11:4God told Zechariah to take a job as shepherd of a flock of sheep being fattened for slaughter. The Messiah would shepherd God’s people during a time of spiritual and political confusion. The flock represented the people feeding on their own greed and evil desires until they were ripe for God’s judgment.
Life Application Study BibleZechariahChapter 11
Zechariah 11
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1513, 1514
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
11Zechariah 11
1so that fire may devour your cedar forests.
2Weep, you cypress trees, for all the ruined cedars;the most majestic ones have fallen.Weep, you oaks of Bashan,for the thick forests have been cut down.
3Listen to the wailing of the shepherds,for their rich pastures are destroyed.Hear the young lions roaring,for their thickets in the Jordan Valley are ruined.
The Good and Evil Shepherds
44This is what the LORD my God says: “Go and care for the flock that is intended for slaughter. 5The buyers slaughter their sheep without remorse. The sellers say, ‘Praise the LORD! Now I’mrich!’ Even the shepherds have no compassion for them. 6Likewise, I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” says the LORD. “I will let them fall into each other's hands and into the hands of their king. They will turn the land into a wilderness, and I will not rescue them.” 780 I cared for the flock intended for slaughter—the flock that was oppressed. Then I took two shepherd's staffs and named one Favor and the other Union. ®I got rid of their three evil shepherds ina single month. But I became impatient with these sheep, and they hated me, too. 9So I told them, “I won't be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And let those who remain devour each other!” 10Then I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, showing that J had revoked the covenant I had made with all the nations. ‘That was the end of my covenant with them. The suffering flock was watching me, and they knew that the LORD was speaking through my actions. 12And I said to them, “If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.” So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13And the Lor said to me,“ Throw it to the potter*”—this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the LORD. 14Then I took my other staff, Union, and cut it in two, showing that the bond of unity between Judah and Israel was broken. 15Then the LORD said to me,Go again and play the part of a worthless shepherd. 16Thisillustrates how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for those who are dying, nor look after the young,* nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves.
17“What sorrow awaits this worthless shepherdwho abandons the flock!The sword will cut his armand pierce his right eye.His arm will become useless,and his right eye completely blind.”
Textual footnotes
- 11:13 Syriac version reads into the treasury; also in 11:13b. Compare Matt 27:6-10.
- 11:16 Or the scattered,
Life Application Notes 9 notes
11:4-17In this message, God told Zechariah to act out the roles of two different kinds of shepherds. The first type of shepherd demonstrated how God would reject his people (the sheep) because they rejected him (11:4-14). The second type of shepherd demonstrated how God would let his people fall into the clutches of evil shepherds (11:15-17). (See Ezekiel 34 for a detailed portrayal of the evil shepherds of Israel.)
11:7Zechariah took two shepherd's staffs. and named them “Favor” and “Union.” He broke the first one (“Favor”) to show that God's gracious covenant with his people was broken. He broke the second one (“Union”) to show that “the bond of unity between Judah and tsrael was broken” (11:14).
11:8The identity of the three evil shepherds is not known. But God knew they were unfit to shepherd his people, and so he removed them.
11:12To pay this shepherd 30 pieces of silver was an insult— this was the price paid to an owner for a slave gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32). This is also the amount Judas received for betraying Jesus (Matthew 27:3-10). The priceless Messiah was sold for the price of a slave.
11:13Potters were in the lowest social class. “This magnificent sum” (a sarcastic comment) was so little that it could be thrown to the potters. It is significant that the 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas for betraying Jesus were returned to the Temple and used to buy a potter's field (Matthew 27:3-10).
11:14Because the people had rejected the Messiah, God would reject them—symbolized by Zechariah breaking the staff called “Union.” Not long after Zechariah's time, the Jews began to divide into numerous factions: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Herodians, and Zealots. The discord among these groups was a key factor leading to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
11:15-17{srae! would not only reject the true shepherd; it would accept instead a worthless shepherd. This shepherd would serve his own concerns rather than the concerns of his flock and would destroy rather than defend them. Condemnation is his rightful fate because he trusted his arm (military might) and his right eye (intellect). God would destroy both areas.
11:17itis a great tragedy for God’s people when their leaders fail to care for them adequately. God holds leaders particularly accountable for the condition of his people. The New Testament tells church leaders, “Not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1). If God puts you in a position of leadership, remember that it is also a place of great responsibility.