even for you and me! Jeremiah 29:11
• The PROPERTY being Surveyed! It is Jerusalem, the place where God dwells! To measure Jerusalem.
  • Only Christ could truly get the measure of His People! Only he knows the boundaries of his kingdom! We can ‘see’ the church, in its visible manifestation, but only God sees the true church.
  • Only Christ could build a city like this! We have here a description of this city state, this Gospel Kingdom! It is
  • A City Built for dwelling! Jerusalem shall be inhabited. This is not just for show, it is HOME!   John 14:2  
  • A City Built to Welcome Others! as towns without walls. The way into God’s kingdom is a welcoming way! God puts no barriers in the road of the sinner who seeks to come to Christ!
  • A City of Great Growth! There is another interpretation to this description of God’s People as being a church without walls. It refers to the expansion of the Kingdom of God! It is a city that keeps no-one out, and a city which cannot be contained within the walls of Judaism!
  • A City with Ample Provision! for the multitude of men and cattle therein. There is great provision in the saviour’s Kingdom! Psalm 23:5-6   In this kingdom, this city, people prosper eternally!

Christ has a plan, he is measuring out His church, he is building a city, he is preparing a home in which his people will dwell! He tells us to seek that kingdom, that home, before we do anything else!

• The PRECISION being Employed! to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. Do you know that when Christ builds his church, He makes no mistakes!   But do you notice where the measuring line is? It is in the Man’s hand! It is not in the hand of a deacon or the hand of a minister, but it IS IN the HAND of the Master.   Jesus said, I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18

3. PROTECTION of God’s Own People!

For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. In his building of the church, the Lord has not left it defenceless! It may be a city without walls, but it is a city with protection. The Lord Himself is its defence!

• It has a CIRCUMFERENCE OF FIRE! A WALL OF FIRE! That is an insurmountable defence! There could be no stronger language used here   God has a fire around His people and He Himself is that fire! Hebrews 12:29 The enemy can and will and does attack the visible church. We see it happening all the time. Satan can destroy denominations and assemblies, but God’s true church, His own elect people, His invisible church in ringed in by Him, with a ring of fire and the enemy cannot penetrate it! If you are a child of God, truly saved, there is a wall of fire round about you, and the devil can never defeat you or pluck you from the kingdom. 2 Kings 6:17  
• It has a CENTRE OF GLORY! Christ is at its heart, and there He is glorified in the midst of His church! He is always thus! He is always depicted as being in the midst of His own people! 8:3   .

For further study:

What other images does the Bible use to express God’s care for and interest in His people?  

Consider Psalm 18:2, 103:13; Isaiah 49:15-16; Matthew 10:29-31; John 10:27-30; Hebrews 2:17-18.