NOTES for Zec 2:1-3:10
Continuing his account of the visions shown to him by the Angel of the Lord, the prophet Zechariah once again proclaims Jerusalem's coming prosperity. Just as for the prophet Ezekiel, a central image for Zechariah is the surveyor's measuring line with which the city is measured. The measurement emphasizes that Jerusalem's restoration will be accomplished not simply by human effort, but as the fulfilment of God's design. The Lord Himself sets the measure of the city and the Temple, and He Himself will be a wall of fire around the city, protecting it from the enemy. These words of the Lord are very likely a response to the opinion of many who had returned from exile: that they must first rebuild the city fortifications and restore military and economic strength, and only then rebuild the Lord's Temple. Later, the prophet will supplement the Lord's words that He Himself will be Jerusalem's wall of fire with words addressed to Zerubbabel about the source of the chosen people's victory (Zech 4:6).
In the second half of chapter two, Zechariah calls all Zion's exiles to return. The Lord, who regards His people as a precious treasure, the apple of His eye, bears witness to His love for them by delivering them. For the prophet, this return from captivity is a true manifestation of God's glory, a direct act of God Himself and an expression of His presence among people. “Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion! For behold, I will come and dwell in your midst.”
These words, however, cannot refer only to the rebuilding of the Temple and the renewal of God's presence within it. The coming of many nations to God, and the very expression “on that day,” call to mind all the prophecies about the Day of the Lord, when all nations will know the Lord with the Messiah's appearing. Thus, consciously or not entirely so, the prophet is speaking here of the Messiah's coming as a source of joy and salvation for the whole world—and this prophecy is fulfilled in the Church of the New Testament.
But the rejoicing to which liberated Jerusalem is called, rejoicing at the coming of God the Saviour, cannot fail to be filled with reverence. Zechariah therefore ends chapter two with one of his most famous sayings: “Let all human flesh be silent before the Lord! For He rises from His holy dwelling.” Sung on Holy Saturday, the day when the crucified Messiah rests in the tomb, these words speak of the mysterious majesty of God's saving action, of the unfathomable manifestation of God's love for humanity. It is for the sake of this love that He rises from His holy dwelling and descends into the depths of the earth to lead out of hell those for whom He died.
For the prophet Zechariah, spiritual purification, deliverance from sin, becomes central to God's saving action. At the beginning of chapter three, he speaks of a vision in which the high priest Joshua, dressed in stained garments, is brought before the Lord. Here, the stained garments symbolize the people's sins, which have been laid upon the high priest. By stripping them from him, the Angel of the Lord bears witness that God Himself has purified His people. After the purification, the high priest receives symbolic access to the Lord's presence, to remain before Him. It is important that the prophet Zechariah connects this purification with one person upon whom the sins of all are laid and in whom their cleansing takes place.
From the actual high priest, Zechariah's contemporary, the prophet's gaze turns to the future, and he conveys God's words that the Lord is bringing His Servant, the Branch, so that, like the high priest Joshua, He may blot out the sins of all people. Isaiah, Hosea, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all call Christ by this name, “the Branch,” and in doing so the prophet Zechariah continues an ancient prophetic tradition.
So this is what the prophet calls people to rejoice over at the end of the preceding chapter; this is what makes him fall silent in reverent awe. God's Servant, the Branch from David's root, will blot out the sin of this land and will do so in one great Day. Like Second Isaiah, Zechariah speaks of the essence of redemption, in which the Creator's love will be revealed to the world.