A Study of Zechariah 11
Our American politics and those of the world are in so many ways affected by the various views people hold about the nation of Israel. This remarkable nation had its beginnings 4000 years ago when God called Abraham to produce a special race of people who would be the center core for God’s program of redemption. He directed Abraham to a region of land that had been set aside in the Providence of God for this people.
We know from history and from prophecy that both the first and second coming of Jesus the Messiah are bound up with the history of this nation. No people has suffered more tragedy, genocide, hatred, and destruction—not just through the centuries but through the millennia— than Israel. And still today she is fighting for her existence. The reason is that the great adversary—Satan—has a personal goal of destroying every last drop of the bloodline of the Jewish race.
Well, Zechariah 11 is all about that. That is its theme. This chapter has been recognized as one of the most difficult in the Old Testament to interpret. Some commentators say this chapter offers the most difficult interpretive challenges of any chapter of the Bible. I thought chapter 10 had a few difficult sentences, but we bump into them at every turn in chapter 11. But when we come to a difficult passage we should simply keep studying it. We don’t want to skip over it. In my humble opinion we can make good sense of this chapter. So let’s begin by reading it, and then we’ll break it down into its great overall themes. In this chapter we have the tragedy of Israel described in the form of an overarching story of two shepherds.
Scripture
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan;
the dense forest has been cut down!
3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;
the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter. 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”
7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds. The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them 9 and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”
10 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.
12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.
14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.
“Woe to the worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm and his right eye!
May his arm be completely withered,
his right eye totally blinded!”
Exposition
At first reading it’s a little difficult to make heads or tails out of that chapter, but if you continue studying it the focus comes into view. I think the best way to break it down is to give you the three great themes and then demonstrate how the respective verses fall into place when one understands those great themes.
I. Great Destruction is Coming to the Middle East (verses 1-3)
The first three verses are a poem using figurative and perhaps literal language involving trees. The point is that great destruction is coming to the Middle East. It will engulf Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and the entire land. This chapter is heavily predictive; it is heavily Messianic. All of these things center around the first and second comings of Jesus Christ. In that light, this is a poetic rendering of the destruction that will engulf Israel after the rejection of the Messiah.
Verse 1 says: Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire may devour your cedars!
Lebanon was famous for its cedars of Lebanon, but a forest fire of violence and warfare would devastate the land. That’s actually what we see happening right now in our headlines, isn’t it? And not just the cedar trees, but all the other trees. Verse 2 says: Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen; the stately trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan; the dense forest has been cut down!
But not just the forests. The pastures too. Verse 3 says: Listen to the wail of the shepherds; their rich pastures are destroyed! Listen to the roar of the lions; the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
Destruction and judgment are coming and will sweep through Lebanon, Syria, and down Israel’s Jordan Valley. Why is the area around Israel and including Israel going to be devastated? The passage will explain that it’s because they are going to reject the Messiah when He comes to be the Good Shepherd of the Jewish people. And that leads us to the next theme:
II. The Judgment Will Come Because the Good Shepherd Will Be Rejected (Verses 4-14)
Why this coming destruction? It’s because the Good Shepherd is going to come to Israel, but Israel will loathe and reject its shepherd. This is a remarkable set of predictions about the coming Messiah. It reminds us of Isaiah 53 about the Suffering Servant who would come to His people but be abused and rejected, a man of sorrow and suffering. This is the second theme. The first is a warning of coming destruction in the Middle East and Israel; and the next section gives the reason. Israel will reject its Shepherd.
Now, before I read verse 4, let me explain what I think is happening. The Lord is telling Zechariah to give the people an object lesson. He is to engage in a role play. Commentators differ as to whether Zechariah literally got a flock of sheep and acted all of this out or not. That would have been very difficult considering how it’s all described. It’s more likely that Zechariah either preached this and painted a verbal picture or perhaps, like Ezekiel, he used object lessons. Ezekiel famously used a lot of visuals in his sermons, what we used to call props or object lessons. Just assume with me that Zechariah here is doing the same.
Someone recently gave me a beautiful round little stone on which she had painted a sheep. Zechariah may have gotten some round white stones and used them the way we might do in a sermon, using them as object lessons or visual aids. He dressed up like a shepherd and had his rod and staff and flock of stone sheep on the table.
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.
In other words, the Lord said to Zechariah: I want you to dress up and imagine you are a shepherd. You are to portray My Messiah who is coming as the Good Shepherds. But I might as well tell you that this story is not going to end well. Your flock will be slaughtered.
Verse 5: Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.
The buyers here are the Romans who will slaughter the Israelites in A.D. 70. The sellers are their own shepherds—their own leaders—who are more interested in money than in the men and women they are supposed to be serving. It reminds us of Jesus overturning the tables of the moneychangers in the temple. By the time of Christ, the priesthood—and especially the high priesthood—under Annas and Caiaphas—were using their offices to enrich themselves.
Notice that the buyers of the flock who are in charge of them are “their own shepherds.” Zechariah is in prophetic mode here. The current leaders of his time—Zerubbabel and Joshua—were good men. But Zechariah is predicting judgment on the land because Israel’s own leaders would arise and would be more interested in money than in the men and women over whom they served. And that was certainly true for the priesthood—especially the high priesthood—in the time of Christ.
As a result of the greed and idolatry and sinfulness of the people—especially their rejection of the Messiah—the land would face destruction. Look at verse 6:
6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”
This is a prediction of the coming destruction of Jerusalem. This actually happened two times. First during the period between the Old and New Testaments when Israel was invaded and ravaged by the Syrian dictator Antiochus IV Epiphanes, whom the book of Daniel pictures as a prototype for the coming antichrist. But it also happened again in A.D. 70 when Rome destroyed Israel in a slaughter that ended the Jewish state for nearly 2000 years, until it was resurrected in 1948. The exact application seems to be with Rome because this entire section centers around the rejection of the Good Shepherd and what happens to Israel as a result. But there is also a possible fulfillment in the Last Days. There could be multiple fulfillments to this prediction of the devastation of the Land of Israel, but the primary interpretation seems to be the destruction of Israel by Rome.
So Zechariah set up the little stone sheep and dressed up like a shepherd. Again, I don’t know if he did this as an actual role play the way Ezekiel did, or whether he simply explained all this in a sermon. Verse 7 says that he did as he was told.
7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock.
So let’s recount. Zechariah opened by saying the Middle Eastern lands around and including Israel were going to be invaded and devastated. Then he said, “Let’s pretend I’m a shepherd. Here is my flock. See these white stones on the table? They represent my sheep, and I am representing the coming Messiah who is coming to be Israel’s Good Shepherd. Do you see my rod? It represents the favor, the love, the kindness I have as the Good Shepherd. And do you see the one that has the word Union marked on it? It represents the united fellowship that will again bind Israel to one another and to Yahweh, their God.
Now look at verse 8: In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.
This is the most difficult verse in the chapter, and it may be the most difficult verse in the entire Bible. There are about fifty interpretations that have been suggested. John MacArthur speculates that it refers to the priests, elders, and scribes of Israel—those three classes. He calls that one of the oldest interpretations. The Bible Knowledge Commentary suggests these three shepherds represent the three main branches of Israeli government—prophet, priest, and king.
Merrill F. Unger, in his commentary, believes the meaning of this verse is that in the month leading up to and including the crucifixion of Christ—passion month—all three of Israel’s great symbols of leadership failed and were disavowed—the priests, the civil magistrates who in earlier times would have been kings and royalty; and the prophets.
I do not have a better interpretation than that. It seems to be that during the passion week of Christ, every part of Israeli leadership failed. During the month of rejection culminating in the death of the Good Shepherd, God disavowed the priests, the political leaders, and the prophets of Israel.
The last part of verse 8 says: The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them….
Just imagine Zechariah dressed as a shepherd with his flock on the table representing Israel with its under-shepherds—the prophets, priests, and kings. And they all detest him. The sheep have come to hate, to despise, the detest their Shepherd. So what does the Shepherd say?
Verse 9: “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”
This is a shocking statement, especially the final part about cannibalism, but according to the first-century historian, Josephus, this is actually what happened during the tragic siege of Jerusalem by Rome.
10 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations.
Most commentators say that when the Good Shepherd breaks the staff of His favor toward Israel, the nations are now free to come and destroy her.
11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.
Zechariah said, in effect, “When I broke that staff on the day I shared this with the ones listening to me, they knew it was the Lord who was speaking.” He was foreshadowing Christ. When Jesus was rejected, He announced the implications of that to the people of Israel. Listen to His words at the end of Matthew 23:
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
Jesus was referring to this Zechariah, our Zechariah. As I said at the beginning of this series of studies, we believe Zechariah was the last Old Testament martyr. Jesus said, “You killed Zechariah, who spoke of Me.” The Lord went on to say:
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
In other words, you’ve lost your crucial opportunity to receive Me as Messiah and now you’ll not see Me again after My crucifixion this week until I come again and you say, on that occasion, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”
How much did Israel despise their Messiah? To them, He was worth thirty pieces of silver. Look at verse 12: I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.
In Exodus 21:32, we’re told that thirty pieces of silver was the value of a slave. If a slave was gored to death by a neighbor’s ox, the owner of the ox had to pay the owner of the slave thirty pieces of silver. The Good Shepherd said here, “That is how much Israel valued me. They paid thirty pieces of silver for me, and then it was thrown into the house of the Lord and given to the potter.”
Now, let’s go to Matthew 26:14-15: Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judah watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”
And now look at Matthew 27:1-10:
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans on how to have Jesus executed. 2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor. 3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. 6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. [In other words, a local potter ended up with the thirty pieces of silver because he sold a field to the priests so they could use it to bury foreigners].
8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”
This prophecy came true down to the details according to what Zechariah had said. Now, Matthew attributes the prediction to Jeremiah, but that’s because the Hebrew Scriptures were divided into three parts—the Law, the Writings, and the Prophets. In the latter section, Jeremiah came first; so sometimes people referred to any of the statements in that section as coming from Jeremiah.
Then what happened? We know historically that the nation of Israel and the people and rulers of Jerusalem broke into a thousand factions. They became so divided it was impossible for them to form a united front against Rome. And look at verse 14. Zechariah said: 14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.
In other words, the nation will simply disintegrate, which is what happened.
So let’s summarize. Zechariah 11 opens with a warning that the Prophet of Encouragement, Zechariah, is going to be truthful about a dark chapter ahead for Israel. Destruction is going to sweep across the Middle East and the Holy Land. Why is that?
“I’ll show you,” said Zechariah. Imagine I’m a Good Shepherd. Imagine I’m the coming Good Shepherd, who is Israel’s Messiah. I’m going to come to shepherd my flock, but my flock is going to reject me. They will actually detest me. They will be more interested in money than in me. And as a result a great enemy will come and destroy the nation. They will value me like a slave, for thirty pieces of silver, which will be thrown into the temple and end up in the hands of a potter. My favor with them will be revoked, and their union will be fragmented. And the enemy will come and sweep them away.”
And at that point perhaps Zechariah took his arm and swept all the little play sheep off the table, flying and crashing around the room.
That’s what we’ve learned so far. That amounts to two of the three themes. But there is a final theme that jumps forward again. It leaps forward to the Last Days and it sets the stage for the final dramatic chapters of Zechariah.
3. An Evil Shepherd Will Appear at the End of the Age.
He tells us that an evil shepherd will appear at the end of the age. There is one more act to the role play. Zechariah whips off his shepherd garb and puts on another costume—that of an evil shepherd. Perhaps a black outfit, and now he is going to portray, not the coming Christ but the coming antichrist. Look at verse 15:
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.
“Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered, his right eye totally blinded!”
The antichrist is the foolish shepherd. In the Bible, the word “fool” didn’t mean someone who lacked intelligence. A fool was someone who rejected God. He would be a man of cruelty, eating the sheep and tearing off their hooves. According to Daniel 9, he will make a treaty with Israel but after three-and-a-half years he will desert them. He will appear to be a good shepherd to them, but he will desert them and ravage them.
But a sword will strike him. The Lord will render him helpless. His arm of power will be withered and the eye of ambition will be blinded. So that’s the overarching meaning of this strange chapter. The land of Israel will be devastated in judgment because they are going to reject the Shepherd-Messiah, valuing Him like a slave for 30 pieces of silver. As a result, they will lose the favor of God and their own national unity until the End Times when an evil shepherd will arise. But woe to him; he will be defeated. And that sets the stage for Zechariah’s last set of sermons about the Battle of Armageddon and the return of Christ, which we will get to next week.
Conclusion
I want to conclude by reading some of the words of Jesus in John 10. You and I have a Good Shepherd and we acknowledge and love Him. He said: “I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also.”
And John tells us: “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But to as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name.”
Let’s embrace our wonderful Shepherd and enjoy every moment of the abundant life He offers us.