{"id":1320,"date":"2018-02-03T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2018-02-03T08:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/?p=1320"},"modified":"2018-02-03T09:00:01","modified_gmt":"2018-02-03T08:00:01","slug":"the-true-shepherd-of-zechariah-a-study-of-zechariah-111-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/2018\/02\/03\/the-true-shepherd-of-zechariah-a-study-of-zechariah-111-17\/","title":{"rendered":"The True Shepherd of Zechariah: A Study of Zechariah 11:1\u201317"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars. Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is <\/em><\/span>come down.<\/em><\/p>\n

Zechariah 11:1\u20132<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

The basic theme of Zechariah 11<\/a> is the rejection of the True Shepherd. The purpose of this manuscript is to present an exposition of this chapter and to point <\/span>out how Yeshua (Jesus), as the Messiah, fulfilled this particular chapter. Zechariah 11<\/a> can be divided into three major segments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>I. The Devastation of the Land\u2014Zechariah 11:1\u20133<\/a><\/p>\n

Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars. Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail<\/em><\/span>, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down. A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

These verses describe a devastation of the Land of Israel. Verse 1<\/a> mentions the cedars<\/em> of Lebanon<\/em>; verse 2<\/a> mentions Bashan<\/em>, which today is known as the Golan Heights; and verse 3<\/a> includes <\/span>the Jordan<\/em> Valley. The \u201ccedars of Lebanon\u201d was often a figure for the Jewish Temple itself (1 Kg. 5:5\u20136<\/a>). Basically, what is described is the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple, and a wider devastat<\/span>ion of the whole Land, which includes Lebanon, Bashan<\/em> or the Golan Heights, and the Jordan Valley. The young lions<\/em> and the pride of the Jordan<\/em> are also mentioned in Jeremiah 12:5<\/a>; 49:19<\/a>; and 50:44<\/a>. Th<\/em><\/span>e pride of the Jordan<\/em> refers to the sections of the Jordan River whose banks were heavily filled with vegetation, lush with bushes and woods. Within these woods, young lions<\/em> used to live. Because of t<\/span>he massive devastation of the Land, the city, and the Temple, the shepherds<\/em> would wail. These shepherds<\/em> refer to the leadership of Israel, and they were wailing over the devastation of the Land. In pa<\/span>rticular, they were wailing because their glory<\/em> [was] destroyed<\/em>, the glory<\/em> of the leadership of Israel was the Temple.<\/p>\n

The type of devastation described in verses 1\u20133<\/a> was a type that was fulfilled in the year a.d.<\/span> 70. This cannot be a reference to the Babylonian destruction because Zechariah lived after that destruction. In fact, he was living at a time when the Second Temple was being rebuilt. Th<\/span>erefore, the kind of devastation he described in these three verses is something that was future to his time. The next time such a devastation occurred, which included the devastation of the Jewish Temple, was the Roman destruction in <\/span>a.d. 70. So the first three verses of chapter 11<\/a> predicted the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the Roman devastation of the entire Land, fulfilled in<\/span> a.d. 70.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>II. The Rejection of the True Shepherd\u2014Zechariah 11:4\u201314<\/a><\/p>\n

The relationship between the first segment (vv. 1\u20133<\/a>) and the second segment (vv. 4\u201314<\/a>) is one of \u201ccause and effect.\u201d The second segment is the <\/span>cause, and the first segment is the effect. The second segment deals with the rejection of the True Shepherd. The rejection of the True Shepherd led to the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the devastation of the Land. This second segment can be subd<\/span>ivided into three units.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>A. The Commission to the Prophet\u2014Zechariah 11:4\u20136<\/a><\/p>\n

Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter; whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blesse<\/em><\/span>d be Jehovah, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not. For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, says Jehovah; but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor\u2019s hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In these verses Zechariah the Prophet was given a commission: to play the role of a shep<\/span>herd. He played this role which was later to be played by the Jewish Messiah, who is called the good shepherd<\/em> in John 10:11<\/a> and 14<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>1. The Description of the Flock<\/p>\n

Verse 4<\/a> describes the flock that Zechariah was to shepherd over. He was commanded to: Feed the flock of slaughter<\/em>. The flock<\/em> is the flock<\/em> of Israel. The fact that it is<\/span> a flock of slaughter<\/em> means that it was \u201cdestined for destruction.\u201d This flock<\/em> that Zechariah was told to feed was a flock<\/em> that was destined for slaughter, which was fulfilled by Rome in the Roman des<\/span>truction described in verses 1\u20133<\/a>. Therefore, the flock<\/em> is the flock<\/em> of Israel, and Zechariah, playing the Messianic role, was to: Feed the flock of slaughter<\/em>, a flock<\/em> that was destined for the destruc<\/span>tion by Rome in a.d. 70.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>2. The Condition of the Flock<\/p>\n

In verses 5\u20136<\/a>, Zechariah was told about the condition of the flock: it was abandoned by man (v. 5<\/a>), and it was abandoned by God (v. 6<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>a. Abandoned by Man<\/p>\n

In verse 5<\/a>, it was abandoned by man: their possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty.<\/em> When the context in which this prophecy was fulfilled in the days of Yeshua the Mes<\/span>siah, the possessors<\/em> were the Romans, who were slaying the Jews and were not considering themselves guilty of any crime.<\/p>\n

He also mentioned another group: they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, f<\/em><\/span>or I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not.<\/em> While the possessors<\/em> were the Roman Gentiles, the shepherds<\/em>, like those of verse 3<\/a>, were the Jewish leaders. The Jewish leaders were selling out th<\/span>e poor of the flock in order to become rich, and they had no pity for the flock<\/em>. So this flock<\/em> of Israel was abandoned by man in that the Gentile Roman possessors<\/em> slew them, and the Jewish shepherds<\/em> s<\/span>old them in order to become rich, and had no pity for their own countrymen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span>b. Abandoned by God<\/p>\n

Not only was this a flock<\/em> abandoned by man, it was also about to be abandoned by God, for God said: For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land<\/em>. At a certain point, the mer<\/span>cy over the flock<\/em> of Israel was to be removed. The point when that mercy was removed will be dealt with later in this manuscript.<\/p>\n

God then said: I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor\u2019s ha<\/em><\/span>nd, and into the hand of his king.<\/em> The flock<\/em> was to be delivered to two peoples. First: I will deliver the men every one into the hand of his neighbor.<\/em> One of the things that weakened Jewish defenses <\/span>in the Roman War between a.d. 66\u201370 was that various Jewish factions began fighting among themselves, and this civil strife among the Jews greatly weakened their ability to withstand the Romans. Secon<\/span>dly: I will deliver them into the hand of his king.<\/em> The king at the time of its historical fulfillment was Caesar. Although the Jews would not normally own Caesar as their king, during the trial of Je<\/span>sus they did declare: We have no king but Caesar<\/em> (Jn. 19:15<\/a>). So if Caesar was their king, into Caesar\u2019s hand God would deliver them!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>3. The Reason for the Devastation of the Land<\/p>\n

Finally, he predicted that the Land will be smitten. This harks back to verses 1\u20133<\/a>, which describe the devastation of the Land; but now he will give the r<\/span>eason for that devastation. Verse 6<\/a> concludes: I will not deliver them.<\/em> There will be no deliverance. In fact, by the time the city of Jerusalem was destroyed in the year a.d. 70, about 1,100,000 Jewi<\/span>sh people were killed, and 97,000 Jews were taken into Roman slavery.<\/p>\n

Summary: So this was the flock<\/em> that Zechariah was told to feed. He was to feed the flock of slaughter<\/em>, a flock<\/em> that was destined t<\/span>o be destroyed by the Roman Empire, a flock<\/em> that had been abandoned by both man and God.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>B. The Carrying Out of the Commission\u2014Zechariah 11:7\u201311<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>1. The Feeding of the Flock of Slaughter\u2014Zechariah 11:7<\/a><\/p>\n

So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Ba<\/em><\/span>nds; and I fed the flock.<\/em><\/p>\n

Verse 7<\/a> records the feeding of the flock<\/em> of Israel. Initially, Zechariah ministered to the whole flock<\/em>, to all of Israel. However, there was a special emphasis upon the poor <\/em><\/span>of the flock<\/em>, which was the believing Remnant. In its historical fulfillment, now the offer of Messiahship by Yeshua was made to the whole flock with the emphasis on the poor of the flock<\/em>, those who a<\/span>ccepted Him (Mat. 9:35\u201336<\/a>). Jesus came to all Israel and offered Himself as Israel\u2019s Messiah. Nevertheless, as things developed, He ended up being accepted only by the poor of the flock<\/em>, the believing<\/span> Remnant, and eventually these were the ones to which He ministered.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, he took two staves; the one<\/em> [he] called Beauty, and the other<\/em> [he] called Bands. Beauty<\/em> is a Hebrew word that means \u201cg<\/span>raciousness,\u201d and it emphasizes the protection of the flock. The first staff was used to make sure the flock was protected; it was used as a weapon against any enemy that might come along, such as a lion, a wolf, or a bear. The sec<\/span>ond staff was given the name Bands<\/em>, which is a Hebrew word that means \u201cbinding,\u201d and the second staff was used to keep the flock together. It emphasized the unity of the<\/span> flock. So one was to keep the flock together, and the other was to protect it. In the course of Zechariah\u2019s ministry, the flock was fed: and I fed the flock<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>2. The Destruction of the Other Shepherds\u2014Zechariah 11:8<\/a><\/p>\n

And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me.<\/em><\/p>\n

This verse records the destructi<\/span>on of the other shepherds<\/em>; within the space of three months, he put away three<\/em> [other] shepherds<\/em>. This could be taken in several ways within the context of when it was fulfilled in the days of Yeshua.<\/span> On one hand, it could refer to the priests, the scribes, and the elders. Or secondly, it could refer to civil authorities, priests, and false prophets. The best way of taking it is that it refers to the three leading groups of the time of Jesus: Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees, because these were the<\/span> three main leadership groups that the Messiah had to contend with. Furthermore, there was obvious mutual antagonism: \u201cI loathed them, and they loathed me.\u201d Indeed, in the course of the gospel story there was a mutual antagonism. On more than one occasion, Yeshua berated the Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees (<\/span><\/span>Mat. 23<\/a>). These three groups led the nation to reject the His Messiahship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>3. The Cessation of the Feeding of the Flock\u2014Zechariah 11:9<\/a><\/p>\n

Then said I, I will not feed you: that which dies, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them that are lef<\/em><\/span>t eat every one the flesh of another.<\/em><\/p>\n

At a certain point, there was a rupture between the True Shepherd and the people as a whole, and the feeding of the flock came to an end. The ending of the feedin<\/span>g was in order to leave them to the natural course of events: he that dies, let it die; and that which is<\/em> killed, let it be<\/em> killed; and<\/em> for those that are left<\/em> let them eat<\/em> \u2026 the flesh of<\/em> each other<\/em>. <\/span>For a period of time, he ministered to the whole nation, but at a certain point in time, he ceased to feed and minister to the nation as a whole.<\/p>\n

In its historical fulfillment, that event came in Matt<\/span>hew 12:22\u201345<\/a>, for at that time there was a national rejection of the Messiahship of Jesus on the grounds of demon possession. At that point, Jesus no longer ministered to the nation as a whole. From t<\/span>hen on, He ministered only to the select, believing Remnant within Israel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>4. The Breaking of the First Staff\u2014Zechariah 11:10<\/a><\/p>\n

And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>a. The Meaning of the Broken Staff<\/p>\n

The breaking of the staff Beauty<\/em> meant that both grace and protection were removed, and the covenant<\/em> with the Gentiles was broken. This covenant<\/em> refers to the specif<\/span>ic promise that the Gentiles could not hurt Israel unless God allowed it. With the breaking of the staff Beauty<\/em>, grace and protection were removed, and the Gentiles were then allowed to hurt Israel, w<\/span>hich Yeshua predicted would happen in Luke 19:41\u201344<\/a>; and 21:24<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>b. The Historical Fulfillment<\/p>\n

Again, this was fulfilled in the events of Matthew 12:22\u201345<\/a>. It was at this point that Israel rejected the Messiahship of Yeshua on the grounds of demon possession, and a<\/span>t this point, Israel as a nation committed the \u201cunpardonable sin.\u201d Then, the ministry of Yeshua changed in four areas.<\/p>\n

First was the purpose of His miracles. Until the events of Matthew 12<\/a>, the purpos<\/span>e of the miracles of Jesus was to serve as a sign to Israel to get them to make a decision concerning His Messianic claims. After Matthew 12<\/a>, the purpose of His miracles was to train the twelve discip<\/span>les for the kind of work they would need to do because of this rejection. He trained them for their ministry in the Book of Acts.<\/p>\n

The second change in the ministry of Yeshua, which occurred in Matthew<\/span> 12<\/a> as a result of the cessation of the feeding and the breaking of Beauty<\/em>, concerned the people for whom He performed these miracles. Until the events of Matthew 12<\/a>, He performed miracles for the ben<\/span>efit of the masses without first requiring them to have faith. But after Matthew 12<\/a>, He performed miracles only in response to the needs of individuals, and then only on the basis of their personal fa<\/span>ith in His Messiahship. Furthermore, until the events of Matthew 12<\/a>, whenever He healed a person, He told that person to \u201cgo and proclaim what great things God has done for you.\u201d But from this point o<\/span>n, He forbade people to tell anyone what God had done for them.<\/p>\n

The third change concerned the message that He and His disciples were now to proclaim. Until the events of Matthew 12<\/a>, He and His discip<\/span>les traveled all over the Land of Israel proclaiming His Messiahship. But, after the events of Matthew 12<\/a>, the disciples were instructed to tell no one that He was the Messiah. Even in Matthew 16<\/a>, whe<\/span>n Peter made his great confession: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God<\/em> (v. 16<\/a>), Jesus told Peter, \u201cTell no one that I am the Messiah\u201d (v. 20<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The fourth change concerned His teaching method<\/span>. Until the events of Matthew 12<\/a>, He taught the masses clearly in terms that they could and did understand. One example was the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5\u20137<\/a>. But beginning with Matthew 13<\/a>, He ta<\/span>ught the masses only in parables. The purpose of His parabolic method of teaching was to hide the truth from the masses so they could not and would not understand. So, what happened in Matthew 12:22\u20134<\/span>5<\/a> was the fulfillment of Zechariah 11:9\u201310<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>5. The Effect on the Poor of the Flock\u2014Zechariah 11:11<\/a><\/p>\n

And it was broken in that day; and thus the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew that it was the word of Jehovah.<\/em><\/p>\n

The poor of the flock<\/em> <\/span>was the Jewish Remnant that believed that Yeshua was the Messiah. When the first staff was broken, the protection was removed, and the poor<\/em> [who obeyed Him] knew that it was the word of Jehovah<\/em>. The J<\/span>ewish believer recognized that this in some way prophesied the coming destruction. In the context in which it was fulfilled, the clue is given in Luke 21:20\u201324<\/a>. In this passage, Jesus tells the Jewish<\/span> believers how they would know that Jerusalem was about to be destroyed: they would know when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies. When they saw this, they were not to join forces with unbelieving Jews to protect the city; rather, they w<\/span>ere to abandon the city, because the surrounding armies would be a sign of this coming judgment of destruction.<\/p>\n

When the Jewish revolt first broke out in the year a.d. 66, the Roman forces came out of Caesarea to Jerusalem under Cestus Gallus and surrounded the city. The Jewish believers, the poor of the flock<\/em>, recognized that this surrounding of the city w<\/span>as the fulfillment of the words of Yeshua and knew that they should leave the city. However, as long as the Roman forces were outside the walls, this was not possible. After awhile, when Cestus Gallus realized that his supply lines were being cut o<\/span>ff and he was forced to lift the siege, the Roman forces withdrew to Caesarea. Temporarily, Jerusalem was no longer besieged, so the entire community of Jewish believers left the city and crossed the Jordan River to the east bank where they waited out the war in the town of Pella. In this way, <\/span>the poor of the flock<\/em> recognized the breaking of the firs<\/span>t staff and the removal of the protection. This was the word of Jehovah<\/em>, and in this way, Zechariah 11:11<\/a> was fulfilled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>C. The Price of the True Shepherd\u2014Zechariah 11:12\u201314<\/a><\/p>\n

And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver. And Jehovah said<\/em><\/span> unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of Jehovah. Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>1. The price of Contempt<\/p>\n

Verse 12<\/a> deals with the attitude of the Jewish leaders toward the True Shepherd. There had been no pre-arrangement on wages. Zechariah took upon himself the role of a shepherd<\/span> feeding the flock, and now he simply appeared before the leadership of Israel and told them, \u201cEvaluate my labor. If you think I am worth something, then pay me. If not, then pay me nothing.\u201d What did they pay him? They paid him <\/span>thirty pieces of silver<\/em>, and that was an insult! It would have been better if they had paid him nothing than to pay this amount. By this time in history, thirty pieces of <\/em><\/span>silver<\/em> was considered the price of contempt. If one wished to show contempt for another, he would give him thirty pieces of silver.<\/em><\/p>\n

The origin of this is Exodus 21:32<\/a>, where it was decreed that if an <\/span>ox gored a neighbor\u2019s slave to death, the owner of the ox was obligated to pay the owner of the slave the price of thirty pieces of silver<\/em>. Later in history, if one wished to show contempt for someone<\/span>, he would pay him thirty pieces of silver<\/em>, and by doing so convey that he was worth as much as a dead slave. People sometimes do a similar thing today. For example, if a waitress or waiter in a resta<\/span>urant gives terrible service, one way of showing displeasure is to leave no tip whatsoever. However, if one wanted to show real contempt, he would leave a tip of only one penny, a price of contempt! Therefore, it would have been less insulting had they paid Zechariah nothing. When they paid him <\/span>thirty pieces of silver<\/em>, they were showing contempt for Zechariah\u2019s labor. Their action told him, \u201cYou a<\/span>re worth as much as a dead slave.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was fulfilled when the leadership of Israel took out thirty pieces of silver<\/em> and paid it to Judas to betray Jesus (Mat. 26:14\u201316<\/a>). They deliberately chose thirt<\/em><\/span>y pieces of silver<\/em> as the price to show their contempt for His claim to be the Messiah.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>2. The Next Commission of Zechariah<\/p>\n

Then Zechariah received another commission in verse 13a<\/a>: And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prized at by them.<\/em><\/p>\n

This stat<\/span>ement is one of sarcasm. The goodly price<\/em> more literally means \u201cthe splendid value.\u201d Notice that God said: \u201cThis is the splendid value that I was prized of by them.\u201d Not Zechariah, but God Himself was<\/span> valued at this price. The point made is that God Himself would some day be sold out for the price of contempt, thirty pieces of silver<\/em>. When they paid Judas that amount, this prophecy was fulfilled. <\/span>Yeshua was the God-Man, and here God Himself was sold out for the price of thirty pieces of silver. Now, Zechariah was told: Cast it unto the potter<\/em> [in the Temple Compound].<\/p>\n

Zechariah carried out thi<\/span>s commission in verse 13b<\/a>: And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them unto the potter in the house of Jehovah.<\/em><\/p>\n

This was fulfilled when Judas did the same thing: he threw the money into the <\/span>Temple Compound (Mat. 27:3\u201310<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>3. The Breaking of the Second Staff<\/p>\n

Next came the breaking of the second staff Bands in verse 14<\/a>: Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and <\/em><\/span>Israel.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bands represented the unity of the flock, and now the unity of the Jews was destroyed and various factions were formed. The one time they should have stuck together was during the war against <\/span>Rome in a.d. 66\u201370; but right in the midst of the attack by Rome, they began fighting among themselves. The civil strife within Jerusalem weakened the defenses of Jerusalem, and the city then easily f<\/span>ell to Rome. The result was that the Jews were scattered as Zechariah reaffirmed in Zechariah 13:7\u20139<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To summarize: before the destruction of verses 1\u20133<\/a>, the Messiah would come. A Remnant would follow<\/span>, but the majority would reject Him and consider His value to be equal to that of a dead slave. The consequence was that the people would be given over to the Gentiles and scattered. Verses 4\u201314<\/a> were <\/span>fulfilled by Jesus as the good shepherd<\/em> (Jn. 10:11\u201318<\/a>). The role that Zechariah played, the role of a shepherd, was the role that the Messiah was destined to play.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>III. The Foolish Shepherd\u2014Zechariah 11:15\u201317<\/a><\/p>\n

In the final segment, Zechariah was told to play a second role, but this time the role was that of a foolish shepherd.<\/p>\n

And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto <\/em><\/span>you yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that wh<\/em><\/span>ich is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces. Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaves 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.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>A. The Instruments of a Foolish Shepherd<\/p>\n

In verse 15<\/a>, he received another commission. He was to take up the instruments of a foolish shepherd<\/em>. \u201cWhat is the difference between the instruments of a fool<\/em><\/span>ish shepherd<\/em> and those of a True Shepherd?\u201d Actually, the instruments<\/em> are one and the same: the rod and the staff. What made the difference was the wise use or foolish use of these instruments. Theref<\/span>ore, the instruments are the same, but they could be used in a wise way or a foolish way. Once again, he took up the two staffs, but this time he would not use the staffs for the purpose for which they were<\/span> intended.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>B. The Reason and Purpose for the Foolish Shepherd<\/p>\n

In verse 16<\/a>, God spelled out both the reason and the purpose for this second role, which Zechariah was to play. He said: For, lo, I will raise up a s<\/em><\/span>hepherd in the land<\/em> (v. 16a<\/a>). A foolish shepherd<\/em> was to rise in the Land and be accepted, yet this foolish shepherd<\/em> would not do the things, which the good shepherd had done. Some interpret the foolis<\/em><\/span>h shepherd<\/em> to speak of the Antichrist, but a better knowledge of Jewish history will show that this prophecy has already been fulfilled.<\/p>\n

The foolish shepherd<\/em> of verse 16<\/a> is not the Antichrist, but Sim<\/span>on Bar Cochba. The First Jewish Revolt occurred in a.d. 66\u201370, in which Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed as a result of the rejection of the good shepherd<\/em>. That was the point of verses 1\u201314<\/a>. Ho<\/span>wever, after all the events within the scope of verses 1\u201314<\/a> were fulfilled, after the Messiah had come and gone, and after Jerusalem and the Temple had been destroyed in a.d. 70, another person arose <\/span>who claimed to be the Messiah, and he was accepted. The first one who ever claimed to be the Messiah following Yeshua was a man named Simon Bar Cochba, who led the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome in <\/span>a.d. 132\u2013135. Because of his initial successes in defeating the Romans in the first half of the war, he was declared to be the Jewish Messiah by Rabbi Akiba, a leading rabbi, and many other members o<\/span>f the Jewish Sanhedrin. While the Sanhedrin rejected Yeshua, they did accept Bar Cochba as being the Jewish Messiah; yet he failed to accomplish the very thing, which the good shepherd<\/em> did accomplish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Verse 16b<\/a> states: He will not visit those who are cut off, neither will seek those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fa<\/em><\/span>t sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces.<\/em><\/p>\n

The purpose of the first staff was to protect the flock, but this one did not protect them, but because he did not watch over them, they were cut off<\/em> or k<\/span>illed. The purpose of the second staff was to keep the flock together, but because he did not use the second staff properly, he did not seek those that are scattered<\/em>. In other words, while he was in t<\/span>he role of a shepherd, he did not fulfill that role; he was not the good shepherd that Jesus was. The results of the Bar Cochba revolt was a further devastation of the Land, and the Jewish people were scattered further. So <\/span>the good shepherd<\/em> of verses 4\u201314<\/a> did fulfill the functions of a shepherd, but was rejected. Yet another shepherd<\/em>, Simon Bar Cochba who did not fulfill the role of the shepherd<\/em> w<\/span>as, nevertheless, accepted as the Messiah. Because of their acceptance of this \u201cfalse messiah\u201d, the first of a long line of false messiahs, the Jews were scattered further, and there was further devasta<\/span>tion of the Land. Simon Bar Cochba did not succeed in protecting the Jews from the Romans nor did he succeed in avoiding a further scattering of the Jewish people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

C. The Judgment of the Foolish Shepherd<\/p>\n

The judgment on the foolish shepherd is declared in verse 17<\/a>: Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaves the flock!<\/em><\/p>\n

This is a pronouncement of woe and judgment upon the foolish shepherd<\/em>, Simon Bar Cochba. In fulfillment of Zechariah 13:8<\/a>, two parts<\/em> of him would be under special judgment.<\/p>\n

First, the sword shall be upon his arm and his arm shall be clean dried <\/em>up.<\/em> The arm<\/em> should have been used for the purpose of protecting the flock; the arm<\/em> was to fulfill the function of the staff Beauty<\/em>. However, it failed to do so, and his arm<\/em> was under judgment.<\/p>\n

The second part of his anatomy that Zechariah focused on was the eye: the sword shall be \u2026 upon his right eye \u2026 and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.<\/em> The eye<\/em> should have been used to watch over the flock so that it would not scatter. The eye was to fulfill the function of the second staff, Bands. Yet it failed to do so and, therefore, his eye<\/em> was under judgment. The foolish shepherd<\/em> would be judged, and that judgment in particular would affect his arm<\/em> and his eye.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is interesting to note that in the beginning of the Second Jewish Revolt, Simon Bar Cochba did win some victories over the Romans. Only then was he declared to be the Messiah, but after that, he began losing battles to the Romans. Eventually, Bar Cochba had to withdraw from Jerusalem to a nearby city called Betar, where he made his last stand. Finally, a Samaritan in Bar Cochba\u2019s army betrayed the Jews to the Romans by showing the Romans a way into the city. Bar Cochba was killed in battle; and he was killed in a manner which did not fulfil the Messianic prophecies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars. Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down. Zechariah 11:1\u20132 Introduction The basic theme of Zechariah 11 is the rejection of the True Shepherd. … <\/p>\n

\u201eThe True Shepherd of Zechariah: A Study of Zechariah 11:1\u201317\u201c <\/span>weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1320"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1321,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1320\/revisions\/1321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}