T he prophet Zechariah was one of the prophets who lived after the Babylonian Captivity, in the time of the restoration of Israel to their own land. He has a message of spir itual importance for the remnant of God’s people that returned to Pales tine. He also warns those who were remaining in Babylon of the coming judgment upon all those nations who have afflicted God’s people, Israel. In the midst of this prophecy he states that those who touch Israel, the Jew, touch the apple of God’s eye. Zechariah declared: “ For thus saith the Jehovah of hosts; After glory hath he sent me unto the na tions which plundered you; for he that toucheth you toucheth the ap ple of his eye” (2:8). There are three expressions in the Old Testament translated apple of the eye. In Deuteronomy 32:10 R.V. Moses describes God’s loving care of His people: “He found him in a desert land, And in the waste howl ing wilderness; he compassed him about, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.” The expression is literally little man of the eye like our little boy, pupil. The miniature of the person who looks into another’s eye is reflected there. In Psalm 17:8 it is little daughter of the eye. In our passage in Zechariah the word is gate, the place where the rays of light, pass to the retina. Why did God call Israel the apple of His eye? This designation is a beautiful fig ure and picture of Israel because it speaks of, first That Which is So Precious A man guards the apple of his eye because it is dear to him. It is considered by any man as one of his
most precious possessions. The psalm ist prayed of the Lord: (Psa. 17:8 R.V.) “ Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me under the shadow of thy wings.” No one is interested in bargaining away the apple of his eye, nor in exchanging it for some trifling object. God considers the Jew as His precious possession. God has set His love on Israel and they are very precious to Him. Moses told them in the wilderness: (Deut. 7:7, 8 R.V.) “ Jehovah did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any peo ple; for ye were the fewest of all peoples; but because Jehovah loveth you, and because he would keep the oath which he sware unto your fath ers, hath Jehovah brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” G. H. Morrison once said: “ There are books upon my shelves that I can never handle without a certain reverence and care, and I am gen tle because they are of value to me. And the singular thing is that these precious volumes are not always the volumes that are most finely bound. Some of them are little tattered crea tures that a respectable servant longs to light the fire with . . . So I take it God is gentle, because you and I are precious in His sight. He is infinitely patient with the worst of us because He values the worst of us so dearly.” God loves Israel and they are precious to Him. The apple of the eye indicates, secondly, That Which is So Easily Injured It is not necessary to thrust a knife into the eye to give excruci
ating agony and to do injury to it. A splinter, an eyelash, a speck of dust, or a touch will bring enough pain. We need to be exceedingly careful how we conduct ourselves toward the Jew. He may appear without protector, but any injury hurts the heart of God, as He has repeatedly stated in the Word of God. The apple of the eye, thirdly, is That Which is Impossible to Repair Parts of the human body can be injured and mutilated and yet some type of replacement be made. Hands, feet, bones in the body have been replaced through skillful surgeons, or so treated that they are still use ful. We are reading much in the papers of the quadruple amputees, and what is being done for their re habilitation. But the pupil of the eye cannot be repaired, once it is severe ly injured. Some injuries to Israel, God’s people, cannot be repaired. How can the slaughter of 6 million Jews in Europe ever be repaired? How can this multiplied injury be righted? Impossible! And to think that everyone who touched them— let alone cremated them—was touch ing the apple of God’s eye. The apple of the eye is, fourthly That Which Allows the Light to Penetrate The pupil of the eye is the en trance way for the light rays from without to penetrate to the retina, so that we may see the objects before us. Israel is God’s entrance way for the light of His Word and His sal vation to enter the world. One day Jesus the Messiah said to a Samari tan woman: (John 4:22 R.V.) “Ye worship that which ye know not: we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.” These
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TH E K IN G 'S BUSINESS
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