Zechariah 2:1-13

Third Vision: The Man with a Measuring Line

2:1 I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 Then I asked, "Where are you going?" He answered me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length." 3 Then 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 like villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and animals in it. 5 For I will be a wall of fire all around it, says the LORD, and I will be the glory within it."

Interlude: An Appeal to the Exiles

6 Up, up! Flee from the land of the north, says the LORD; for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the LORD. 7 Up! Escape to Zion, you that live with daughter Babylon. 8 For thus said the LORD of hosts (after his glory sent me) regarding the nations that plundered you: Truly, one who touches you touches the apple of my eye. 9 See now, I am going to raise my hand against them, and they shall become plunder for their own slaves. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me. 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in your midst, says the LORD. 11 Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on 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 The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.

13 Be silent, all people, before the LORD; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. (Zechariah 2:1-13, NRSV)

The following comments are based, with editing and supplement, on those of December 13, 2005 (Tuesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two), and comments on Zechariah 2:10-13 from December 25, 2006 (Christmas Day, Year One), when comments were adapted and supplemented here from an E-mail sent December 15, 2003, for December 16, 2003.).

As noted yesterday (Dec. 17, 2007), the first part of the Book of Zechariah contains a series of vision reports. Between the first vision, yesterday’s reading, in which “divine horsemen patrol the earth” (Zech. 1:7-17), and today’s reading, which begins with the third vision, in which “a surveyor measures Jerusalem” (2:1-5, Heb. 2:5-9, cf. Gregory Mobley, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Zech 1:7-17; 2:1-5), the assigned readings pass over the second vision, “four horns and four smiths” (1:18-21, Heb. 2:1-4, cf. Mobley). Zechariah is told, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no head could be raised; but these [blacksmiths, v. 20] have come to terrify them, to strike down the horns of the nations that lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people” (1:21, Heb. 2:4). According to Ehud Ben Zvi, “Horns are symbols of power. Here they represent politico-military agents, nations. The number four connotes a sense of totality, because it points to the four points of the compass (a concept also attested in Mesopotamian literature); see also 2:10 [NJPS = Heb., 2:10 NRSV]” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Zech 2:1-4 NJPS [1:18-21 NRSV]).

A personal word from today’s reading: You are the apple of God’s eye! God loves you and cares for you. Zechariah calls Judah the apple of God's eye, but we can extend it to all of God's people. Today's reading also offers the only use of the phrase, “the holy land,” in the Hebrew Bible (Zech. 2:12), though “the concept reappears in the Apocrypha (Wisdom of Solomon 12:3; 2 Macc. 1:7)” R. L. Hicks & W. Brueggemann, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Zech. 2:12). Zechariah's message is full of promise. In the third vision (2:1-5) he sees “a man with a measuring line in his hand” (Zech. 2:1) “to measure Jerusalem” (v. 2). This act, “as in Ezek. 41:13, is part of the restoration” (Hicks & Brueggemann on Zech. 2:1), but the real promise is the protection provided by God's presence. “For I will be a wall of fire all around it, says the LORD, and I will be the glory within it” (v. 5). From Jerusalem, where he lives with the first Jews who returned from Babylon, Zechariah appeals to exiles, “Up, up! Flee from the land of the north, says the LORD; for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the LORD” (Zech. 2:6). The repetition makes it clear that the call is to flee from Babylon. “Up! Escape to Zion, you that live with daughter Babylon” (v. 7). Compare Isaiah’s summons: “Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, / declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, / send it forth to the end of the earth; / say, ‘The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!’ ” (Isa. 48:20). The basis for the summons is the LORD’s regard for Israel. “For thus said the LORD of hosts (after his glory sent me) regarding the nations that plundered you: truly, one who touches you touches the apple of my eye” (Zech. 3:8). According to Mobley, “the apple of my eye” is “the pupil the most precious, the most fiercely defended part (Deut. 32:10; Ps. 17:8)” (on v. 8).

The LORD will “raise my hand against them, and they shall become plunder for their own slaves” (v. 9a). “Then you will know,” says the prophet, “that the LORD of hosts has sent me” (v. 9b). So the summons to return becomes a call to sing and rejoice. “Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in your midst, says the LORD” (v. 10). The rejoicing is for more than just the restoration of Israel–as marvelous as that will be. “Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,” says the prophet, “and shall be my people, and I will dwell in your midst” (v. 11a). According to W. Sibley Towner, “The notion that on the ‘day of the LORD’ the gentile nations shall be God’s people has many precedents in prophetic literature (e.g., Isa. 19:24-25; 56:6-8; 60:3)” (The HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Zech. 2:11). Mobley says “Jerusalem will be the site of a universal pilgrimage in the ideal age ([Zech.] 8:20; Isa. 2:2-4; 56:6-7; Micah 4:1-2)” (on v. 11). This expectation of many nations coming to Jerusalem to worship the LORD makes this text most appropriate for the Christmas celebration in a Christian (and if they would agree, a Jewish) context.

Compare the following from Isaiah: “But be glad and rejoice forever / in what I am creating; / for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, / and its people as a delight. / I will rejoice in Jerusalem, / and delight in my people; / no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, / or the cry of distress” (Isa. 65:18-19).

Also compare:

Thus says the LORD of hosts: People shall yet come, the inhabitants of many cities; the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, "Come, let us go to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going." Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." (Zech. 8:20-23)

But there is special emphasis upon Judah in this restoration. “The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem” (v. 12). According to Mobley, “This is the only reference to Judah, or Israel, as the holy land in the Hebrew Bible (though see, in the Apocrypha, Wis.12:3; 2 Macc. 1:7)” (on v. 12). As the reading closes, all people are called to “be silent . . . before the LORD; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling” (v. 13).

Revelation 3:14-22

The Letter to Laodicea

14 "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God's creation:

15 "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.' You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19 I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. 20 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. 21 To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches." (Revelation 3:14-22, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from December 13, 2005 (Tuesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two), when comments were adapted from an E-mail sent December 15, 2003, for December 16, 2003.

John's seventh letter is to Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22). According to Mary K. Milne, Laodicea was “a prosperous commercial city in the region of Phrygia in northwest [rather southwest, or west central] Asia Minor . . . named after his wife, Laodice, by Antiochus II, of the Seleucid dynasty, which ruled Syria [and parts of Asia Minor] after the death of Alexander the Great” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, 1985, s.v. Laodicea, with my comments in square brackets).

This letter, as the others, is from Christ, called here “the Amen” (v. 14; cf. 2 Cor. 1:20) and “the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation”(v. 14: cf. Rev. 1:5). The Laodiceans are rebuked for being “lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot”: “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot,” says the Lord (v. 15). “ So,” he adds, “because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (v. 16). Bruce M. Metzger calls Laodicea “a proud and wealthy city near Colossae” whose “lukewarm Christianity is nauseating” (B.M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on vv. 14-22, cf. vv. 15-16). Following Metzger, Jean Pierre Ruiz adds, “Their lukewarm Christianity is nauseating like the tepid water for which the city was known” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on vv. 15-16). They don’t understand–or at least don’t admit–their true spiritual condition. “For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (v. 17). They are advised to focus on true values, to “buy from me gold refined by fire . . . and white robes to clothe you . . . and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see” (v. 18), metaphors for repentance (refinement), purity (white robes), and spiritual insight. They are called to repent (v. 19) with the invitation, “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me” (v. 20), “an invitation to share the joys of the Messianic banquet in the coming age (compare Mt. 26:29)"”(Metzger on v. 20).

Matthew 24:32-44

The Fig Tree Lesson (Mk 13.28-31; Lk 21.29-33)

32 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

You Must Be Ready! (Mk 13.32-37; Lk 17.26-27, 34-35; 21.34-36)

36 "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39 and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 42 Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. (Matthew 24:32-44, NRSV)

On July 15, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 6, Year Two), comments were combined and adapted from an E-mail message sent December 15, 2003, for December 16, 2003, another from July 10, 2004 in a email sent July 9 for July 10-11, and from comments posted for December 13, 2005 (Tuesday of the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two). The comments are repeated here.

For recent comments on Mark’s version of this reading, see the Archive for August 28, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 24, Year One). For recent comments on Luke’s version, see the Archive for June 25, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year One). For a table of parallel versions in Matthew, Mark and Luke, see the separate file, Eschatological Speech Conclusion.

Jesus’ answer to the question about “the signs of your coming and of the end of the age” (Mt. 14:3) continues today with a lesson “from the fig tree” (Mt. 24:32-33). The three versions of the Parable of the Fig Tree (Mt. 24:32-36; Mk. 13:28-32; Lk. 21:29-33) are in essential agreement; the main exception is Luke’s omission of the words, “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mk. 13:32; cf Mt. 24:36), but this is taken as the beginning of the next paragraph (NRSV, NIV), and in any case the point that the day of the Son of Man’s coming might catch the disciples unexpectedly is made in Luke 21:34-36. Jesus uses the fig tree as an object lesson. “As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near” (Mt. 24:32). Likewise, “when you see all these things [i.e. what is described earlier in the chapter], you know that he [or it, NRSV note] is near, at the very gates” (v. 33).

The point of the Parable of the Fig Tree is what tender leaves indicate: “summer is near” (Mt. 24: 32; Mk. 13:28; “summer is already near,” Lk. 21:30). By analogy the signs Jesus describes (vv. 14-27) are signs that the Son of Man’s coming “is near,” “he is near, at the very gates” (Mt. 24:33; Mk. 13:29; “the kingdom of God is near,” Lk. 21:31). Richard A. Horsley says that the image of the fig tree here (Mk. 13:28-31) “reverses the image of the fig tree from Mk. 11:12-14 (cf. Mt. 21:18-19), now symbolizing new blessing for the people” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on v. 28). In this passage Horsley sees “reassurance that the resolution of the historical crisis is near, as symbolized by the impending coming of the Son of Man, and that Jesus’ words are utterly credible (on vv. 28-31).

Then comes the reminder, “about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (v. 36). In a comparison to the days of Noah and the flood (vv. 37-39), the coming of the Son of Man will be “as the days of Noah were” (v. 37), . Life was continuing in the normal manner, “eating and drinking and giving in marriage” (v. 38), but they were overtaken by the flood (v. 39). “Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left” (v. 40). The coming of the Son of Man will be as unexpected as the coming of a thief in the night; if “the owner of the house had he known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake” (v. 43) “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour” (v. 44)

The following comments on Matthew 22:45-51, adapted and supplemented from an E-mail sent December 16, 2003, for December 17, 2003, are repeated here from Matthew 14, 2005 (Wednesday of the week of the Third Sunday in Advent, Year Two):

Jesus concludes the speech on the end of the age with an interpreted parable. The parallel in Luke comes much earlier in the narrative (chap. 12), but apart from Luke’s introduction with a question from Peter (Lk. 12:41), the two versions are often verbatim. The faithful slave attends to his duties in the master’s absence, but the unfaithful slave “begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards” (Mt. 24:49; cf. Lk. 12:45, where he “begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk”). The phrase “allowance of food” (Mt. 24:45; Lk. 12:42) represents different Greek words (trophē in Mt. and sitometrion in Lk.; also the infinitive “to give” is aorist, dounai, in Mt., but present tense, didonai, in Lk.). Luke adds “in coming” to Matthew’s “is delayed” (Mt. 24:48; Lk. 12:45). The bad slave “begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards” in Matthew (Mt. 24:49), but in Luke he “begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk” (Lk. 12:45). In both Gospels this statement is conditional, introduced by “if” (ean). The master who is delayed “will come on a day when he [the wicked slave] does not expect him” (Mt. 24:50; Lk. 12:46). The point is that the Christian believers must be faithful, and ready for the Lord’s return at any time, a point to be elaborated by the parables of Matthew, chapter 25. The consequences for the unfaithful slave are graphic. “He [the master] will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 24:51). “The master . . . will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful” (Lk. 12:46). After this reference to cutting the bad slave in pieces, Luke’s further references to beatings, “a severe beating” for the “slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted” (Lk. 12:47), and “a light beating” for “the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating” (v. 48), seems out of place, a result, perhaps, of Luke’s collecting various sayings of Jesus. The lesson for us is to live in the expectation of the Lord’s return.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net