Zechariah 2:6-9 - Time to Flee

The remainder of this chapter is set out as poetry, though most English versions do not make this clear.

God calls on those still living in Babylon to flee from there (the “land of the north”). They had been sent there as punishment, as part of the judgement upon Judah. But now was the time to flee, yet they were reluctant to do so. Note that a relatively small proportion of the Jews had returned to Jerusalem, more needed to be encouraged to return.

It is interesting that both in the case of Egypt and Babylon for a time the people were sent to live in exile. They had to live there for a time, but then a time to flee came. In our own lives God sometimes seems to send us into exile. We can get comfortable in the situation, used to it, but we need to recognise when the time comes to an end. The land of exile seemed safe, but that time was coming to an end. We often assume that things will always remain as they are, but this is not true. Things will change, the only thing that remains constant is the word of the Lord, so it is imperative that we live our lives according to His word.

The precise meaning of verse 8 is unclear. It may mean that God sent Zechariah with insistence. Judah may have felt abandoned by God, and those who looked on may have concluded the same. Yet Zion was actually the apple of His eye (see Dt 32:10). We need to understand God’s workings. He is working to make Israel, and to make you and me, into the people He always intended us to be. This will involve hard work, deep changes. If we look at the circumstances to determine whether or not God loves we will often be confused. Our confidence needs to be based on who He is, and on what He has declared in His word to be His purposes. The nations that plundered Zion would themselves be plundered. Having been defeated by some force we may conclude that the most sensible thing to do is to seek an accommodation with that force. This would be a mistake. We must always look only to God.