Read: Zechariah 2

Parents love their children immensely and their love has no limits. When something happens to a child, the parent will go any length to resolve the situation so as to save the child. How much more the Lord loves us and how we are “the apple of His eye.”

The prophet Zechariah employs this phrase to God’s people who had returned to Jerusalem after their captivity in Babylon. Zech. 2:8 says, “…he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.” He spoke the word of the Lord to those people who had come back from exile to rebuild Jerusalem. Zechariah encouraged the people with words from visions about God’s love and care and about the glorious future that was to come for God’s people. He calls them to repent, to rebuild the temple, and to renew their hearts to love the true God.

Hebrew scholars suggest that the phrase “the apple of His eye” denotes one’s reflection in the pupil of another’s eye, with the word “apple” because it is a common spherical object. With eyes being precious and delicate, they need protection. That is how the Lord wants to love and protect His people, by holding them close to His heart. Isa. 49:15 says, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.” Such is the Lord’s care for His children.

The Lord pours out His love upon us and cares for us far more than a loving mother does all she can to care for her child. If you are a child of God, always remember that you are so precious to Him. He will not sit idle if you go through a crisis and you desperately need His help. He is sure to intervene. We are the apple of His eye, His beloved.