Matthew Henry Commentary Zechariah 11
Matthew Henry Commentary
Zechariah 11
Matthew Henry Commentary
Zechariah 11
"Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down. A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste." — Zechariah 11:1-3 (ASV)
In figurative expressions, that destruction of Jerusalem, and of the Jewish church and nation, is foretold, which our Lord Jesus, when the time was at hand, prophesied plainly and expressly. How can the fir trees stand if the cedars fall? The falls of the wise and good into sin, and the falls of the rich and great into trouble, are loud alarms to those inferior to them in every way. It is sad for a people when those who should be shepherds to them are like young lions. The pride of Jordan was the thickets on its banks; and when the river overflowed its banks, lions came up from them roaring. Thus, the doom of Jerusalem may alarm other churches.
"Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter; whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not. For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah; but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor`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. So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed 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 them that are left eat every one the flesh of another. And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. And it was broken in that day; and thus the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew that it was the word of Jehovah. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my hire thirty [pieces] of silver. And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of Jehovah. Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel." — Zechariah 11:4-14 (ASV)
Christ came into this world for judgment on the Jewish church and nation, which were wretchedly corrupt and degenerate. Those who do wrong and justify themselves in it have their minds woefully blinded; but God will not hold those guiltless who consider themselves so. How can we go to God to ask for a blessing on unlawful methods of gaining wealth, or to return thanks for success in them? There was a general decay of religion among them, and they did not regard it.
The Good Shepherd would feed His flock, but His attention would chiefly be directed to the poor. As an emblem, the prophet seems to have taken two staves: one named Beauty, denoting the privileges of the Jewish nation in their national covenant; the other he called Bands, denoting the harmony which until then had united them as the flock of God. But they chose to cling to false teachers. The carnal mind and the friendship of the world are enmity toward God; and God hates all the workers of iniquity. It is easy to foresee what this will end in.
The prophet demanded wages, or a reward, and received thirty pieces of silver. By divine direction, he cast it to the potter, as in disdain for the smallness of the sum. This foreshadowed the bargain of Judas to betray Christ, and how that money was ultimately used. Nothing ruins a people so certainly as weakening the brotherhood among them.
This follows the dissolving of the covenant between God and them: when sin abounds, love waxes cold, and civil contests follow. It is no wonder that those fall out among themselves who have provoked God to fall out with them. Willful contempt of Christ is the great cause of people's ruin. And if professing Christians rightly valued Christ, they would not contend about little matters.
"And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat [sheep], and will tear their hoofs in pieces. Woe to the worthless 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 (ASV)
God, having shown the misery of this people in their being justly left by the Good Shepherd, shows their further misery in being abused by foolish shepherds. The description suits the character Christ gives of the scribes and Pharisees. They never do anything to support the weak, or comfort the fainthearted; but seek their own ease while they are cruel to the flock.
The idol shepherd has the garb and appearance of a shepherd, receives submission, and is supported at great expense; but he leaves the flock to perish through neglect or leads them to ruin by his example. This suits many in different churches and nations, but the warning had a terrible fulfillment in the Jewish teachers. And while such deceive others to their ruin, they will themselves receive the deepest condemnation.
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