Return from Exile: Zechariah 11-14 (1)

Pray Psalm 23.1, 2.
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.

Sing Psalm 23.1, 2.
(The Gift of Love: Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire)
Because the Lord my Shepherd is I shall not want, for I am His!
He makes me lie in pastures full; I rest in Him by waters still.

Read and meditate on Zechariah 11.1-17.

Preparation
1. Why were the shepherds worthless?

2. What happened to the flock under their care?

Meditation
Whenever God’s people fall into periods of captivity, false and worthless shepherds are a primary cause. Through Ezekiel, God was unsparing against those shepherds who are more interested in their own status than the wellbeing of the people (Ezek. 24.1-10). Zechariah echoes that denunciation of his predecessor in this chapter.

The mention of the ruin of Lebanon and “the pride of the Jordan” in verses 1-3 probably refers to the temple, built glorious with cedars and oaks, but now bewailed—because of its ruin—by faithless shepherds. God explains how this happened (vv. 4-16).

It’s not like the shepherds of Israel didn’t understand what was required of them. God Himself had showed them through Moses and faithful rulers. He had sent these shepherds to care for the flock and lead them into the promises of His covenant. They showed His people the beauty of the Lord and taught them His Law (“bonds”, v. 7; cf. Hos. 11.1-4). But as it turned out, the “owners” of Israel only led the nation to slaughter (v. 4). The shepherds did not pity the people but made themselves rich at the people’s expense (vv. 5, 6). They rebelled against the example God had provided. The “owners,” the “three shepherds” God set in place to carry out His work—local elders, priests, and kings—all sought only their own good. So He “dismissed” them all “in one month” (v. 8), when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and the people taken into captivity (2 Kgs. 28.8-11). And He left His flock to their chosen fate (v. 9).

God hates worthless shepherds (v. 8). They do not show the people His beauty (v. 10), but dole out their own schemes, plans, and ideas. They do not teach the Law of God (v. 14) but lead the people into cheap grace and false assurances. These are “foolish implements” (v. 15) for they lead the people into folly, judgment, and captivity. Worthless shepherds betray the Lord; they do not serve Him (vv. 12, 13). False shepherds devour the flock of God (v. 16), and they are worthless in the sight of the Lord (v. 17).

To the extent our churches today remain captive to the self-interest and materialism of our age, the shepherds bear some of the responsibility. Pray for your shepherds, that they may embrace the example of the Good Shepherd and lead their flocks into the green pastures of the beauty and truth of God (cf. Jn. 10).

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.
My favorite scene in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is when Friar Tuck finds the corrupt priest, trying to make a hasty escape, gathering the wealth of the castle to take with him. Tuck steps into the room, offers aid to pack his belongings, and then says as he “helps” him out of a high window: “And here’s thirty pieces of silver, to pay the devil on your way to hell!”

That just seems to cover the right attitude towards worthless shepherds.

“Woe to the worthless shepherd, who leaves the flock!” (Zech. 11.17).

“Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying:
‘The scribes and the Pharisees…whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do,
but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do…all their works they do
to be seen by men…they love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogue, greetings

in the marketplace…But woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of

heaven against men…you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers…you travel land

and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves…

Woe to you, blind guides…fools and blind! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the other undone…you cleanse the outside of a cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence…first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also…you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness…Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?’” (Matt. 23.1-33). Sounds like a crew that needed a little “push” from Friar Tuck.

But, although reprehensible, they too, could have been redeemed and restored.
And it is for this that we must pray, for ourselves and for our shepherds—worthy or worthless—that we daily grow in the redemption and forgiveness that we have in Christ Jesus.
“For with God nothing will be impossible” (Lk. 1.37).

For reflection
1. Do you pray for the shepherds of your church? What does Zechariah suggest about how to pray for them?

2. You are a shepherd to the people in your Personal Mission Field. What does this require of you?

3. How can you encourage the shepherds of your church? Whom will you encourage today?

God, having showed the misery of this people in their being justly left by the Good Shepherd, shows their further misery in being abused by foolish shepherds. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Zechariah 11.15-17

Pray Psalm 23.3-6.
Pray for the shepherds of your church, that they will have God’s vision for the Kingdom, will take up God’s means for shepherding the flock, and will cling to Jesus our Good Shepherd in all they do.

Sing Psalm 23.3-6.
(The Gift of Love: Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire)
My soul He quickens and will bless; He leads in paths of righteousness.
Though I may walk through death’s dark vale, I shall not fear—He will not fail!

The Lord is ever by my side; His rod and staff with me abide.
A table rich for me He spreads; with oil my Lord anoints my head.

Goodness and mercy, full and free, shall ever after follow me;
and in the house of God, my Lord, shall I abide forevermore!

T. M. and Susie Moore

Two books can help us understand our own captivity and lead us to seek revival and renewal in the Lord. The Church Captive asks us to consider the ways the Church today has become captive to the world. And Revived! can help us find the way to renewal. Learn more and order your free copies by clicking here and here.

And in case you’d like to learn more about not despising the small things of life, order a free copy of our book, Small Stuff (click here), and learn how you can bring glory to God in all the quotidian activities of your life.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available free by clicking here.