From Babylon to Jerusalem - (Zechariah) ch.11 & 12 — Zac Poonen

Israel’s Return to the Land and the Fulfillment of Zechariah 10–11

We want to turn to Zechariah chapter 10. In our last study we were looking at Zechariah chapter 10 and we saw what the Lord says there about the gathering of the people of Israel back into their land after nearly 20 or more centuries of being dispersed.

It says here in verse 8 of Zechariah 10 we saw that. I will whistle for them and gather them together in verse 9 when I scatter them among the peoples they will remember me in far countries and they with their children will live and come back and I will bring them back from the land of Egypt and gather them from Assyria and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon.

We consider that Gilead is the land that is today known as Jordan and Lebanon of course is still known as Lebanon and it is interesting to see here that the Lord says that when he brings the people of Israel back into the land they will not only possess that land which is on the west side of the river Jordan but the portion in the northern part of Jordan, the country of Jordan which is called Gilead and also Lebanon until no room can be found for them.

We see before our eyes something of the fulfillment of that and we will see more of it in the coming days. And it is in this connection that we read here in the first three verses of chapter 11. Open your doors O Lebanon that a fire may feed on your cedars.

Bashan, Gilead, and Israel’s Future Inheritance

Wail O Cyprus for the cedar has fallen. This is the result of Israel coming into that area because the glorious trees have been destroyed. Wail O Oaks of Bashan. Now Bashan was also in what is today known as Jordan.

We don't see Israel having occupied it yet but according to God's word that will also be fulfilled because when the children of Israel went into the promised land there were two and a half tribes that occupied what is known as the land of Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the river Jordan.

They didn't go into the land of Canaan itself and that land which they occupied is what the Lord is referring to here is going back to the people of Israel in the final day because it was rightfully theirs.

They occupied it at that particular time. It was part of the inheritance and property of the twelve tribes. And so Bashan also refers to Gilead or Jordan for the impenetrable forest has come down. And I think this could refer to what looked like something that could never be occupied by Israel.

In the early part of the century nobody ever believed that the Jews would ever come back into their land at all. Later on when they occupied Israel people thought it was just a matter of time before the Arabs threw them out but we see that they have been there for nearly forty years now.

And likewise these other parts of Old Testament prophecy will also be fulfilled. And there is a sound of the shepherds wail, verse three, for their glory is ruined. There is a sound of the young lions roar for the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

The pride of the Jordan refers to the huge trees that were on the western, on the eastern side of the river Jordan in which the lions hid and all that is torn down, symbolic of Israel occupying that, the eastern side of the river Jordan too.

So really these three verses are a continuation of what we were looking at in our last study from chapter ten verse seven onwards right on to chapter eleven verse three. Speaking about Israel coming back to the land and occupying not only their land but north of it in Lebanon and east of Israel in what is today known as Jordan.

False Shepherds and the Corruption of Religious Leadership

And then from verse four onwards we find the subject changes again and here is something very relevant to us in the church as well as to the Jewish nation and in their treatment of Jesus Christ. And as we have been looking in the, as we have been considering in the book of Zechariah that there is a double fulfillment of prophecy, spiritually in the church and literally in the nation of Israel.

Here the Lord says to Zechariah, pasture the flock doomed to slaughter and that's referring to the Jewish nation. It was just a short time now, a few centuries before they would be rejected by the Lord, finally after the crucifixion of Christ.

They were doomed to slaughter. Verse five onwards it speaks about the false shepherds, the hirelings, those who buy them, slay them and go unpunished. And each of those who sell them says, blessed be the Lord for I have become rich and their own shepherds have no pity on them.

Here it speaks about false shepherds. Leaders of Israel were called shepherds, but here it speaks about those who were leaders for the sake of material gain. They were not concerned about the sheep. They would sell the sheep.

They were thinking only in terms of what profit they could make for themselves from their sheep. They were not true shepherds, they were hirelings. And all they could say was, praise the Lord, the Lord has blessed me with money as a result of my being a shepherd.

No doubt they had spiritual reasons to give for the money they got. You can see how relevant this is to the situation today where there are people who claim to be the shepherds of God's people and back down deep in their mind they have never been delivered from the love of mammon and material things and godliness has become for them a means of gain.

Blessed be the Lord, I have become rich and the shepherds have no pity on the people. It is when Israel degenerated to such a stage just before the first coming of Christ where their leaders were only interested in making money themselves and becoming rich.

The shepherds were interested in their own material profit and not concerned, didn't have compassion for the people that things had gone to such a stage that the Lord finally rejected the people of Israel altogether.

When we compare the history of the Christian church with the history of Israel we see a great similarity because things have degenerated in Christendom to pretty much the same level where the shepherds today also are becoming rich in many places and not concerned about the sheep.

And the Lord says I shall no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land, behold I shall cause the men to fall into one another's power and into the power of his king and they will strike the land and I shall not deliver them from their power.

And we can ask this question why does the Lord judge these people when it is the shepherds who are at fault? Certainly he will judge the shepherds but he judges the people because they follow these hirelings instead of following the word of God.

It's a very dangerous thing to sit in a system where the one whom you call your shepherd is not a spiritual man. There are many so-called believers who sit in religious systems the heads of which are not spiritual people they're not godly people and the Lord holds these people who call themselves sheep responsible for sitting and by sitting in the system indirectly supporting a person who is the leader who is an ungodly man and that's why the Lord says that he's going to punish the sheep as well and that also is very relevant today because we find a lot of believers sitting in all types of dead denominational systems where bishops are unconverted and drunkards and things like this and they just sit there and they say we want to be a witness here.

Well you can't be a witness there when you acknowledge someone who is godless and someone who doesn't honor Jesus Christ as Lord and someone who is not a man of God and that's what's referred to in verse 6 and so the Lord says the flock itself verse 4 is doomed to slaughter because instead of following God's word and standing for the truth they blindly follow these people who claim to be shepherds but who are not seeking the glory of God but their own gain in their own position and so Zechariah is symbolically doing this as a sign to the people of Israel.

Grace and Unity as the Shepherd’s Two Staffs

He says I pastored the flock doomed to slaughter and hence the afflicted of the flock for the afflicted flock and I took for myself two staffs the one I called favor or grace and the other I called union so I pastured the flock.

There are two things and both these words are important words of the new covenant. One is grace and the other is unity in the body of Christ. It's these two staffs that a true shepherd must always use to guide his flock with one is the staff of grace and the other is the staff of unity.

Grace so that we can be free from sins dominion according to Romans 6 14. Grace so that we can overcome all our infirmities and weaknesses and have the power of Christ rest upon us. According to 2nd Corinthians 12 verse 9.

My grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect. And weakness that is the first staff and Zechariah was seeking to guide these people with these two staffs one grace the other important staff is unity that was not possible in the old covenant.

It was a new covenant prayer that Jesus prayed father. I pray that they may be one even as you and I are one grace for the personal life leading on to unity in the brotherhood. You see that these are the two staffs of a true shepherd in the body of Christ.

And this is why in order to build the body of Christ we saw that Zechariah was one of the prophets of prophesied and building up the temple the superstructure in the Old Testament. And that refers to us building the body of Christ today.

And it's very significant that these are the two things that Zechariah is told to speak about two staffs and that teaches us that these must be the two most important messages that are found in the Church of the Living God the message of grace the true grace of God.

And the other the message of unity. And verse 8 I annihilated three shepherds in one month for my soul was impatient with them. Now Zechariah was reflecting the impatience of God with false shepherds verse 8.

And their soul also was weary of me. You remember we saw in study of the first chapter that Jesus said that Zechariah was slain between the temple and the altar. And now you can see something of the reason why he was slain because he stood against these false shepherds.

He exposed these humbugs and these hypocrites and these religious leaders who were unconverted these religious leaders who are not men of God and he annihilated them. I don't know exactly what that means but he certainly stood against them and exposed their hypocrisy and pointed out to the people that these people were all hypocrites and Zechariah's soul was impatient with them and their soul also was weary of Zechariah.

Finally they got rid of it. Now there we see something of the Spirit of Christ. When Jesus came into the temple and he saw people making money in the name of religion he turned them out. He was impatient with them and I'm sure they got fed up of this prophet who came and turned them out of the temple as well.

So we see that's part of the new covenant ministry as well to stand against false shepherds and hirelings. And you find very often immature carnal believers cannot understand why a man like Zechariah should stand against the false shepherds and why he should seek to annihilate them.

There must have been people in those days also went to Zechariah and said well brother I think you should be a little more gentle. You know God is gentle and gracious and all that. But Zechariah was not deceived by all these words because he knew his commission from God.

He knew he was to stand against all these humbugs. And therefore if they were to be annihilated they were annihilated no doubt with words. He annihilated them. He didn't murder them but he annihilated them with his words and he exposed them and stood against them.

Rejecting the Message of Grace and the Consequences of False Teaching

Then he said to these people he tried his best with these two staffs. Do you want the message of grace. Do you want the message that will bring unity among you people instead of division. But they were not interested.

And then he said to those people I will not pasture you. This reminds us of the words of Paul in Acts chapter 28 when he turned to the Jews and said it was necessary that the Word of God should have been preached to you first.

But since you people are not interested they shook off the dust from off their feet and said we are turning to the Gentiles. And that's what Zechariah says. Here we offer the message to you of the true grace of God and of unity.

But you're not interested. All right. I will not pasture you. What is to die. Let it die. He who will be filthy let him be filthy. He who will be unrighteous let him be unrighteous like it says in Revelation 22.

And what is to be annihilated. Let it be annihilated. And let those who are left eat one another's flesh. And you find that's always the result of false teaching as we read in Galatians 5 15. Very easy to find out whether a doctrine is true or false.

In Galatians 5 15 it says. If you bite and devour one another take care lest you be consumed by one another. See if you bite and devour one another you finally get consumed to one another. And that's what we read in Zechariah 11 verse 9.

Those who are left eat one another's flesh. What is a modern word for eating one another's flesh. One word backbiting. Biting people's flesh off their back backbiting. And that is where people haven't understood the true grace of God.

They're not freed from backbiting. And there is discord and division where the true word of God is preached. The grace of God will bring victory over sin in the personal life. And the grace of God will bring unity in the brotherhood.

That's always the test. Are people being led to victory in a particular fellowship. Are they becoming more and more one with each other in the fellowship. This is the test of true doctrine these two staves.

And if these two staffs are not there then we know that that's wrong teaching. And these people are not interested in these two messages. They were not interested. So Zechariah said all right I leave you.

I'm going to turn you off. And you can just eat one another and backbite one another and live in sin and be filthy. And I've just given up on you. It was prophetic of what was going to happen to the Jewish nation.

Just like the Lord told the church in Laodicea. I'll spit you out of my mouth because you're not willing to receive exhortation. You can go your way and do what you like. And then I took my staff called grace or favor and cut it in pieces.

You're not interested in this message. Forget it then to break my covenant which I had made with all the people. So it was broken on that day. Yeah they were not interested in the message of grace or symbolically Zechariah breaks the staff and says this is a testimony that you are not interested in this message staff number one the true grace of God.

You're not interested in it by just breaking it and throwing it away. And thus the afflicted of the flock. I think this refers to the remnant who were watching me realize that it was the word of the Lord.

The Thirty Pieces of Silver and Christ’s Rejection

You know there was a time when Jesus said to the Jewish nation in Matthew chapter 21 verse 43. Therefore I say to you the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruit of it.

And that is what Zechariah is symbolically doing. You're not interested in this message of the grace of God. All right. It's not going to be given to you. It's going to be given to other people. And that those days the Jews missed it and today a lot of Christendom has missed it because the message of these last prophets of the Old Testament has a particular relevance for us because they prophesied in the closing days of that Jewish dispensation.

And they have a particular relevance for us because we are in the closing days of the Christian dispensation. And the condition of Christianity very often in most places is exactly the same as it was of Israel in its closing days of its dispensation.

And so what Israel missed today we find many Christians have missed and I said to them but there is the afflicted. The afflicted are those verse 11 who are mourning. Who are the afflicted is an Old Testament word for those who humble themselves and mourn and long.

And there were a few people like that a remnant who saw what was happening and who understood that this was the word of the Lord that there was truth in it when most of the people didn't understand. And even today there is a remnant of those who understand.

And I said to them if it is good in your sight give me my wages and but if not never mind. So they weighed out 30 shekels of silver as my wages. And we want to think of how Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot for 30 shekels of silver.

And this is relating to that the Judas Iscariot and the high priest and all were offended by the word Jesus spoke. He broke this covenant with the Jews. He stood like Zechariah stood in chapter 11 and stood against all the false shepherds in the day when Jesus was on earth he annihilated them with his words.

For example you just got to read what Jesus spoke in Matthew 23 to the Pharisees and religious leaders to see what annihilation means. You serpents your generation of vipers how will you escape the damnation of hell and things like that.

And they got angry when Jesus said the kingdom of God is taken away from you. He broke that staff and broke that covenant. It's going to be given to someone else who values it. And they got angry with Jesus.

They got angry with Zechariah too. You understand why they killed this man between the temple and the altar this prophet Zechariah. And it says here they took this 30 shekels of silver and gave it as his wages.

Here you are. Here is the wages. You call yourself a shepherd. Here is what we think of you. Then the Lord said to me throw it to the potter that magnificent price at which I was valued by them. So I took the 30 shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

We turn to Matthew chapter 27 and we find this prophecy is fulfilled there in Matthew chapter 27 we read there Matthew 27 that Jesus that Judas after he had betrayed Jesus he came back. And it says in verse 5 of Matthew 27 he threw those 30 pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed.

And the chief priest took the priest pieces of silver. And verse 7 they bought the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. Then that which has spoken through Jeremiah the prophet now we know it has spoken through Zechariah.

Perhaps it was spoken through Jeremiah as well. We don't know. It's not written in Jeremiah's prophecy. Everything that the Old Testament prophets prophesied is not necessarily written down. But it was certainly prophesied by Zechariah as well.

And these are almost exactly the words we find in Zechariah chapter 11 referred to here in Matthew 27 verse 9 and 10 they took the 30 pieces of silver the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel.

And they gave them for the potter's field as the Lord directed me. That's what we read in Zechariah chapter 11 verse 12 and 13 there was a price set by the sons of Israel. The sons of Israel set a price on Jesus Christ.

And it's very important for us to understand the significance of this price that they set on Jesus Christ. Turn back to the Old Testament and we'll understand it a little more clearly in Exodus chapter 21.

The Value of Human Life and the Sin of Abortion

In Exodus chapter 21 there's something very interesting in the Old Testament law that explains the meaning of this 30 shekels of silver the price that the sons of Israel set upon Jesus. Exodus 21 we read in verse 28.

One of the laws that Moses gave to the Israelites was this that if an ox gores a man or woman to death the ox must be killed. An ox who gores people to death must be killed. Okay. But the owner of the ox can go unpunished.

But if the ox was previously in the habit of goring people and the owner had been warned and yet he did not lock up that ox and then it killed a man or woman then the owner also is at fault. And the ox must be stoned.

And the owner also must be put to death. And verse 31 if the ox gores a man's son or daughter the same rule applies. The ox must be killed. And if the owner had been previously warned about it and he didn't do anything about it the owner must also be killed.

Now see. But that's all right for a normal Israeli man woman son or daughter. But if the ox gores a male or a female slave a servant in the house then the owner does not have to be killed because the price the value of a slave's life is only 30 shekels of silver.

See. That's the Old Testament law that a man's life is worth a man's life. The owner must be killed if this man was killed by the ox. But in the ox only killed a slave a slave's life is worth 30 shekels of silver.

And now we see the significance of the that the sons of Israel and the priests put upon Jesus Christ that's all he's worth an ordinary slave. That is what they valued the Son of God at. And that's what we see in Zechariah 11 13.

The Lord said it to me throw it to the potter that magnificent price at which I was valued by them. He who had come with a message of grace and truth he who had come with the two staffs of grace and unity make their eyes were so blinded they valued him at the price of an ordinary slave.

And the thing I want to ask is this brothers and sisters today when we preach the message of grace and unity with those same two staffs that Jesus came with do you think people are going to value us any higher than they valued Jesus.

Do we see the stupidity of people who preach the whole counsel of God seeking to be esteemed by religious Christendom which does not appreciate the message of victory over sin the message of unity in the church.

Well if they valued our Lord and Master at 30 shekels of silver as an ordinary slave the servant is not above his master the disciple is not above his Lord. So it's good for us to humble ourselves and realize we're not interested in the esteem or respect of any of these compromisers that we find among Christians.

The Foolish Shepherd and the Antichrist

And then when you value the Lord like that verse 14 of Zechariah 11 then I cut my second staff union in pieces to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. The second staff is also broken when the Lord breaks his covenant with the people because they do not respond to his word.

There are these two results. One the grace of God will disappear and they will be a defeated people. Second there will be strife in the brotherhood. And I want to say this wherever the message of the new covenant and the word of the cross is not preached for that those staffs symbolize the cross.

The message of the cross and grace comes through the cross. Unity comes through the cross. And where that message is not preached there'll always be two results. Christians defeated in their personal life and strife in the congregation backbiting they eat one another's flesh.

And wherever there is backbiting we can be sure this staff union is broken. Wherever there's defeat by sin you can be sure the staff grace is also broken. And that's the condition of a lot of so-called churches.

And the Lord said to me take again for yourself. Now he says let's go the other side. Now Zechariah you imagine that you're a foolish shepherd. One of these people who are just seeking people's gain not really interested in their good.

Then see how the people accept. You see how foolish the people are that they will not accept the true shepherd. They reject the true shepherd and put him put his value as 30 shekels of silver. Now you become a foolish shepherd a hireling one who seeks your own gain.

Then they will honor you and accept you take care again for yourself. The equipment of a foolish shepherd. And the Lord says I'm going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing seek the scattered heal the broken.

And the Lord's going to punish him. But the people are going to accept him. And that foolish shepherd is symbolic of the Antichrist who is going to rise at the end time. That world ruler whom we considered in the book of Revelation and the book of Daniel who is going to make a covenant with the nation of Israel.

Think of that that the nation of Israel who would not accept the true Messiah when he came will accept a foolish shepherd when he comes with all his false teaching. See that's the tragedy. And that's the tragedy we find in Christendom too for everything that's written in the Old Testament is written for our instruction.

It's written for us to take warning from that people do not accept the true shepherd. They accept a foolish one because the foolish one allows them to live in their sins. The foolish one allows them to live in their backbiting and gossiping and all the other evil habits.

A true shepherd will seek to lead them to godliness. And so we see here I'm going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing seek the scattered or heal the broken or sustain the one standing but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hooves.

Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock. A sword will be on his arm and on his right eye his arm will be totally withered and his right eye will be blind. That's the way God's going to punish him.

But the people are going to accept him. And we see here in verse 16 and 17 the seven characteristics of a false shepherd or a hireling. Seven characteristics of a false shepherd or a hireling verses 16 and 17.

First of all he will not care for the perishing. Second he does not. In the days of Israel towards the end of Zacharias time it's going to be in the Christian Church in these last days too. And this is a description of the Antichrist ultimately.

But it's also a description of all false shepherds. They will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hooves. Now there we see six things there in verse 16. False shepherd does not care for the perishing does not seek the scattered does not heal the broken does does not sustain.

The one who is standing devours the flesh of the fat sheep tears off their hooves. And 7th verse 17 leaves the flock. That is when the wolf comes leaves the flock and goes off because he seeks his own game woe to the worthless shepherd.

And the punishment is going to be. A sword will be on his arm. The right arm speaks of power. There will be no power. God's judgment will take away power from his life. And on his right eye there will be no vision.

No revelation. No spiritual power. No revelation. His arm will be totally withered. His right eye will be blind. God smites those who seek their own game with spiritual blindness so that they do not have revelation.

Revelation and spiritual power. These are the two marks of God's continued blessing upon our life that our eye is not blind and our arm is not withered. God's judgment is that the eye becomes blind and the arm becomes withered.

So that's the judgment on the false shepherd. And we must remember the warning we considered in verse 6 that the sheep are also responsible if they follow such a shepherd. We don't have time to look at all those details of those characteristics of a false shepherd.

But those who are seeking to be shepherds in their ministry need to consider the characteristics of a true shepherd as the opposites of the things mentioned in verse 16 and 17. And now we come to chapter 12.

The Burden of the Word and God’s Creative Work

The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel. Notice again the word burden. These prophets did not get up to take a bible study. They had a burden. And that's how true prophets are that even if they speak from the word of God it'll be with a burden.

It'll not be from the head. It'll be from the heart. Burden has got connection with the heart something that weighs a man down a concern. Zechariah had a burden. The word of the Lord was something heavy in his heart.

And he says thus declares the Lord. And there are three descriptions of God given there referring to three of God's great creative works. One is he is the one who stretches out the heavens. Second he's the one who lays the foundations of the earth.

And third he's the one who forms the spirit of man within him. God is the one who created the heavens. God is the one who created the earth. And there's one aspect in which God's creative work goes on even today.

And that is in the birth of a baby in the conception of a baby in a mother's womb. Every conception in a mother's womb is a new creative act of God because God puts a spirit into that little baby inside the womb.

See that's something mentioned there the God who created the heaven created the earth and who puts the spirit inside each man. You see the physical body of that baby is formed by certain physical processes inside the mother's womb.

But the spirit inside that baby is not created by any man. God puts that spirit into that baby. That's why we say abortion is murder. Because it's murdering a being in which God has put a spirit. And that's why as Christians we need to take a stand against that wrong attitude.

See in Isaiah 42 and verse thus says God the Lord. Notice the way he's described the one who's created the heavens the one who spread out the earth the one who gives breath to the people that is physical breath.

And the one who puts spirit into those who walk in it. There's physical breath and there is a spirit in man two different things all together. And that is why we read in Genesis 2 7. I just want you to reassure you this verse is an interesting thing that when it says the Lord God found man of that ground he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

When I'm told that in the Hebrew that word is the breath of lives plural there was a physical life and there was a spiritual life. It was a double breath that went in and man became a living being. And that double breath is what we considered in Isaiah 42 5 the breath to live physically.

And the spirit within man is a trinity formed an image of God who is a trinity spirit soul and body. And that spirit is what God has breathed in another verse that tells us that is in Ecclesiastes 11 verse 5.

Ecclesiastes 11 verse 5. I just mentioned this because it's relevant to the situation we find ourselves in today where there are millions of abortions being done. In these last particularly after the second world war has been a flood of evil spirits that have come into the world leading people astray from the truth.

And particularly in these last 40 years I think there have been more people killed more millions killed in abortion than perhaps actually human beings have died in all the centuries and millenniums before.

It's amazing the number of babies that are killed through various ways. Medical science has become a tool in the hands of Satan to destroy living beings created by God murder. Satan Jesus said was a murderer from the beginning and he's a murderer right until the end.