June 28, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Then I looked up, and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked, “Where are you going?” He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is.’” (Zechariah 2.1-2)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Perhaps one of the craftsmen was an architect and surveyor. It is vital in the building of anything to know the “lay of the land.” We are introduced to this them with the sending of the horsemen out to poll the population of King Darius’s kingdom from north to south and east to west. His presence is a fulfillment of prophecy which was given in the “handwriting on the wall” vision to the king of Babylon. What is unique in this part of the revelation given to Zechariah will be God’s response that follows. That reflection is yet to come, but let us first consider this short conversation between Zechariah and the surveyor.

When Zechariah inquires of the man with the measuring line about his intention there is a sense of curiosity as to not merely his purpose but his hope. Every builder has a dream. We often dream bigger than what our resources will allow. In leading brainstorming sessions, I always introduce that part of the “intentional planning” with “if money were no object what would you like to see and be able to do.” Of course, we may not have all the resources needed and the opportunity to visualize and vocalize our dreams for accomplishing something good and transforming may be limited by it. The reality often exists that we have prioritized poorly and allocated resources equally in disproportionate ways. The opportunity to “look out” will often lead us to the need for “looking in.” Introspection is a great way to project what limitations may have been allowed, promoted or created that hinder our becoming all we have been created to be and to do. Visualizing a thing actually allows others who are pathfinders and planners to see options and opportunities. Without such a practice, we begin to sink into finite realities like walls that surround us in an ever-shrinking experience. In other words, we feel “closed in,” suffocated and ultimately into a despair that leads to death if not of the body then of the heart, mind and soul. When scientists examine brain activity, that part which is activated by conscious effort is just a fraction of what is available. Sadly for too many people, brain killing activities are adopted because of the confines of life which they experience. Being able to dream “outside the box” and beyond the lines, or “confines,” reenergizes and gives birth to knowledge and vision which had become dormant, stale and in need of resurrection. It is said that “all that is needed God has provided.” Beyond that I would suggest that all that is needed God has already provided. We know this from the very act of creation itself as the building blocks for what makes a universe existed. It is existed in disarray and chaos until God turned on the light and started the whole process in motion with a word “…in the beginning, let’s do this.” God had a plan, an infinite resource, a desire, a spirit, a willingness and the ability. That same truth He created in humanity which was, by design, made in the image of God reflecting His nature and character as well as enriched by the Master plan of what could be and would be. Humanity was created in the revelation of both outward appearance and inward truth. What’s even more important is that God “loved” it and loved doing it. We know this because God said in blessing creation at the end of the sixth day “It is good and very good.”

But notice the “hope” of the measuring man. When inquired of by Zechariah, his response was one of limits. He said, “To measure Jerusalem; to determine its length and width.” We have already addressed the “inward” manifestation of such a survey with the report of the horsemen. Their “measurement” was of the heart, mind and spirit of the people. They were weighed and measured and found wanting. The problem existed that they did not “want for anything” or perhaps they “wanted nothing.” They had accepted the truce which the power and edict of King Darius afforded. As long as they “fell in line” they had all they needed. There was no more desire for anything more. I think there are times when the interpretation of the first line of David’s “Shepherd Psalm” falls into this category. For David, a shepherd himself over his father’s flocks, first, and then over Israel, second, to say “The Lord is MY shepherd, I lack for nothing,” or as some would consider it to say “…no want do I know,” it is with a limiting perspective. His personal inventory in light of that phrasing stops for many with “green pastures, still waters and rest.” It does not stop there for David, however. For the surveyor/architect whom Zechariah observes and questions such a limitation exists. He sees his task as “measuring the box.” He is measuring Jerusalem physically in its length and breadth. For a builder, the height and depth may be a part of that physical assessment. When people think of a city, the tendency is to evaluate it based on “size.” How much area does it cover? How many people are in it? Where does it exist geographically? What are its limits? When we hear of Jonah arriving in Nineveh such measurements were already pre-assessed. It was a “great” city not because of its power, influence, culture and historical expanse. It was a “great” city because of its size and physical expanse. So, when the “measuring man” considers Jerusalem it is as a city that had always sat on a hill called Moriah or Zion by some others. Even the change in its identity by name reflects a reality of limits, Zion, or without limits, Moriah. Zion was a worldly kingdom name where Jerusalem was the center of all reality drawing the world to it. Moriah was a spiritual kingdom name where Jerusalem was a center of faith for a future promise which reached out into all the world. The “measuring man” was perhaps a Zionist who saw Jerusalem with walls and a great Temple set on a hill for all to see. What would be seen is what human hands would create. We can certainly ascertain for ourselves that God sees something more. Shouldn’t we?

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.