When pondering chapter 11 of Zechariah, it is clear that the return of the Jews to Israel, under the Persian Empire was NOT the Redemption of Israel. This chapter prophesies the continuation of Israel’s sinfulness and corruption, after they return to Israel – knowing that they were cast out because of it.
This also prophesies the sacrifice of our Lord. How he would be betrayed by 30 pieces of silver. This is tragic beyond belief, but a great blessing to you and me, because there was no other way that we could be adopted into the household of God.
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Zechariah Part 11
When Jesus said this:
34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
– Matthew 23:34-36 (NKJV)
What Zechariah said in chapter 11 would have been part of the reason why they murdered him.
Why?
Because this chapter tells the people of Israel that they will be destroyed. And, this would have been something that they would not have tolerated. This wouldn’t have happened immediately, but once Ezra and Nehemiah were out of the way, corruption would have accelerated and Zechariah would have been one of the first to be killed.
The first part of chapter 11 talks about Lebanon, and that was initially a bit confusing.
Why would Lebanon suffer?
Well, let’s look at the verses and then talk about it:
1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.
3 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.
– Zechariah 11:1-3 (KJV)
Well, after Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire, and then dies, the resulting civil war between and among his generals would have been pretty hard on those living on the borders between the four main kingdoms. And, some of the most vicious combat would have been between the Seleucids in present-day Turkey and the Ptolemaic kingdom in Egypt.
Where was the border between them?
Israel and Lebanon. Both fought back and forth, tearing up the land of Israel and Lebanon. Then, when the Romans came through, even more damage was done. Following that, we had the Byzantines and the Persians followed by the Muslim Caliphates, that also fought each other.
So yeah, Lebanon would have had a really tough time, and it is STILL having a tough time. Currently, the Lebanese are hoping that Israel can kick out Hezbollah, who has terrorized them for decades. Before that they were terrorized by the Syrians, Yasser Arafat, the Ottomans and… well, you get the picture.
From verse 4 to verse 11, it speaks of the same kind of thing happening in the Land of Israel, but in a different way. God speaks of shepherds that consume the flock – the people of Israel. God also speaks of violence, civil war and being conquered:
4 Thus saith the Lord my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.
6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.
– Zechariah 11:4-6 (KJV)
NOTE: Shepherds always take excess male sheep and raise them to be slaughtered. You only need just a few male sheep to make sure that your female sheep are producing lambs. Of course, what God is speaking of here is more than just that natural process.
What happened before, during and after the Seleucid conquest of Israel was terrible. It was Israeli against Israeli. Hellenist Jews against fundamentalist Jews.
NOTE: If you want to know why the Septuagint is such a bad translation of the Bible. Remember that it was Hellenist rabbis that were translating the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. Let that sink in.
From verses seven to eleven, God was feeding the poor of the flock. He speaks of loathing the shepherds. He spoke of Israel consuming itself as they would bite and devour each other. But, verses ten and eleven are telling:
10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.
11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord.
– Zechariah 11:10-11 (KJV)
Was God breaking His Covenant with the poor of the flock?
No.
But, He was breaking His Covenant with those who were rebels against Him. And, we see the new covenant that God would make with the poor of the flock in the next two verses:
12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.
– Zechariah 11:12-13 (KJV)
If you’ve been reading your Bible, you will recognize the following:
3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.
– Matthew 27:3-7 (KJV)
That’s right, verses twelve and thirteen are about Jesus being betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Now, the rest of Matthew 27 gives credit to Jeremiah for this prophecy. Since, our Bible contains only a fraction of the writings of the prophets and apostles, we cannot claim that Matthew was wrong. All that we can say is that the writer of the Book of Matthew (Matityahu) may have had access to scriptures that are lost to us, today. (And no, that doesn’t give you permission to go and ‘find them’, like many false teachers like to do.)
Jesus came to the poor of Israel. To the destitute and broken. And, He taught them, healed them and gave them a new covenant. But of their shepherds, the Pharisees, He called them hypocrites and vipers.
Then, in verse 14, God says something that will only be healed when Ezekiel 37 is fulfilled:
14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
– Zechariah 11:14 (KJV)
God breaks apart Judah and Israel and scatters them across the globe. In fact, the other tribes of Israel forget their tribal identities and eventually just call themselves Jews. Even the Levis and Cohens who are of the tribe of Levi, call themselves Jews – but that’s a fulfillment of Ezekiel 37.
Then, in the last three verses God speaks of what happens to the Jews in every land around the world:
15 And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth 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.
– Zechariah 11:15-17 (KJV)
After the leaders of Israel chose the leader of a rebellion against Rome over Jesus, they sealed their fate. They had chosen the path of a revolution that failed in AD 70 because they tore each other apart, allowing the Romans to have an easy victory.
Then, when the Bar Kochva Revolt failed in AD 136, the Rabbis decided that they needed to change their observance from one that is Temple-oriented to one that is centered on the Rabbis. So, they created a corrupt interpretation of the Hebrew scriptures, one that would also keep as many Jews as possible from becoming Christian.
However, their attempts to keep Jews and Israelis from becoming Christian failed miserably. For almost two thousand years, every generation has seen many Jews come to faith in Christ, to the great distress of the Rabbis.
But, the next two chapters will talk about how all who survive the coming of Gog and Magog in Israel, will come to faith in Christ. The death of billions around the world and millions in Israel, will be hard to watch. But, the world cries out for this judgment, and we will rejoice when Israel has finally been redeemed.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
שאלו שלום ירושלים
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My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you… Hosea 4:6
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Keep this ministry alive with a donation.
Subscribe for free to Revelation Six and receive my articles in your inbox:
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And, read my books and guides for free:
https://revelationsix.com/books/
I created five Android Apps that will help you read through the Bible in a Year. You can find them here:
https://revelationsix.com/android-apps/
If you miss my rantings about geopolitics, idiocy, resource collapse and incompetent globalism, follow me on Twitter.
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