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Zechariah, Prophet of God's remembrance, part 31

Having broken his staff named Favor, signifying the broken covenant between God and Israel, Zechariah 11:14 then says,

¹⁴ Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

This second prophetic act represented the split between Israel and Judah, which occurred after the death of Solomon. Prophetically speaking, this was the equivalent of an earlier prophet named Ahijah in 1 Kings 11:30, 31,

³⁰ Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. ³¹ He said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes’.”

This took place centuries before Zechariah was born. There are some who claim that enough of the Israelites returned from Assyria at the time that Judah and Benjamin returned from Babylon, so that this constituted the reunification of the tribes. Zechariah’s prophecy disproves that view, for here the prophet affirms the continuation of the broken brotherhood.

Even though there were certainly individuals from the ten tribes who lived in the Judah and who retained their tribal identities, individuals do not constitute a tribe. The tribe as an entity resides in the prince of the tribe or the king of the nation. While we know that the royal line of David returned—specifically, Zerubbabel (Matthew 1:12)— with the remnant to Jerusalem, there is no evidence that any princes of the other tribes of Israel returned. Neither did any known descendant of the last king of Israel return from Assyria.

The Jewish rabbis and historians testify to this as well, and Josephus himself, the Jewish historian, wrote in 95 A.D.,

“Wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now; and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers” (Antiquities of the Jews, XI, v, 2).

There were only “two tribes… subject to the Romans.” The other ten tribes were “beyond Euphrates.” One cannot truly understand Kingdom prophecy without distinguishing between Judah and Israel. One must also know their distinct callings. Judah’s calling was to provide the kings, culminating in the Messiah. Israel’s calling, led by Joseph, the birthright holder (1 Chronicles 5:2), was to bring forth the sons of God.

The Foolish Shepherd

Zechariah 11: 15, 16 says,

¹⁵ The Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. ¹⁶ For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.”

Was this “foolish shepherd” to come to Judah or Israel? No doubt in a broad sense there were such foolish leaders in both nations. The prophet is unclear, but it seems to point toward Judah which constituted his immediate audience. There is no single leader who stands out as a fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. In fact, if we define “foolish” in terms of worldly wisdom, as Paul does in 1 Corinthians 1 and 2, there are very few truly wise shepherds. Most depend on soulish wisdom. 1 Corinthians 2:7, 8,

⁷ but we speak of God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory, ⁸ the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

So it seems probable that the “worthless shepherd” in Zechariah’s prophecy does not point to a single leader, civil or religious. Each generation has produced its own foolishness as God would define it. In Jesus’ day, it was Caiaphas, the high priest who, if he had understood the wisdom of God, “would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

Ezekiel 34:3, 4 describes foolish shepherds in greater detail:

³ You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. ⁴ Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken, you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost, but with force and with severity you have dominated them.

This was a reference to the House of Israel, who had been exiled to Assyria as “lost sheep.” These shepherds used the flock to feed and clothe themselves, but they failed to care for the sheep. Zechariah 11:16 affirms this. Such foolish shepherds are found in every generation, having selfish motives and giving minimal nourishment to the sheep themselves.

We have all witnessed such foolishness even in our day.

Worthless Shepherds and Spiritual Warfare

Zechariah 11:17 concludes,

¹⁷ 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.

The right eye was used by soldiers to peer over their shields in battle. So when an army commanded a city to surrender, the commander often required that the right eye of each soldier defending the city would be gouged, making them unfit for military service. We see this, for example, in 1 Samuel 11:2, “I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you.”

Zechariah’s prophecy, when viewed through New Covenant eyes, suggests that God Himself will blind the “worthless shepherd,” making him unfit for spiritual warfare. Likewise, “his arm will be totally withered,” making it impossible for him to wield “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).

When Jesus told Peter to “tend my sheep” (John 21:17), it was an instruction to be a wise shepherd in contrast to the foolish shepherds described in Ezekiel 34 and Zechariah 11. They were to feed the sheep with the word of God, they were to heal the sick, bind up the broken, and seek for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The purpose of leadership was not to become wealthy on the donations of the poor, but to strengthen and care for the people themselves.

Those who fail to do this are not qualified to engage in spiritual warfare. I have seen many examples in my past experience where leaders who were ignorant of the laws of spiritual warfare (in Deuteronomy 20) tried to lead people in spiritual warfare while inadvertently violating the law. I noted how this resulted in needless casualties of war.

The right eye signifies a mercy perspective, while the left eye signifies judgment. Most often, Christians engaging in spiritual warfare today, fail to see the full importance of mercy and forgiveness. Often they condemn and cut down those they consider to be “wicked,” when, in fact, they are fruit-bearing trees—or perhaps future fruit-bearing trees (Deuteronomy 20:20).

Zechariah’s warning should be taken seriously by all who engage in spiritual warfare.