seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Zechariah 11:1 Open your doors, Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan;
the dense forest has been cut down!
3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;
the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
so that fire may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan;
the dense forest has been cut down!
3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;
the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter. 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”
7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.
The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them 9 and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”
10 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.
12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.
14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 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.
17 “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!”
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!”
This is from bible-studys.org.
The Lord God said that His people were to be treated like sheep fattened for the slaughter, whose shepherds have no pity, but are only interested in money for the meat. Thus God will serve up His sheep for slaughter without pity.
With God’s pity (Hosea 1:6), and protection withdrawn, they will be given over to their Roman “neighbors” and to the King”, Caesar (John 19:14-15), who will ultimately lead them to their destruction (in A.D. 70), by the Roman army (John 11:47-50).
This is from enduringword.com.I will not feed you. Let what is dying die: In bringing judgment by letting the dying die, God merely took away His hand of protection. At one time God had a covenant with all the peoples, preventing them from attacking His people Israel. When God decided to break the covenant, His people would be attacked.
Let those who are left eat each other’s flesh: This really happened during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70
The poor of the flock.. knew that it was the word of the LORD: These were the faithful remnant who knew that even these hard words were from God.
Give me my wages: Zechariah was “play-acting” this prophecy, employing himself as a shepherd over a flock. Now he asked his employer for his wages, and they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
That princely price they set on me: Zechariah spoke sarcastically here. Thirty pieces of silver was not an insignificant amount, but it was the price of a slave (Exodus 21:32). It was the lowest they could pay, and it said that they regarded Zechariah as a slave.
This speaks prophetically of Jesus, who was contemptuously betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15 and 27:3) – the price of a slave.
Threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter: Curiously, Zechariah said that the thirty pieces of silver were thrown into the house of the LORD but that they were also given to the potter. This is an exact fulfillment of what Judas did with his thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 27:3-10).
The money to betray Jesus – His purchase price – went to buy a potter’s field (Matthew 27:7). A potter’s field was a piece of useless land where the potter threw his broken, damaged, and rejected pots. Jesus really did purchase the potter’s field – the place where broken, rejected, and useless people like us are scattered.
Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel: After the exchange of the thirty pieces of silver the staff of Bonds (unity) was broken. This was fulfilled when Israel was scattered by the Romans after their rejection of their Shepherd Jesus.
Woe to the worthless shepherd: Though God appointed the foolish shepherd in light of Israel’s rejection of the Good Shepherd, it does not mean that God approves of the foolish shepherd. God will judge that worthless shepherd who injured His flock.
A sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye: The worthless shepherd feels the sword of God’s judgment against his arm and his right eye. The arm expresses strength and the eye expresses intelligence, so this will be a harsh blow against the worthless shepherd.
Revelation 13:3 and 13:12-14 tell us the Antichrist will suffer a severe wound yet survive. This confirms that the worthless shepherd is ultimately fulfilled in the Antichrist.
Well.... I don't know what to say this morning. I feel like the world is being led to slaughter.... the virus is all over the news.... ironically, since there is also no new sports to watch.... I have been watching a lot of "forged in fire" on the History channel. I saw the first few verses talking about fire overtaking everything and the forging furnace as well as those nasty flames from the quenching jumped up in my imagination.
I heard that the Antichrist is going to be a really lovable guy at first. They say he's going to be really charismatic. Then he's going to turn. I've met guys like him..... guys who are all so sweet until after the first date when they want something in return.... and when that something isn't turned right over to them.... they become total jerks.... abusive.... mean.... jerks. It's not just the ordinary guys who are like this.... leaders are like this too.... they would do anything for you to get elected...... they'll tell you anything you want to hear.... and then when they get in office.... they protect their paycheck and destroy the little guy.
Of course this is a warning. Which shepherd do the sheep follow? Are my bones going to wind up in a potter's field.... among the worthless scraps? If the thirty pieces of silver are any indication.... I'll be in good company.... they paid the same price for my Savior when they led Him to slaughter.
