CHAPTER 11

1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down. 3 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

This chapter represents one of the reasons that the Bible is enigmatic to unbelievers. Directly on the heels of prophesying great blessings, is a prophecy of destruction! To the unbeliever it seems a contradiction. However, to believers, it is easily understood in light of Matthew 21:42-44. There Jesus stated that because the "builders" (elders) of Israel had rejected HIM as the "stone of the corner," they would feel the heat of His anger and be destroyed. That prophetic statement of our Lord was soon followed by the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD.

Actually, Lebanon, Bashan and the Jordan valley represent the totality of the region of Israel. And when Titus came in 70AD, he razed the whole region.

Again, this "darkest hour of Israel's history" occured because they rejected Jesus, God in flesh, from being their King.

4 Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; 5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not. 6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.

God no longer pitied nor delivered them because they rejected the One True Savior. ((We must understand that this pertains to those living in the time when Jesus was rejected. Many have since received Him as Lord, and have been saved.))

They are called "the flock of the slaughter." I believe this is a reference to the fact that since they chose to reject Christ, they were destined to be slaughtered physically. There were many Jewish people who received Christ as Lord under the powerful preaching of Peter, James, John, Philip, Paul, etc. But those who did not, were called "the flock of the slaughter."

There is coming another time when people who have rejected Jesus as Lord of their lives will be the "flock of the slaughter." For their eternal destiny will be an everlasting hell! For those who receive Christ, and surrender to Him as Lord of their lives, there is the joy of eternal bliss. For those who do not, there is eternal damnation.

God is the Shepherd of the entire "flock" of mankind. He has green pastures, and He has blistered pastures. Which have you determined to live in eternally? It is shown by your allegiance to Christ as Lord.

7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

In the remaining verses of this chapter, God uses Zechariah to protray prophetically God's shepherding of Israel. God Himself is the Messiah, and will "feed" the flock.

Note the names of the "staves" (rod, or handstaff). The first is called "Beauty" and reflects God's protection. With it, the shepherd warded off wild beasts which would tear the flock to pieces. The second is called "Bands" and is a symbol of God's grace and provision. With this staff the shepherd guided the flock to water and food.

God does NOT leave His people unprotected, and He guides them gently to the place of His pure provision.

8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

WHICH "three shepherds?" Let us assume that God is speaking in CATEGORIES and not in terms of specific people. When Israel fell, God cut off the King, the priest and the prophet. Civil leadership was broken. The priest no longer had a place for accepting sacrifices. And prophecy was almost totally nil.

Notice the REASON for these being "cut off." Because they "abhorred" the Lord! When that happened, God had no choice but to cut them off from His grace, and allow them to suffer due to their own sins.

9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another. 10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it assunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. 11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

Zechariah, in public display, broke the staff he named "Beauty." This symbolized the fact that God removed His protection from Israel. All those who witnessed it realized that this was "the Word of the LORD."

When God broke His covenant with Israel, He also removed the spiritual barriers by which He had held back the other nations from ruining Israel. Thus God's covenant with ALL people was broken.

Jesus came to make a NEW COVENANT - one written in the blood of God.

12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

Zechariah asks the people to consider his worth, and if they are so disposed, to give him a price. They valued him at 30 pieces of silver -- the same as a SLAVE! Amazingly, this is the price for which our Lord, Jesus Christ was sold!

Notice that God told Zechariah to "cast" that price to the potter "in the house of the Lord." This was symbolic of the fact that Judas' 30 pieces of silver for betraying Christ, was used to purchase a "potter's field" for a cemetery in which to bury the poor. ((See Matt. 27:3-10). When Judas realized his shame for having betrayed Jesus, he returned the money to the religious leaders "in the house of the Lord." They, not wanting to keep it, used the money to purchase the potter's field. Even though Jesus was UNvalued in the eyes of the religious leaders, still His "price" brought great value to the community!

14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

When Zechariah broke "Bands," it was symbolic of God's grace and provision being cut off from the nation. From that time on, they suffered catastrophic loss and even slavery at the hands of many different governments.

And God has an even stronger statement to make to the nation!

15 And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. 16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. 17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

"Instruments of a foolish shepherd, are those that have no use...like a staff without a crook at the end. It can only PROD, and cannot HELP!

God is saying here that from this time on, the nation will suffer at the hands of "foolish" shepherds. And down through the centuries, the nation scattered throughout the earth, has suffered at the whelms of many government leaders. Even today, in their own land, they suffer persecution from almost ALL surrounding countries!

And this will be the way it shall continue, until finally the FALSE shepherd (Antichrist) will further persecute Israel by promoting himself and pouring atrocities upon them!

Yes, my friends, life is difficult enough even WITH Christ!
But when Christ is REJECTED, life is even WORSE!

PLEASE CONTINUE WITH US IN BIBLE STUDY TOMORROW.