Zechariah 2:5

A wall of fire. — This verse is not intended to discountenance the building of walls to Jerusalem, a thing which was actually done under Nehemiah (B.C. 445), but is simply a solemn promise of God’s protection. Many indeed were the troubles which fell on the city in the times which intervened between the days of Zechariah and those of our Lord; but still, abundant proof was given that God had not forgotten His promise to shield it. Such troubles, as at other periods of the history of the Jews, were but chastisements, and even those not in proportion to their transgressions. (For the figurative use of the expression “wall,” see 1 Samuel 25:16.)