Boys and Girls Playing in the Streets

The Story

The prophet Zechariah lived at the same time as Haggai. Jerusalem was still mostly rubble. Its walls were broken. Its streets were nearly empty. The few people who had returned were struggling just to survive.

And God gave Zechariah a picture of the future.

“Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.”

Then God described what the city would look like. Not armies. Not gold. Not even a grand temple.

“There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.”

Old people sitting in the sun, leaning on their canes. Children running and playing in the streets. A city at peace.

God knew it sounded too good to believe. “If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes?” It may seem impossible to you. It isn’t to Me.

“They shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.”

Reflection