And I, Myself in My own Being, will be to her a wall of fire – <\/B>Not protection only, an inner circle around her, however near an enemy might press in upon her, but destructive to her enemies. Isaiah says, No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise in judgment against thee thou shalt condemn Isa 54:17<\/span>. Its defense, Isaiah says, shall be immaterial. We have a strong city; salvation shall God appoint for walls and bulwarks Isa 26:1<\/span>; thou shalt call thy walls salvation and thy gates praise Isa 60:18<\/span>). By a different figure it is said, I will encamp about mine house because of the army Zec 9:8<\/span>.<\/P> And glory will I be in the midst of her – <\/B>As Isaiah says, The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory Isa 60:19<\/span>; and of Christ, In that day shall the Branch of the Lord be Beauty and Glory – to the escaped of Israel Isa 4:2<\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n Zec 2:5<\/span><\/p>\n I will be unto her a wall of fire <\/em><\/p>\n Zions protection<\/strong><\/p>\n The people that shall be thus defended. It is Jerusalem that is to be defended; and that will include three things: the temple, the habitations of the people, and the people themselves. The people of God are spoken of as the temple of God. Do we belong to the temple of the Lord? If we belong to the temple of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ will be our only foundation. There are two things that make the Lord Jesus the foundation–<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>As being the end of the law for righteousness. He brings in everlasting righteousness.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>As being the end of sin. He is spiritually, legally, properly, and entirely the end of sin; His blood cleanseth from all sin. As is the foundation in character, so the building must accord in character with the foundation. The foundation is one of free grace. Therefore we are not only justified by grace, but saved by grace. The first feature given to this building is mercy. Then it is a free-grace building. The third feature is certainty. We may be upon the right foundation, and yet not rightly built. Gods people are spoken of as a city; they have habitations which require to be defended. Take these habitations as the truths of the Gospel, wherein Gods people dwell. Electing grace; predestination; Christs righteousness; the atonement; Gods promises may all be spoken of as habitations.<\/p>\n Protected by God<\/strong><\/p>\n In one of the great cities of the Continent the regalia are not kept behind iron bars as in the Tower of London, but lie upon an open table. It might appear that any ruthless hand could wrench any jewel or diamond from the glittering array; and yet no man dare put out his hand to take one, because that table is charged with a strong current of electricity. You cannot see the protection, but there it is. And so if a man will only live in daily and hourly communion with Christ, the devil can no more touch him than a thief can touch those jewels. (F. B. Meyer.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The wall and glory of Jerusalem<\/strong><\/p>\n In this chapter is a vision of a man with a measuring line in his hand, to show that the Lord was now in readiness to build and restore the city and temple. Two great discouragements the people met with–danger and scorn. The Lord here, by a gracious promise, fortifieth them against the fear of both. Against the fear of danger, by promising to be their protection; and against the fear of scorn, by promising to be their glory. The Lord is to His people whatever good they want. I will be a wall.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>A wall of partition, to separate the Church from the world.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>A wall of conjunction, uniting the parts together in one common interest.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>A wall of protection and defence. The Lord doth as a wall protect His Church–<\/p>\n (1)<\/strong> In a way of promise.<\/p>\n (2)<\/strong> In a way of power.<\/p>\n (3)<\/strong> In a way of providence.<\/p>\n (4)<\/strong> In a way of grace.<\/p>\n His protection is like that of a wall. It is near, adequate, and impregnable. Consider the city walled, the subject of His defence. The Church is His property, His rest, His peculiar treasure. The Lord is the glory in the midst of His people–<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>By His spiritual residence and gracious presence with them.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>By His holy ordinances.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>In glorious privileges and immunities belonging to every citizen of the New Jerusalem.<\/p>\n What folly, then, and what wickedness, to oppose the Church of God, briars to contend with flames! We need not make use of carnal wisdom and sinful means for protection. Envy not the glory of the world. Above all, hold fast God and His presence. God will be with you while you are with Him. If God be thus your glory, let your glorying be in Him alone. (T. Hannam.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The glory in the midst of her–<\/strong><\/p>\n Inward glory and outward defence<\/strong><\/p>\n Speak of the bearing of the text upon our individual lives.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>If we choose, we may have the Divine glory in the deepest heart of us. The glory of the Old Testament was that material but supernatural symbol of the Divine presence which gleamed above the mercy seat in the most holy place. That little house on the temple hill was nothing in sanctity in comparison with the temple of the Christian heart. The true habitation of God is man. Spirit dwells in spirit in a profounder sense than it does in space, or in the material creation. Have you got the glory in the centre of your being? We may all have the indwelling of the glory of God if we will.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>If God be for glory within, He will be a fiery rampart round. He is not only a wall, but a wall of fire. His protection is not merely of the passive sort which shields from evil, but active and preserving.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>If God is a wall of fire round about us, we do not want any other walls. God is everything that we need, and do not find anywhere else; and having Him, we do not want anything else. But the lives of most of us do not much look as if we believed that the only necessary thing was God, and that, having Him, we required nothing else. Let us cast all our self-confidences down, and rest ourselves on Him, and Him alone. (A. Maclaren, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The city without walls<\/strong><\/p>\n Zechariah was the prophet of the returning exiles, and his great work was to hearten them for their difficult task, with their small resources and their many foes, and to insist that the prime condition to success, on the part of that portion of the nation that had returned, was holiness. And that exuberant promise was spoken about the Jerusalem over which Christ wept when He foresaw its inevitable destruction. When the Romans had cast a torch into the Temple, and the streets of the city were running with blood, what had become of Zechariahs dream of a wall of fire round about her? Then, can the Divine fire be quenched? Yes. And who quenched it? Not the Romans, but the people that lived within that flaming rampart. If God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee.<\/p>\n Verse 5<\/span>. I – will be unto her a wall of fire<\/B><\/I>] Her safety shall consist in my defence. I shall be as fire<\/I> round about her. No adversary shall be permitted to touch her. Much of this must refer to the New Jerusalem<\/I>.<\/P> <\/p>\n What was promised or foretold in the former verse is ratified in this by an account how it should be performed. <\/P> For I, saith the Lord; <\/B>that a thing so much above the hope of a present dejected people, so much too great for so weak and so few a people, might be believed and expected, God engageth he will perform the word. <\/P> A wall of fire; <\/B>which cannot be scaled, it would consume them that attempt it; nor undermined. none could come so near it: such a wall as once was Elishas guard, 2Ki 6:16<\/span>,17<\/span>, to which this place may possibly refer. Or it is an allusion to the manner of shepherds and travellers in those countries full of wild beasts, to make fires in the night to secure themselves. <\/P> Round about; <\/B>no part shall be unguarded, or open to the enemy. <\/P> And will be the glory in the midst of her; <\/B>my presence and favour shall make her glorious, Isa 4:5<\/span>,6<\/span>. <\/P> <\/p>\n 5. I . . . wall of fireround<\/B>Compare Zec 2:4<\/span>. Yetas a city needs some wall, I JEHOVAHwill act as one of fire which none durst approach (Zec 9:8<\/span>;Isa 26:1<\/span>). <\/P> glory in the midst<\/B>notonly a defense from foes outside, but a glory<\/I> within (Isa 60:19<\/span>;Rev 21:23<\/span>). The same combinationof “glory and defense” is found in Isa4:5<\/span>, alluding to the pillar of cloud and fire which defended andenlightened Israel in the desert. Compare Elisha in Dothan (2Ki6:17<\/span>). As God is to be her “glory,” so she shall be His”glory” (Isa 62:3<\/span>).<\/P><\/p>\n For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about<\/strong>,….. So that she needs no other wall to secure her, the power of God encompassing her about as the mountains did Jerusalem,<\/p>\n Ps 125:2<\/span> and he being as a wall of fire to terrify and destroy her enemies; for our God is a consuming fire, Heb 12:29<\/span>. Drusius thinks it is a metaphor taken from travellers in some countries, who kindle fires about their tents, to keep off lions, and other beasts of prey; and observes of lions particularly, that they are exceedingly terrified by fire; for which he refers to John Leo in his description of Africa; and Pliny makes e mention of several things that are terrifying to them, but especially fires, he says; and so Dr. Shaw f, of late, speaking of the lions in Barbary, remarks, fire is what they are the most afraid of; yet, notwithstanding all the precautions of the Arabs in this respect, with others he takes notice of, it frequently happens that these ravenous beasts, outbraving all those terrors, will leap into the midst of an enclosure or fold, and drag from thence a sheep, or a goat; and Tavernier g tells a story, by which he thinks it appears to be a vulgar error that lions will not come near the fire; though the relation itself shows it to be not only a received opinion, but a common custom to light fires in the night, to preserve from lions: his story is,<\/p>\n “a party of Dutch soldiers, under the command of a serjeant, far advanced in the country (about the Cape of Good Hope), and night coming on, they made a great fire, as well to keep themselves from the lions, as to warm themselves, and so lay down to sleep round about it; being asleep, a lion seized one of the soldier’s arms, which with difficulty was got out, after the lion was shot;”<\/p>\n but this seems to be the case, when these creatures are dreadfully hunger bitten; however, be it as it will, God is the sure and safe protection of his people; who went before the people of Israel in a pillar of a cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night, when they passed through a terrible wilderness, in which were beasts of prey; and surrounded Elisha with horses and chariots of fire, when the king of Syria sent a large host to take him; so that he could say, to encourage his servant, “they that be for us are more than they that be with them”, 2Ki 6:15<\/span> who seem to be angels; and the Jews h here interpret it of the family of God, his angels, made a wall to Jerusalem to preserve it; the cherubim and a flaming sword, set to keep the garden of Eden, were, according to Lactantius i, a wall of fire about it; for (he says), when God cast man out of paradise, he walled it about with fire: but that was that man might not enter in; but here he himself is a wall of fire, that his people may be safe; hence they have no reason to fear the wrath of their enemies, the most fierce and furious, savage and cruel, comparable to lions, bears, c. for, if God is for them, on their side, and on all sides of them, who can be against them to any purpose? The Targum paraphrases it,<\/p>\n “my Word shall be unto her, saith the Lord, as a wall of fire encompassing her round about:”<\/p>\n and will be the glory in the midst of her<\/strong>: appear glorious in her, be glorified in her, and by her, and be her glory, and make her glorious; as the Lord does by granting his gracious presence with his church and people, in his word and ordinances; see Isa 4:1<\/span><\/p>\n Isa 60:13<\/span>.<\/p>\n e Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 16. f Travels, tom. 1. par. 3. c. 2. p. 172. g Travels through India, in Harris’s Voyages and Travels, vol. 1. p. 848. h Pesikta Rabbati apud Yalkut in loc. i Institut. Divin. l. 2. c. 13.<\/p>\n He confirms in this verse what I have just mentioned — that Jerusalem would be safe, though without any fortifications; for God alone would be sufficient for walls, for towers, for fortresses, according to what is said by other Prophets: “God will be to thee a wall and a fortress”, (Isa 26:1<\/span>), again, “he will be to thee a stronghold”. It is, therefore, a sentence in accordance with other prophecies when Jehovah testifies, that he would be a wall of fire. We indeed know, that though walls may be high and thick, they may be scaled by enemies; but who will dare to throw himself into the fire? It is then the same as though God had spoken thus — “Though there will be no watchmen to defend Jerusalem, no soldiers to protect it, in short, no guardians whatever, yet I alone shall be sufficient; for I shall not only be a wall to keep off enemies, but I shall be also a fire to fill them with terror.” <\/p>\n He then adds, I will be for glory in the midst of her: as though he had said, “the real happiness of Jerusalem, within and without, will be in me alone and in my favor: within, in the midst of her I will be for glory; I will adorn her with every thing praiseworthy; and when there shall be any fear from the assault of enemies, I will be to her a wall of fire. For though she will not excel in strongholds and towers, and be without walls and fortresses, and shall be thus exposed to many evils, I shall yet strike all enemies with terror, so that they shall be kept afar off; and my Church shall be thus preserved safe, though destitute of all human aids, and without any defense.” <\/p>\n We now then perceive the meaning of the Prophet to be this — that though the Jews saw that they were but few in number, weak in strength, wretched and despised, they had yet reason to entertain hope; for though few returned from exile God was yet able to increase the Church and to make it a vast multitude, and that 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; for he had engaged to render them happy and blessed within, and safe from enemies from without. <\/p>\n (5) A wall of fire.<\/strong>This verse is not intended to discountenance the building of walls to Jerusalem, a thing which was actually done under Nehemiah (B.C. 445), but is simply a solemn promise of Gods protection. Many indeed were the troubles which fell on the city in the times which intervened between the days of Zechariah and those of our Lord; but still, abundant proof was given that God had not forgotten His promise to shield it. Such troubles, as at other periods of the history of the Jews, were but chastisements, and even those not in proportion to their transgressions. (For the figurative use of the expression wall, see 1Sa. 25:16<\/span>.)<\/p>\n DISCOURSE: 1240 Zec 2:5<\/span>. I, saith the Lord, will he unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her<\/em>.<\/p>\n IF some of the prophecies of Zechariah be dark and intricate, some are peculiarly clear. Such is that in the close of the preceding chapter, respecting four horns, and four carpenters;the horns denoting the enemies who had scattered Israel; and the carpenters, those whom God would raise up for their restoration and protection. To the same effect is the vision of a man with a measuring-line, going forth to measure Jerusalem; in order that the city might be re-constructed on its former site, and be of the dimensions which God had previously ordained. As the former vision denoted the removal of all obstacles to this work, this marked its speedy and well-ordered accomplishment. But, as enemies had prevailed against the city before, so, it was feared, they might again: God therefore promises, that, though walls should be constructed, such should be the concourse of people to Jerusalem, that multitudes should live without the walls: yet should they be safe from every enemy, because God himself would be to them both a wall of fire for their protection, and the glory in the midst of them for their honour. What he had been to Israel when coming out of Egypt, that<\/em> he would be to them again.<\/p>\n But, as the prophecy before us admits of a general application, I shall consider it,<\/p>\n I.<\/p>\n In reference to the Jewish Church<\/p>\n Respecting that, at the time the prophecy was delivered, it must be understood, in the first place But it has a further reference to that Church in the latter-days And how exalted shall be the piety of that Church in the latter day, the Prophet Isaiah very fully describes. The 60th chapter of his prophecies is generally understood as referring to the Gentiles: but, beyond all doubt, it relates primarily to the Jewish Church; which will then be so glorious, by reason of Gods presence with her, that no earthly distinction can augment her glory: The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory [Note: Isa 60:19<\/span>.].]<\/p>\n But the text may he understood also,<\/p>\n II.<\/p>\n In reference to the Church of God in all ages<\/p>\n To the Church at large, and to every individual in it, God promises,<\/p>\n 1.<\/p>\n The protection of his providence<\/p>\n [Wonderfully was the Church of Christ preserved in the first ages of its establishment. What but Omnipotence could have kept it, amidst all the assaults which it had to endure on every side? But God had said, that the gates of hell should not prevail against it: and it yet exists, a monument of his Almighty power. And what is every individual believer, but a spark kept alive in the midst of the ocean? Verily, if He who dwelt in the bush, which, though burning, was not consumed, had not dwelt in us, we must all have been consumed long ago. But the mercy vouchsafed to the Prophet Elisha has been renewed to us; yea, and is renewed at this very moment, if we had but eyes to see it. There are chariots of fire, and horses of fire, round about us: and it is through their incessant and effectual interposition that no enemy has been able to prevail against us. There is not one of us that is not a witness for God, in this behalf.]<\/p>\n 2.<\/p>\n The blessings of his grace<\/p>\n [What glory was seen in the Church on the day of Pentecost! That out-pouring of the Spirit, by which such miraculous effects were instantaneously produced, and so many souls converted unto God, when was any thing like it seen, from the foundation of the world? Such extraordinary manifestations of the Divine glory have, indeed, long since ceased in the Church: but is not God yet present with us? Yes, he is present, as he has said: Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Wherever his Gospel is preached with fidelity, there may the lighting down of his arm be seen; there are sinners quickened from their death in trespasses and sins, and enabled to live unto their God in righteousness and true holiness. And are there none here present who can bear witness to this truth? Yes, brethren, I bless God that there are those amongst you who can bear witness that God is with his Church: and that his word is still, as formerly, the power of God unto salvation! Nor is it only by the manifestations of his love to your souls that God is seen: he has raised up from amongst you, I trust, many who, by making their light to shine before men, constrain even the ungodly world to glorify him. His people are yet lights shining in a dark world, and cities set on a hill. They are still, as heretofore, epistles of Christ, known and read of all men: and God is glorified in them, as he is not in the whole world besides. As an improvement of our subject, let us contemplate, What reason we have for thankfulness in the review of the past<\/p>\n [As, at the rebuilding of Jerusalem, enemies arose to obstruct its progress, so, in every place where a Church is erected for the Lord, are enemies without number ready to destroy it. The same I may say respecting every soul that sets himself to seek the Lord. Where shall we find one who has not many difficulties to contend with; and that<\/em> too, not only from avowed enemies, but from professed friends. But here we are, this day, monuments of Gods tender care; and, I would hope too, of his effectual grace. Let us not overlook this great transcendent mercy. Let us remember to whom alone we are indebted, if we have not long since fallen by the devices of our great adversary, and made shipwreck of our faith: and let us give glory to God, as a faithful and promise-keeping God.]<\/p>\n 2.<\/p>\n What ground we have of hope, prospectively, in the time to come<\/p>\n [The name of the Lord is a strong tower; to which, if we run, we shall be safe. Let no confederacy then, of men or devils, alarm us. Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world.Our enemies may be mighty; but our Friend is Almighty. He can do every thing for<\/em> us, and every thing in<\/em> us. Only let us look to Him, and rely on Him, and no weapon that is formed against us shall ever prosper.]<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Zec 2:5 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.<\/p>\n Ver. 5. For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire<\/strong> ] Igneus qui et cominus arceat et eminus terreat<\/em> (Theodor.). The Church (Christ’s garden) may seem to lie open to all incursions and disadvantages; but as it hath a well within it, Son 4:15<\/span> , so it hath a wall without it, yea, round about it, better and stronger than that about Babylon, or Susa in Persia; the stones whereof were joined together with gold, as Cassiodorus testifieth. The Lacedaemonians were forbidden to wall in their city of Sparta; as being sufficiently fortified by the valour of the inhabitants. The Hollanders will not wall the Hague, though it have 2000 households in it; as desirous to have it counted rather the principal village of Europe than a lesser city. China is said to be surrounded with a strong wall of stone; and England with walls of wood, sc.<\/em> a powerful navy. But what is all this (either for defence or offence) to a wall of fire? who dare venture to scale such a wall? It is not valour, but madness, to fight with a flame. Fire is terrible to the fiercest creatures, as lions, leopards. Shepherds and travellers were used to guard themselves by making great fires round about their night lodgings to keep off wild beasts. Some think the prophet alludeth to that custom; others, to the angels guarding of Paradise with a flaming sword, that is, saith Lactantius, with a wall of fire (Instit. lib. 2, cap. 13.) The Church may sit and sing, “We have a strong city: salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks,” Isa 26:1<\/span> . He “maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flame of fire,” Heb 1:7<\/span> . These met and ministered unto Jacob at Mahanaim, making a lane for him, as the word importeth, Gen 32:1<\/span> . These fiery chariots and horsemen appeared for Elisha by whole legions, 2Ki 6:17<\/span> , and do still pitch their camp round about the godly, Psa 34:7<\/span> . (These are the watchmen over the walls of the new Jerusalem, and of the mountains about the same, Isa 62:6 ) Who, therefore, cannot but be safe, as being guarded by the peace of God within them, and by the power of God without them, through faith unto salvation. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And will be the glory in the midst of her<\/strong> ] God is the Church’s both bulwark and beauty; her muniment and ornament. His presence, his worship, his grace, his protection, is that tower in the midst of her, Isa 5:2<\/span> , that golden head of the picture, that tower of the flock, and stronghold of the daughter of God’s people, Mic 4:8<\/span> . Hence the ark is called the glory, Rom 9:4-5<\/span> , and all comforts without it but Ichabods, 1Sa 4:20<\/span> . Hence Judea is called the glorious land; and heathens are brought in saying, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, that hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law?” Deu 4:6-8<\/span> . Surely as Samson’s strength and glory lay in his hair, so doth the strength and glory of our land consist in the true religion, and God’s sincere service; which if it should be shaved and deprived of, though every shower were a shower of gold, saith a divine, every stone in the land a pearl, every beggar an honourable senator, every fool as wise as Solomon, every weakling as strong as Samson; yet our wealth, honour, strength, wisdom, and glory are gone, and we shall sing a doleful Miserere<\/em> ditty with Phineas’s wife, Ichabod, The glory of England is gone; for religion is gone.<\/p>\n saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah’s oracle. App-4. <\/p>\n wall of fire. Like the watch-fires seen round Bedaween camps, which have no walls. Compare Isa 26:1; Isa 33:21; Isa 60:18. <\/p>\n in the midst. Compare verses: Zec 2:10, Zec 2:11 (“J”) <\/p>\n a wall: Zec 9:8, Psa 46:7-11, Psa 48:3, Psa 48:12, Isa 4:5, Isa 12:6, Isa 26:1, Isa 26:2, Isa 33:21, Isa 60:18, Isa 60:19 <\/p>\n the glory: Psa 3:3, Isa 60:19, Hag 2:7-9, Luk 2:32, Rev 21:10, Rev 21:11, Rev 21:23, Rev 22:3-5 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Exo 14:22 – a wall Deu 1:33 – in fire 1Sa 25:16 – a wall Ezr 9:9 – a wall Job 1:10 – an hedge Psa 46:5 – God is Psa 51:18 – build Psa 85:9 – glory Psa 125:2 – the Lord Psa 127:1 – except Isa 31:4 – so shall Isa 31:9 – whose fire Isa 32:18 – General Isa 54:14 – for thou Jer 14:9 – art Jer 23:6 – dwell Jer 30:10 – and shall Jer 32:37 – I will cause Eze 28:26 – and they shall dwell Eze 35:10 – whereas Eze 37:26 – set Eze 38:11 – go to Eze 38:14 – dwelleth Eze 40:5 – a wall Eze 42:20 – it had Mic 2:9 – my glory Zep 3:5 – is in Zec 2:8 – After Zec 9:14 – seen Zec 12:8 – defend Mat 18:20 – there<\/p>\n Zec 2:5. No material wall is needed for a town that is protected by the presence of the Lord. This truth may be said also of the New Testament age under Christ.<\/p>\n 2:5 For I, saith the LORD, will be to her a wall of {d} fire on every side, and will {e} be the glory in the midst of her.<\/p>\n (d) To defend my Church, to strike fear in the enemies, and to destroy them if they approach near.<\/p>\n (e) In me they will have their full felicity and glory.<\/p>\n The Lord promised to be Jerusalem’s defense instead of a physical wall and to be the glory in her in contrast to any human glory. Such a promise would have been a great encouragement to the returnees from captivity. Yahweh Himself (emphatic in the Hebrew text) would provide security by His protection and presence (cf. Zec 1:16; Psa 24:7-10). Though God did protect the returnees, His promise has not yet found fulfillment. The wall of fire that Yahweh would be recalls the pillar of cloud and fire by which God visualized His protecting presence at various times throughout her history (Exo 13:21-22; Exo 14:19-20; Exo 40:34; Isa 4:5-6).<\/p>\n "This anticipates the Lord’s personal presence through the Messiah in his kingdom on earth (cf. Zec 2:11-12; Zec 14:9; Isa 60:19; Eze 43:1-5; Eze 48:35). So then the literal kingdom will be very spiritual." [Note: Barker, p. 617. For a defense of the spirituality of the physical, earthly kingdom of Messiah, see Feinberg, God Remembers, p. 45.] <\/span><\/p>\n "At a time when others such as Nehemiah were interested in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and excluding from the community those who had divorced their wives and married young foreign girls (Ezr 10:2-3), Zechariah sees a vision of the future Jerusalem as a broad, spreading metropolis with the wall of God’s presence around her and the glory of his presence within her." [Note: Smith, p. 197.] <\/span><\/p>\n Both the second and third visions guarantee the future safety of Jerusalem. Since Jerusalem has not been safe for millennia, it seems reasonable to expect a fulfillment in messianic times.<\/p>\n 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. And I, Myself in My own Being, will be to her a wall of fire – Not protection only, an inner circle around her, however near an enemy might press … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zechariah 2:5”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22915\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
I.<\/strong><\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>The defence. Notice the forms under which the Lord represents Himself as round about His people: all indicative of two things, destruction to the adversary, safety to the friend. The Lord is round His people as a hedge; and as mountains; and as a guard of fire, such as men use to protect from wild beasts.<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>The glory in the midst. He is in the midst, the living God, the life-giving God. He is the glory in the midst by being the temple in the midst. (James Wells.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>I will be a wall of fire round about her. I need not dwell on the vividness and beauty of that metaphor. These encircling flames will consume all antagonism, and defy all approach. But let me remind you that the conditional promise was intended for Judea and Jerusalem, and was fulfilled in literal fact. So long as the city obeyed and trusted God it was impregnable, though all the nations stood round about it like dogs round a sheep. The fulfilment of the promise has passed over, with all the rest that characterised Israels position, to the Christian Church, and today, in the midst of all the agitations of opinion and all the vauntings of men about an effete Christianity and dead churches, it is as true as ever it was that the living Church of God is eternal. If it had not been that there was a God as a wall of fire round about the Church it would have been wiped off the face of the earth long ago. If nothing else had killed it, the faults of its members would have done so. The continuance of the Church is a perpetual miracle, when you take into account the weakness and the errors and the follies and the stupidities and the narrownesses and the sins of the people who in any given day represent it. It does not become any Christian ever to have the smallest scintillation of a fear that the ship that bears Jesus Christ can fail to come to land, or can sink in the midst of the waters. But do not let us forget that this great promise does not belong only to the Church as a whole, but that we have each to bring it down to our own individual lives and to be quite sure of this, that in spite of all that sense says, in spite of all that quivering hearts and weeping eyes may seem to prove, there is a wall of fire round each of us, if we are keeping near Jesus Christ. Only, we have to interpret that promise by faith and not by sense, and we have to make it possible that it shall be fulfilled by keeping inside the wall, and trusting to it. As faith dwindles, the fiery wall burns dim, and evil can get across its embers, and can get at us.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>A Glory in the midst of us. The one is external defence; the other inward illumination, with all that light symbolises–knowledge, joy, purity. There is even more than that meant by this great promise. For notice that emphatic little word the–the glory, not a glory–in the midst of her. Now, you all know what the glory was. It was that symbolic Light that spoke, of the special Presence of God, and went with the children of Israel m their wanderings, and sat between the cherubim. There was no shekinah–as it is technically called–in that second Temple. But yet the prophet says, the glory–the actual presence of God–shall be in the midst of her, and the meaning of that great promise is taught us by the very last vision in the New Testament, in which the seer of the Apocalypse says, the glory of the Lord did lighten it (evidently quoting Zechariah), and the Lamb is the light thereof. So the city is lit as by one central glow of radiance that flashes its beams into every corner, and therefore there shall be no night there. Now, this promise, too, bears on churches and on individuals. On the Church as a whole it bears in this way–the only means by which a Christian community can fulfil its function, and be the light of the world, is by having the presence of God, in no metaphor, the actual presence of the illuminating Spirit in its midst. The same thing is true about individuals. For each of us the secret of joy, of purity, of knowledge is that we be holding close communion with God.<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>Jerusalem shall be without walls. It is to be like the defenceless villages scattered up and down over Israel. There is no need for bulwarks of stone. The wall of fire is round about. The more a Christian community is independent of external material supports and defences the better. Luther tolls us somewhere, in his parabolic way, of people that wept because there were no visible pillars to hold up the heavens, and were afraid that the sky would upon their heads. No, no, there is no fear of that happening, for an unseen hand holds them up. A Church that hides behind the fortifications of its grandfathers erection has no room for expansion; and if it has no room for expansion it will not long continue as large as it is. It must either grow greater or grow, and deserve to grow, less. The same thing is true about ourselves individually. Zechariahs prophecy was never meant to prevent what he himself helped to further, the building of the actual walls of the actual city. And our dependence upon God is not to be so construed as that we are to waive our own common sense and our own effort. We have to build ourselves round, in this world, with other things than the wall of fire, but in all our building we have to say, Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchers watch in vain. But yet neither Jerusalem nor the Church nor the earthly state of that believer who lives most fully the life of faith exhausts this promise. It waits for the day when the city shall descend, like a bride adorned for her husband, having no need of the sun nor of the moon, for the glory . . . lightens it. (A. Maclaren, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
GOD THE PROTECTION AND GLORY OF HIS PEOPLE<\/strong><\/p>\n
[The Jews, after their restoration, were impeded in their endeavours to rebuild their city and temple; and it seemed as if they would never be able to accomplish it. But God promised that their enemies should not be able finally to prevail; for that he himself would be an effectual protection to them; not only as a wall which might keep off their assailants, but as a wall of fire, that should devour them: and that his worship should be re-established among them, as in former days; so that they should again, as they had formerly been, become the joy and glory of the whole earth. Through the energy with which the people were inspired, they rebuilt the wall with incredible speed [Note: See Neh 4:7-8<\/span>; Neh 4:13-18<\/span>; Neh 6:15<\/span>.]: and the temple itself also, after many hindrances, was raised; and in some respects, especially by the presence of the Messiah himself in it, the glory of it was made to exceed even that of the former house [Note: Hag 2:9<\/span>.].]<\/p>\n
[Their future restoration will be opposed with far greater vehemence and malignity than it was after the Babylonish captivity. Great and mighty nations will come against them, to destroy them [Note: Eze 38:14-16<\/span>.]. But then will God be a wall of fire round about them; and not only will he protect them effectually, but he will spread such desolation amongst their enemies as has never yet been heard of, from the foundation of the world. When Pharaoh pursued them, God made the Red Sea a wall for their defence, and by that swallowed up all the hosts of Egypt: but when God and Magog shall come up against them, such shall be the extent of the victories that, shall be gained by Israel, that the weapons with which they have been assailed, shall suffice for fire-wood in the whole land, for the space of seven years; and it shall occupy the whole people of the land seven months to bury the slain [Note: Eze 39:8-13<\/span>.].<\/p>\n
How he shall be seen, admired, and glorified in them at the last day, when the whole number of his elect shall be assembled before his throne, every one shining forth in his Saviours image, I forbear to say. But, in a measure, that time is already commenced; and we enjoy even now, in our better moments, the dawn of that bright and blessed day.]<\/p>\n
1.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\nFuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"