Zechariah 11
Zechariah 11 • Sermon • Submitted
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One thing we began to notice in chapter 10 was the fact that more and more of the information God is diving us in His word seem to point to a future day of his kingdom and his presence here on earth.
So lets get ready to start......
So lets begin by looking at verses 1-2
1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
that the fire may devour your cedars!
1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
that the fire may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forest has been felled!
Well I want to begin and tell you that chapter is the most difficult and most controversial chapter in the entire book. At times the metaphors are hard to distinguish and historical references are hard to see plainly.
Well I want to begin and tell you that chapter is the most difficult and most controversial chapter in the entire book. At times the metaphors are hard to distinguish and historical references are hard to see plainly.
But we will do our best now that we have hard the protests of the biblical scholars.
A old Bible scholar by the name of Unger says this...
The New American Commentary: Zechariah 6. Judgment of the Shepherds (11:1–17)
Unger firmly contends that 11:1–3 describes judgment in very strong terms, but he also attempts to avoid a figurative interpretation: “Nothing more than a literal interpretation is needed, and there is not the slightest reason to make the trees signify either nations or men despite such references as Isaiah 10:34; Ezekiel 17:8; Jeremiah 22:6; passim, where trees represent nations or men.”
Now some say the cedars speak to the doors of the Temple and other think it refers to the land and people of Judea
In either case, Lebanon lay to and the north of those wonderful cedar woods were there as well, and those cedars that were used to build the doors of the temple.
Forty years before the destruction of the temple, the tract called “Massecheth Joma” states, its doors of their own accord opened, and Rabbi Johanan in alarm said, I know that thy desolation is impending according to Zechariah’s prophecy
Others say this speaks to Judea, as i have already said and they consider this to mean that their northern boundary would be open for the Romans to come and take them into captivity.
and with verse 2, if those tall cedars are not spared, the smaller trees, like the fir trees, the other trees will not stand as well.
Let me share the words of
12 For the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon,
lofty and lifted up;
and against all the oaks of Bashan;
So the Lord is speaking against them....
now verse 3
3 The sound of the wail of the shepherds,
for their glory is ruined!
The sound of the roar of the lions,
for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
The shepherds speak to the Jewish rulers. their glory could refer to the temple but it refers to their own wealth and magnificence
The young lions speak to the Young princes and the thicker of Jordan is the woody banks of the Jordan river, it was often seen as a lair for the lions. But it is no more
This seems to repeat the message the Lord has shared though the prophet Jeremiah chapter 25
24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; 26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Babylon shall drink.
34 “Wail, you shepherds, and cry out,
and roll in ashes, you lords of the flock,
for the days of your slaughter and dispersion have come,
and you shall fall like a choice vessel.
35 No refuge will remain for the shepherds,
nor escape for the lords of the flock.
36 A voice—the cry of the shepherds,
and the wail of the lords of the flock!
For the Lord is laying waste their pasture,
Judgement is coming…and no one will stop it.
Verse 4
4 Thus said the Lord my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.
Verse 4 begins with a powerful assertion, the phrase the Lord my God speaks to the personal, intimate relationship Zechariah had with the Lord.
Zechariah is himself to be a shepherd to these people, Why we are not told everything as to the reason she is assigned to slaughter, but we know her habitual sin against the Lord, and the fact she refused to repent has lead to her judgment.
Interesting here is that often the Lord is portrayed as the shepherd, listen to Psalm 95:7
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
Psalm
But the Lord has separated himself from them, so Zechariah will shepherd them in this interim time.
but he has separated himself from them, so Zechariah will shepherd them in this interim time.
Now verse 5
5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them.
The New American Commentary: Zechariah 6. Judgment of the Shepherds (11:1–17)
Despite the fact that the flock of Judah belongs to God, the Lord himself does not sell the flock. One who owns a flock possesses the freedom to sell his flock at will without accountability to anyone. Nonetheless, the shepherds should show compassion to the flock and remorse for their actions against the sheep, a flock that does not even belong to them since they are merely hirelings. This emphasizes the point that the flock did not belong to the shepherds and therefore it was not theirs to sell. Nonetheless, the shepherds “do not spare them” (lōʾ yaḥmôl). The shepherds’ brutal treatment of a flock that was not even theirs plainly showed what worthless shepherds they were.
Despite the fact that the flock of Judah belongs to God, the Lord himself does not sell the flock. One who owns a flock possesses the freedom to sell his flock at will without accountability to anyone. Nonetheless, the shepherds should show compassion to the flock and remorse for their actions against the sheep, a flock that does not even belong to them since they are merely hirelings. This emphasizes the point that the flock did not belong to the shepherds and therefore it was not theirs to sell. Nonetheless, the shepherds “do not spare them” (lōʾ yaḥmôl). The shepherds’ brutal treatment of a flock that was not even theirs plainly showed what worthless shepherds they were.
the buyers of the flock represent the litany of kings past, present and future who seek to subjugate and plunder God’s people.
Verse 6
6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the Lord. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.”
No pity, they deserve judgement, their actions have indicated. They will be held captive by their neighbors, speak to the coming of other kingdoms who will over power them and conqueror them.
The phrase “ I will cause each of them”… tells us it will happen soon, and they will all suffer.
God has promised punishment, and his words are certain.
Verse 7
7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep.
First, the flock was doomed by their own fault of rejecting God and his grace. So they were doomed to slaughter.
The Lord says that He took to staves, staffs or rods.
Remember
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
He is assuming the role of the pastor’s office, leading and caring for the people.
The KJV calls the staffs beauty and bands,
favor or beauty because they were above the other nations, God’s special manifestation to them, they were to be a glorious land.
The second one called Union or bands, which referred to the brotherhood of Judah and Israel.
Eastern shepherds often carried two staffs, one more rod like to defend against the wild animals and the staff to guide and assist the sheep.
The second one called Union or bands, which
The staff symbolizes Jesus the Messiah who would come and by grace and love would lead his people unto life.
Verse 8
8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me.
the three shepherd are difficult to identify, some say it refers to the priests, elders and scribes. They think this because the coming Messiah will be prophet, priest and king, after Melchizedek.
In a brief and fixed space a time, probably refers to the last siege of Jerusalem when conquered. Maybe not a literally 30 day period.=, but a time of swift judgemnt
Verse 9
9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.”
Zechariah will not be their shepherd, those who refused to believe were given over to their own desires and left exposed to deadly enemies of the Roman seige in AD 70. We are told that during this time, some who were starving resorted to cannibalism.
Verse 10
10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples.
Very harsh statement here… the covenant is over, but please remember that there is a new covenant that Jesus will enter into with his people, in fact the whole world as stated in .
But the covenant here is the true promise of restraining the nations from coming against his people. Deut 28
Verse 11
11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord.
The believing remenint of Christ’s day knew the word of the Lord was being fulfilled. They knew judgement was coming but avoided the long term consequences by trusting Christ by faith.
Verse 12
12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.
What do you notice here? The price for which Christ was betrayed, 30 pieces of silver, prophetically spoken here.
The 30 pieces of silver was the price paid for a slave if a ox gored him or her. Jesus is sold for the price of a slave.
Verse 13
13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.
Zechariah continues to play out the drama of the Lord’s rejection by throwing the silver into the house of the Lord. Judas after betraying the Lord brought the money back the priests, and threw the blood money on the temple floor.
The priests tool the money and bought a field from a potter.
3 Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” 5 And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”
Verse 14
Verse 14
14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
So the Lord breaks his second staff, the one called union or bands. It beaks the nations unity followed by his rejection. During the Roman invasion, Josephus says actions set Jews against Jews,
Verse 15-16
Verse 15
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
With the removal of the true shepherd, the drama called for the prophet to play a foolish shepherd, who depicted the Antichrist in Daniels 70th week.
Zechariah prophecy jumps for the 1st century AD to the last prophecy of Revelation.
God permitted the wicked shepherd to arise, destroy the sheep because they did not choose the Good shepherd. Israel will receive a foolish one who will do the opposite of what the Lord originally wanted for his people.
And tghen verse 17
17 “Woe to my worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and his right eye!
Let his arm be wholly withered,
his right eye utterly blinded!”
Zechariah condemned the worthless shepherd, nothing his strength (arm) and intelligence (eye) would be taken from him.
9 “As I looked,
thrones were placed,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat;
his clothing was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames;
its wheels were burning fire.
10 A stream of fire issued
and came out from before him;
a thousand thousands served him,
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;
the court sat in judgment,
and the books were opened.
11 “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
13 “I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
2 Th
20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
that the fire may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forest has been felled!
3 The sound of the wail of the shepherds,
for their glory is ruined!
The sound of the roar of the lions,
for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
4 Thus said the Lord my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the Lord. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.”
7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.
17 “Woe to my worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and his right eye!
Let his arm be wholly withered,
his right eye utterly blinded!”
