“For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”
My Notes
What Does Zechariah 2:8 Mean?
God speaks through Zechariah with one of the most intimate protective declarations in Scripture: he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. The people of God are God's pupil — the most sensitive, most protected, most valued part of his being.
The apple of the eye (babah — the pupil, the gate of the eye) is the part of the body that is instinctively, reflexively protected. You do not think about protecting your eye. The protection is automatic. That is how God protects his people.
"The nations which spoiled you" — the nations that plundered Israel thought they were dealing with a weak, unprotected people. They did not realize they were touching God's pupil.
"After the glory hath he sent me" — the speaker is sent after glory — perhaps meaning the Messiah sent to the nations after the glory of God's presence has been manifested. The verse carries messianic overtones: the sent one warns the nations that touching Israel is touching God's most sensitive spot.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does being the 'apple of God's eye' communicate about how reflexively he protects you?
- 2.How does the nations not realizing what they were touching describe the ignorance of those who oppose God's people?
- 3.Where do you need the confidence that what threatens you is threatening God's most sensitive spot?
- 4.How does the LORD of hosts' protection being reflexive rather than deliberate change your sense of security?
Devotional
He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. The apple of the eye — the pupil. The most sensitive, most protected, most reflexively guarded part of the body. Touch it and the entire body recoils. That is what you are to God.
The nations that spoiled you did not realize what they were touching. They thought they were raiding a small, defenseless people. They were poking God in the eye. The response to touching God's pupil is not measured. It is reflexive, immediate, and total.
For thus saith the LORD of hosts. The LORD of hosts — the commander of heaven's armies — is the one whose eye you are the pupil of. The most powerful being in the universe protects you with the same instinct that protects the most sensitive part of his own body.
The protection is not optional or considered. It is reflexive. You do not decide to protect your eye. Your body does it automatically. God's protection of his people operates the same way — instant, instinctive, undeliberate.
If you belong to God, you are the apple of his eye. Not figuratively. The metaphor describes how reflexively God protects what is his. The nations that touch you are touching something that triggers God's most immediate, most intense protective response.
Whatever is threatening you — whatever nation, power, or force seems to be reaching toward you — they are reaching toward God's pupil. And the God of hosts does not let anyone touch his eye.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For thus saith the Lord of hosts,.... Christ, who is the true Jehovah, and Lord of armies, as appears from his being…
After the glory - Jonathan: “Which it is promised to bring upon you.” This being the usual construction, the words…
After the glory - After your glorious deliverance from the different places of your dispersion; He hath sent me unto the…
One would have thought that Cyrus's proclamation, which gave liberty to the captive Jews to return to their own land,…
after the glory rather, after glory. There is no article to shew that there is a reference, as has been supposed, to Zec…
Cross References
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