The Measuring Line

"Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand." Zechariah 2:1

Zechariah was a prophet that ministered to the residents of Jerusalem after their return from Exile in Babylon. His purpose was to comfort and encourage God's people to remain faithful in times of distress and trouble. He encouraged them to rebuild the temple. Zechariah focused the attention of the people on the Lord's promises for the future.

In these first five verses of the second chapter of Zechariah we are seeing a vision of the Measuring Line (verse 5). Jerusalem could not be measured because of its size, no walls could contain it and without walls it would be defenseless.

I believe we can look at these verses pertaining to what we are facing today.

~The Lord has placed our President before us to make a plan (drawing a `measuring line`).

~He has placed the healthcare community before us to give us our borders in which to live by in these days (social distancing and quarantine).

~He has made a way for most of us to slow down and be at home (giving us time to `rebuild our temple`) which allows more time to spend in His Word, learning and growing our faith.

~He has prepared a way for our pastors to reach out to us through technology while we cannot congregate together but still have access to hearing His Word preached.

Our Measuring Line is God. He knows what we are going through, just like He knew what the people of Jerusalem were facing; He became a `wall of fire` to protect them and would be `glory in her midst`, they knew exactly where their protection came from.

In Exodus we read about what the Israelites endured during their escape from Egypt. God became the `pillar of a cloud by day and fire by night`. God's expressions of His protective care and presence was relevant then and still is for us today.

Let's take from these scriptures and allow our Savior to breath fresh awareness in our hearts that nothing escapes His notice. He is still in control. He has a purpose and a plan for His entire creation. His will shall be done.

"For I," says the Lord, 'will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.'" (Zech. 2:5)

Place your hope in the Lord.

"The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in HIm!" (Lam. 3:24)

Trust in Him alone.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord." (Jer. 17:7)

Remain faithful during this time.

"Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." (1 Cor. 4:2)

I love you & He loves you more!

Lord, You see us and You hear our prayers. We pour out our hearts to You that You will protect us and keep us. Help us to be a steadfast and faithful servant to You. You are our Protector and our Provider, always watching over us. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.