We concluded yesterday with Zechariah being paid the insulting sum of thirty pieces of silver for his work of shepherding the flock. He broke one of the staffs he had been carrying, the one known as Favor, to signify the trouble that would come on the nation when it would reject another shepherd: the Good Shepherd.
Today he breaks the other staff. "Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel." (Zechariah 11:14) The relationship between Judah and Israel had begun to break up in the days of King Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, when the kingdom split in two. The differences between them continued to grow after that, with the northern kingdom replacing worship at the temple with worship of the golden calves at Dan and Bethel. By the time of Jesus, the gospels show us the contempt the people of Judah felt toward those of the northern kingdom, known as Samaritans in the New Testament because the capital of the northern kingdom was Samaria. After the fall of Jerusalem and the temple to the Roman army, any semblance of a united nation was shattered as the people were scattered and dispersed throughout the world.
"Then the Lord said to me, 'Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 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." (Zechariah 11:15-16) The flock in today's passage, just as in yesterday's, represents the people of Zechariah's nation. The shepherd symbolizes the leadership of the nation. So who is this wicked shepherd the Lord says He is going to raise up? God had already raised up several wicked shepherds during the history of Israel as a form of discipline on the people. When the nation rejected God as their king and insisted on having a human king like all the nations around them, the Lord gave them King Saul, a man plagued by so many insecurities that he eventually descended into fits of madness. When the northern kingdom fell into idolatry, the Lord raised up the nation of Assyria, whose kings laid siege to the land until Israel was defeated and carried into captivity. When the southern kingdom fell from faith, the Lord raised up Babylon, whose king defeated the people and carried them away. When the nation rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and cried out, "We have no king but Caesar!", it was "Caesar" who killed their citizens by the tens of thousands and carried tens of thousands of them away. In the last days, when perilous times shall come and men will be lovers of their own selves (2 Timothy 3:1-2), the Lord will allow the most wicked shepherd of all, the Antichrist, to be raised up. He will be worse than all the wicked shepherds of history rolled into one.
The judgment upon wicked shepherds is harsh. They are in a position to set godly examples for the people but instead have led them farther into sin. They bear the greater punishment because they bore the greater authority. "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!" (Zechariah 11:17) A curse is pronounced on the leader who does not care for his flock.
Is there anything worse than a leader who exploits his people? Is there anything more dishonorable than a leader who cares more for his own skin than for those he has sworn to protect? There have been, and will continue to be, religious and political leaders who are only out for themselves. They feel no bond of unity toward their flocks because there is no love in their hearts for them and there is no love in their hearts for God. As Bible scholar Barry G. Webb points out in his book The Message Of Zechariah, "True unity between people depends on union with God. Where that basic relationship is fractured, all other relationships eventually decay as well." The wicked shepherd cares nothing for the flock because he does not consider them his, in contrast to the Good Shepherd who loves the flock and identifies Himself with it. The Lord Jesus describes the wicked shepherd, who does not love the sheep, like this, "The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it." (John 10:12)
But there is a Good Shepherd who loves the flock more than He loves His own life. The Lord Jesus says of Himself, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:11) What more can we ask for in a shepherd than this? He loved us more than His own life!
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