Favor and Union with the Lord - Zechariah 11

“Open your doors, O Lebanon, that fire may devour your cedars. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen because the mighty trees are ruined. Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has come down. There is the sound of wailing shepherds! For their glory is in ruins. There is the sound of roaring lions! For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins.” Zechariah 11:1-3

Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary connects Zechariah 11:1 with Ezekiel 17:3 and Habakkuk 2:17, stating that “Open your doors, O Lebanon” is a reference to the temple in Jerusalem because it was constructed of cedars from Lebanon. The temple was also lofty like a mountain. 40 years prior to it being destroyed again, the doors of the temple opened of their own accord. This is according to the “Massecheth Joma.” At that time, Rabbi Johanan stated, “I know that your desolation is impending according to Zechariah’s prophecy.” It is also true that the Romans passed through Lebanon as they advanced towards Jerusalem.

Wailing shepherds, roaring lions and ruined pride symbolize the royalty, the priests and people. They shall grieve the loss of yet another temple in Jerusalem, but God is not done. He shall replace those ruins with a new temple that is everlasting, namely, the temple of all believers in Jesus Messiah. They shall become an eternal dwelling place for His presence by His Spirit.

“Thus says the Lord my God, feed the flock for slaughter, whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich.’ Their shepherds do not pity them. For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord. But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.” Zechariah 11:4-6

Zechariah likely wrote this prophecy about 500 years prior to Christ being born in the manger. 500 years is more than twice the current age of the USA. There were numerous ups and down for the people of God during these 500 years. Greece would invade their land, and after them the Romans.

In Zechariah 11:4-6, the Lord speaks of a slaughter of flocks by their owners. The owners have no empathy for their victims. They only envision riches. The Lord allows these cruel people to wreak havoc and death on Jerusalem because of their abandonment of Him.

Between 66-135 AD, 1,500,000 Jews perished at the hands of the Romans. 1,100,000 perished during the fall of Jerusalem. Zechariah and the other prophets had by God’s appointment “fed” them the Word of God. In Matthew 3:7-10, John the Baptist asked the corrupt religious leaders in Jerusalem, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

The religious leaders did not repent during the days of John and Jesus. They crucified Christ. In Matthew 27:24-26, after Governor Pilate took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. See to it yourselves.” They answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” They preferred a murderer named Barabbas more than Jesus.

God gave them into the hand of their neighbor and into the hand of the king. In John 19:15, the religious leaders said to their Roman governor, “We have no king but Caesar.” Thus, God took them at their word and gave them into the hand of Titus Caesar who destroyed Jerusalem and Jerusalem’s people with a great slaughter.

“So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs. The one I called Favor, and the other I called Union. And I fed the flock. I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Then I said, ‘I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other’s flesh.’ And I took my staff, Favor, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. So it was broken on that day. Thus the poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the Word of the Lord.” Zechariah 11:7-11

The shepherd of Israel cares for the “flock of slaughter” namely, those about to experience tribulation due to their abandonment of God. Favor and Union express the incarnation of Christ. Grace: the angels declared to shepherds, “Peace and good will because Christ the Savior is born.” Union: the Word [Messiah] was made flesh and dwelt among us. The Lord dismisses three shepherds in a month. Could these be references to the three religious groups who abhorred Jesus and He abhorred them, namely, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Herodians. Jesus spoke truth to them but they rejected Him. The breaking of the staffs signifies the removal of His favor and union with the anti-Messiah people of Jerusalem. In 70 AD, Rome’s Emperor Titus orders the leveling of Jerusalem and the temple.

“Then I said to them, ‘If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.’ So they weighed out for my wages 30 pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—that princely price they set on me. So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter. Then I cut in two my other staff, Union, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.” Zechariah 11:12-14

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, demonstrated grace and love towards the people of Jerusalem, but they rejected Him. One of His disciples betrayed Him to those who hated Him for 30 pieces of silver. 30 pieces of silver was the common price of a slave. In Matthew 27:3-10, when Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and returned the 30 pieces of silver. He admitted, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” He threw the money down, departed, and hung himself. The priests confiscated the silver and purchased a potter's field as a burial place for strangers. This action fulfilled prophecies spoken by Jeremiah and Zechariah.

“And the Lord said to me, ‘Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd. For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces. Woe to the worthless shepherd, who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye. His arm shall completely wither, and his right eye shall be totally blinded.’” Zechariah 11:15-17

The people in Jerusalem rejected the Good Shepherd (Jesus) for a foolish shepherd (Barabbas). Barabbas was an insurrectionist. He didn’t care for those who chose him. He was like the bramble in the Book of Judges that was elected by default due to infighting. The insurrectionists among the Jews stirred up the wrath of Emperor Titus. He sent his army to Jerusalem to destroy it. They were reckless. Shepherds that took life from people rather than heal them. Hooves torn to pieces indicates trials involving excruciating and crippling pain.

May the Lord help us to take to heart the words of this prophecy. The Lord Jesus has expressed favor toward us and a desire for union with us. We don’t deserve to have such a wonderful Creator and Savior as Jesus Christ. He is Emmanuel – God with us. He became like us to bring us to God. Let us not respond in a foolish way to Jesus as the people of Jerusalem did.

The Word of God to us in Hebrews 2:1-4 is: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.”

“Thank You Lord Jesus for being a Good Shepherd to us. Thank You for the great salvation that You accomplished for us when You became an atoning sacrifice for our sins, when You resurrected victorious over death, and when You gave us Your Holy Spirit and His gifts. May we ever praise You and serve You with actions that say to You, ‘We love You Lord.’”