I Will Live Among You

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

I Will Live Among You

Date: Oct. 19, 2024

Passage

Zechariah 2:1-13 (ESV)

1 And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! 2 Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” 3 And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him 4 and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. 5 And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

6 Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the LORD. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the LORD. 7 Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. 8 For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: 9 “Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me. 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. 11 And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. 12 And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”

13 Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

For information on how the ESV can be quoted, please visit our permission site.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 2:11

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

In Zechariah’s third vision, a man uses a measuring line to find out how wide and long Jerusalem is. An angel meets the man and tells him that in the future, Jerusalem will not be measurable. The city will not have walls because there will be so many people and animals living in it. But it will not be an unfortified city. God himself will be a wall of fire around it and his own glory will be within the city.

God invites his people to flee and escape from Babylon, where they had been exiled, and from all the places to which they had been scattered. The time has come to return to the LORD. God will plunder those who had plundered his people, the apple of his eye. Not only was this invitation and promise for the Jews, but for all nations (11). Instead of living in exile, far from the LORD, people from all nations are invited to live with God in this new Jerusalem. This is a picture of God’s kingdom.

Do you feel comfortable or stuck in a spiritual Babylon? Are you struggling for purpose and direction? God still invites you today to flee and escape your spiritual Babylon and live in his presence. God desires this not only for us individually but for peoples of all nations. Let’s shout, be glad, and pray for people everywhere to be joined to the LORD (10-11).

Prayer: Father, we flee from the world and into your presence. Bring many nations to repentance.

One Word: God will live among us

I Will Rejoice in the Lord

Habakkuk 3:1-19

Key Verse: 3:18

yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

Today's Question

For what do we pray in the sixth request?

See answer and references