Vision Report: A Young Man Measuring Jerusalem (2:1-5):

2:1–2 Again, as in 1:18, Zechariah simply looked up and the vision was before him. He saw a man with a measuring line in his hand! During periods of intense building activity men with measuring lines must have been a relatively common sight around Jerusalem. They stretched out the line to mark the location of the structure and to measure its dimensions so that building materials could be acquired and prepared. Ezekiel’s temple vision also includes a young man with a measuring instrument (Ezek. 40:3). The measuring line laid the foundation for hope before any stones were set in place.

Zechariah enters the vision by speaking to the man, asking, “Where are you going?” The man answers the prophet directly, “To measure Jerusalem, to find out…