Zechariah 11:7-17 – The Symbolism of the Shepherds

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How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in God.

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Welcome to Through the Bible. I’m Steve Schwetz, and our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, continues our study of the prophet of hope, Zechariah. So while you find your place in your Bible at Zechariah 11, verse 7, let’s listen as Dr. McGee shares a bit more about the future judgments of God.

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Now, out yonder in the future, there’s coming a judgment. We have already looked at these different judgments. Actually, there are eight judgments. One is in the past. The judgment of sin at the cross. And then there are seven out in the future. The nation Israel will be judged. Nations are to be judged. Individuals are to be judged. Even believers are to be judged. Not about sin, but whether they’ll receive a reward or not. And the world is not only to be judged, but both saint and sinner will see that God is right. Now, if you today feel like that God is wrong, I have news for you. You are wrong. God’s not wrong. God hasn’t made a mistake yet. And there’s no eraser on his pencil. He doesn’t need it. When he writes, it’s written, brother, and it’ll be just like that. And God is not going to spoil his saints. You’re going to have to stand before him as a child of God, and you’ll recognize that he’s right. The unsaved that go before the great white throne, there’ll not be one person in eternity that say God was wrong. They may bewail the fact that they did not get saved while they were here, but that’s one thing for sure. They’re not going to say God was wrong. Every knee must bow and confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord. So you ought to get in practice now because you’re going to have to do that someday anyway. Now, I want to talk to you about another characteristic of the millennium. And I don’t think I have much time other than just to mention it. And we’re going to get to it next time. Holiness is another characteristic of the millennium. There’ll be a people set aside to serve God. Nation Israel are all going to be priests during that time. And God’s people are going to be a holy nation, a holy people. We are told that the church is that. We’re a holy nation. We today are afraid of holiness. That was the thing Wesley wanted to do, was to live a holy life. That was the desire of his heart. And the church he started were Methodists. And what is the method? Well, they were called Methodists because their method was to be a holy people. I heard Bishop Moore years ago in the South say, he said if the Methodists were just as afraid of sin as they are of holiness, they would be a better people. Well, that’s not only true of Methodists, that’s true of Presbyterians and Baptists and all the rest of them for that matter. Today, God’s people should live a holy life. But you don’t read any how-to books today on how to live, you know, a holy life. Well, I want to talk about that because they’re going to live a holy life in the millennium.

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We’ll hear more about the millennium in an upcoming study. But for now, let’s pray for one another as we begin. Heavenly Father, would you help us to learn more about how we can live a holy life, a life dedicated to you and your truth. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now let’s open to Zechariah 11 on Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.

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Now friends, we have seen that Zechariah has definitely been the prophet of hope. And many of the expositors call attention to that. Actually, his name means the Lord remembers. It’s quite interesting that he’s one of the last voices in the Old Testament to speak for God. And the New Testament opens actually with the angel appearing to a man by the name of Zechariah. the husband of Elizabeth that gave birth to John the Baptist. And therefore, it seems like this word God remembers, and this man here is a prophet of hope. But as also it’s been called our attention that he’s not only a prophet of hope, because that could be a false hope, and that’s the thing the false prophets had done, had given them a false hope. Therefore, this man, he’s the prophet of truth. Also, and he’s emphasized this matter of truth, and this 11th chapter that we got into last time brings us up to the Roman period. And during that period, and even before it, the Macbean period, there would be a very dark period. In fact, we saw in verse 4, Feed the flock of the slaughter. In other words, the flock are those of the remnant that had returned back to the land. Now, what have they returned for? Well, the picture’s not very bright. Temporarily, there’s going to be great blessing, materially and otherwise. But out of the West, there’s coming another conqueror. First Alexander the Great will come, and then there will come the Romans. And these people will suffer probably more than they’ve ever suffered until the time of the Nazi persecution under Hitler. Now, verse 7 of chapter 11 of Zechariah opens with this language, “…and I will feed the flock of slaughter.” Here we are again. Now, what we have here is something that actually is very difficult to interpret in this difference of opinion. Did this man, Zechariah, actually become a shepherd during this time? Because as you read on down, and I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And that little flock, that small group out of the 12 tribes said, return. And he says, and I took unto me two staves. The one I call beauty and the other I call bands and I fed the flock. Now, this is quite interesting. Did he actually do this? Did he act this out? Or was this parabolic or just a parable that he’s giving? Now, I personally take the position that he acted this out, but it’s a parable in action. And you find that there were several of the prophets that did that. We have seen before that Ezekiel did that. Now, you remember he went and locked himself in the house and he came out digging a trench and he came up in the street outside. Here in Pasadena, where I live, there’s nothing new about digging up streets. I think now every street in the city has been dug up, sometimes during the past year. But they may have missed one or two, but I doubt it. But in that day, it was unusual. And I’m of the opinion it’d be unusual today if somebody locked himself in his house and then came up in the street out there. Well, Ezekiel did that. And he had a message when he came up. And he also had a crowd. That was a good crowd getter. And I’m of the opinion that Zachariah, for this remnant, is doing the same thing. Now we’re told here he takes two staves. Now, the one I call Beauty, that’s a shepherd’s crook. It means grace. That’s the one that the shepherd used to keep the little sheep in line. If they started to go out of the way, just reach out of that crook and pull them right back in. If they got in danger, it speaks of grace. In fact, it means that. He called it Beauty, which really is graciousness or grace. And then the other I call Banned. Now, that word here, where he says, I call it bands, that’s probably as good a translation as I think that we have anywhere. I call it bands, and it has to do with a covenant, the making of a covenant. Now, that speaks of another stick, if you let me use that common expression, just a plain stick that the shepherd also had. Now, that was a heavy stick, not like the crook of the shepherds. It was a heavy one, and he used that to beat off and fight off any animals. You remember David said when he was a shepherd boy, a lion came and he fought him off, and a bear came and he fought him off. Now, a shepherd was constantly encountering wild beasts and even human beings that would try to steal the sheep, and he didn’t mind using that heavy club. So that we have here beauty and bands are grace, and bands are covenant. Now, he goes on to say here, then I fed the flock. I think that he went through this literally. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month. I think false prophets. And my soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Then said I, I will not feed you. That which dieth, let it die. And that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off. And let the rest eat every one the flesh of another. Now, we’re going to find when we get to Malachi. Malachi is a tremendous prophecy, by the way. He really goes after that which is phony and false. You see, in that day, some stingy, skin flint of a man that didn’t even like to give a tenth or bring animals for sacrifice, and he’d have an old sick cow. And so he’d tell his boys, let’s rush him up to the temple, to the altar and get him killed. We’ll make him a sacrifice. And they’ll say, my, look, he gave one of his prized cows there for a sacrifice. Yes, but it was an old sick cow, you see. And that is the thing that God is going to speak through Malachi, tell the people that It made him sick too from that sort of thing. And he really didn’t accept it at all. Now, what he’s saying here, that which is ready to die, you let it die. Don’t slaughter it hurriedly and use it because that is something that would not be right. In other words, he’s calling them back to be honest. and be clear-cut in their dealings. Now, verse 10, he says, “…and I took my staff, even beauty, and I cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.” Now, he took beauty. Grace is being withdrawn. You see, God had made a covenant with these people. that he would bless them, he’d put them in that land, and he would protect them. Now they’ve disobeyed so much. And he has, by his grace, as he’s made it very clear to us before, way back in the 10th chapter, verse 6, he said, “‘For I have mercy upon them.'” Now, God was doing what he was going to do, not because they were worthy, they were not, or not because they were obedient, for they were not. They were actually disobedient. Now, there would come a time when God would withdraw his covenant. In other words, no longer would he deal with them in grace. No longer would he be gracious unto them. And we’re told, verse 11, and it was broken in that day. So the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord. Now, the poor of the flock is the remnant, actually, of the remnant that obeyed God, that believed the word of God. May I say to you that the most fundamental, primary, and that which comes first for any believer is to believe the word of God. That’s primary. That’s essential. If you don’t believe that the Bible is the Word of God, you’re just not ready to take off at all because that’s the thing that has to be settled. That’s the thing that has to be established. And so these people, they knew that it was the Word of the Lord. Now, they just didn’t believe it. They knew it was the Word of the Lord. And I believe that that is the thing that God gives to those that start out maybe a little skeptical. Maybe find certain things difficult to believe in the Bible. And I say I believe it’s that way. I know it’s that way because that’s the way I came. And I now have reached the place where I don’t believe it’s the Word of God. I know it’s the Word of God. It’s the reason I don’t waste my time preaching sermons. Now, I recognize those sermons are needed and thank the Lord for young preachers because that’s the area they always get in. I spent the first two or three years of my ministry proving the Bible was true. That was really, I think, a rather waste of time in many ways. We preach it, you know, that it is the Word of God. It’s like the story I told you about Dr. Bob Shuler, who used to be the great Methodist preacher in downtown Los Angeles. He told me this personally, and it’s an illustration he used. He said, you know that if you have a lion in a cage and you keep him at home, you wouldn’t employ a guard to stay at the door of the lion cage to protect the lion from the pussycats in the neighborhood. You don’t need that. All you want to do is to open the door of the lion cage and the lion will take care of himself. And I’ve attempted to follow that. I think that’s a great illustration. I just attempt to open the door of the Word of God and let it take care of itself. It’ll take care of itself. You don’t have to protect the Bible from the pussycats that are in the neighborhood. Just give out the Word of the Lord. Now, this remnant believed it was the Word of the Lord. But there was coming in their line now one who would be their Messiah. And for the most part, they would reject him. A very small remnant would receive him at the time that he came. And for that, the nation would be judged and sent into captivity. And we’re going to see now what he says here in verse 12. And I said unto them, if ye think good. give me my price, and if not, forbear. And that is quite interesting that they didn’t want to pay very much. I wonder if Judas had a little difficulty agreeing on the price, because we’re told here, so they weighed for my price 30 pieces of silver. Now, isn’t that a A remarkable thing, because we’re dealing with a passage of Scripture, again, that has been literally fulfilled, and in a most remarkable way. And I want you to see, for instance, look with me at Matthew 26, verse 15, and let me read it. And he said unto them, One of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priest. That’s verse 14. Now 15, And said unto them, What will ye give me? And I will deliver him unto you. And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. Isn’t that interesting? You see, it’s Zechariah that mentions that. Now, if you go over to the 27th chapter of Matthew, you find something quite interesting here in the 9th and 10th verses. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they are the children of Israel did value, and gave them for the potter’s field as the Lord appointed. Now, Jeremiah had a great deal to say about the potter’s field in Jeremiah 18 and 19. Now, notice what he says in verse 13. And the Lord said unto me, cast it unto the potter of lordly price. Now, that is the way that that is given to us here in the New Scofield Bible, a lordly prize. Well, I’m of the opinion that they’ve really improved by using this word, but I think that we can get a better one, a fancy prize. You’ve heard the expression, well, that’s a fancy prize for a certain article. Well, a fancy prize that I was prized out of them. They didn’t care much for it. 30 pieces of silver. Imagine that. They paid very little for Jesus. They weren’t willing to pay a high ransom price of several million dollars, have him delivered to them. No, they were only willing to pay 30 pieces of silver. How cheap that was. And what did Judas do with it? He threw it down in the sanctuary and actually here cast it unto the potter. Well, there’s been some discussion as to just what was meant there. Some even think that it should be translated, cast it to the treasure. Well, Judas came into the temple and he threw it down there. Now, they wouldn’t take it. They said it’s the prize of blood. And isn’t it interesting? They went out and they bought the potter’s field. And now, friends, this is no accident that we’re talking about here. And I think this is one of the most remarkable passages of Scripture that we have. What we have here is this. What was the potter’s field? You remember Jeremiah? what he had to say about the potter’s field. And Matthew referred them to Jeremiah, you see, when they gave that cheap price for him. And Judas, you remember, threw it down. He wouldn’t take it. I betrayed innocent blood. And it was used to buy the potter’s field. And again, I ask the question, what is the potter’s field? Well, quite interestingly, the potter’s field was the place where the potters, when they attempt to make a vessel or a vase, whichever it was they were making, and it didn’t yield to them on the potter’s field and broke up and a piece came off or it wouldn’t yield and bend where they want, they’d just take it and throw that clay away because it wasn’t the right texture to be molded, you see. And Jeremiah gives that as a picture of God. God puts mankind, the mud, on the potter’s wheel. He forms and fashions, but that clay has to yield to him. And the clay that won’t yield to him, why, it’s put in the potter’s field. They just throw it out. It’s not to be used. Isn’t it interesting that the price of Christ? was 30 pieces of silver. And they took the 30 pieces of silver. They were very pious about it. Why? They said, that’s a prize of blood. We couldn’t turn that to religious purposes. So they took it out and bought the potter’s field. And that’s where they bury the poor. You know, the Lord Jesus has been working in a potter’s field a long, long time. He purchased that. But he didn’t purchase it for 30 pieces of silver. He paid the price. not with even silver or gold, but the precious blood of Christ was paid that he might buy this old world you and I lived in, filled with broken pottery. That’s mankind. Oh, the broken pieces today of mankind, broken physically, broken mentally, broken morally, broken spiritually. broken in many different places and in many different ways. And the potter is the Lord Jesus, and he’s taken them. And what was thrown away, he can take it and mold it in a vessel that’ll be for honor to him. Oh, what a picture is here, and it’s in Zechariah. Even in his rejection, not worthy of just the potter’s fields, but he can work in a potter’s field. Now, will you notice he says here, verse 14, then I cut asunder mine other staff. even bands that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. Now God says, when you sold me, when you got rid of me, when you turned me over into the hands of Gentiles to be crucified, I broke my covenant. Titus the Roman will soon be here, and you’re going to be scattered throughout the world because their Messiah had come. He died for their sin, and ever since then, He’s been working. The Lord Jesus has been working in a potter’s field. What a picture. Now, let me move on down. And the Lord said unto me, take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. Now, this is a picture of Antichrist that is to come. For lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land. Who shall not visit those that are cut off? Neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which standeth still. But he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. Everything he does, he does for himself. Here’s an interesting verse, and I’m going to come back to it next time to go into it. Woe to the idle shepherd that leaveth the flock, The sword shall be upon his arm and upon his right eye. His arm shall be completely dried up and his right eye shall be utterly darkened. Until next time, may God richly bless you. I have a letter.

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If you’ve been following along with us during our studies of the Old Testament, well then you know a large part of the Bible is prophetic in nature. Much of it has already been fulfilled in history or in the first coming of Christ. But many prophecies are yet to be fulfilled, such as those that speak of the rapture, the great tribulation, and the millennial kingdom. We have so much to look forward to. Dr. McGee wrote and spoke quite a bit on this topic, so to learn more about these events, you can get our app or visit ttb.org and look for some of the many digital booklets by Dr. McGee on prophecy. If we can help you find them, just call us. 1-800-65-BIBLE is the number. Again, that’s ttb.org or 1-865-BIBLE. Or email us at biblebus at ttb.org. Now, speaking of our resources, now would be a great time to get your notes and outlines for our upcoming study on Malachi. We’ll begin in a little over a week, so get your copy of our digital book, Briefing the Bible Now. In it, you’ll find all of Dr. McKee’s notes and outlines for our five-year study, as well as some of the great reference materials we have available, like charts and maps. You can get Briefing the Bible in our app or at ttb.org. And if you’re a Kindle user, well, you’re in luck because you can get it on that device too. Or to receive an abbreviated paperback version, just call us at 1-800-65-BIBLE or write to us at Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. In Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. Well, our journey through Zachariah continues next time as we learn about the foolish shepherd. Hop aboard and join us. I’m Steve Schwetz, and as always, I’ll be here saving a seat on the Bible bus just for you.

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Jesus made it all. All to him I owe. Sin had left the prince unsaved. He washed it white as snow.

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