Chapter eleven <*><*><*><*><*><*>
This chapter is looking at Israel's future between Zecharyah's time and the time of restoration.
It shows to Zecharyah and his audience what we already have witnessed in Israel's history. It confirms to us that Yahuweh's words are true and like these prophecies are fulfilled, so shall the associated ones be fulfilled.
To this end, Zecharyah has to imagine himself to be, or put himself in the place of, Yahuweh as the shepherd of Israel.
Some people say it is a reference to the Messiah. They are right in so far as that indeed Yahuweh is the Moshiya, the deliverer of Israel. Those people are wrong in portraying the Messiah as a separate identity from Yahuweh.
First we get the prediction that the land of Israel shall be devastated.
Verse 1-3.
Open Lebanon your door then shall consume fire at your cedar.
Wail noble tree because fallen cedar, that which majestic cast down. You wail great trees of Bashan because come down Forrest de vintage (one).
Call distress shepherds because to be devastated their magnificence. Call roar like lions because devastated pride (of) the Yarden.
When we read some of the Standard English translations, one gets the impression that it already had happened at the time of writing. However, the Hebrew grammar indicates that these are prolonged actions shortly to become reality.
Lebanon and Bashan are on the North side of Israel.
Through the North would come the devastation and indeed we have witnessed that the once mighty forests were destroyed after the Romans came from the North.
The pride of the Yarden (Jordan) was the fertility of Israel.
We also witnessed that the land Israel was barren after the Roman conquest, until the return of the Zionists and that it still not has regained its former glory.
Verse 4.
So says Yahuweh my Elohiem: "Shepherd the flock (destined for) the slaughter"
Zecharyah is told by Yahuweh to put himself in His place as a shepherd of the nation to see and feel what is going to happen to them.
The flock, which is the nation Israel, is going to be slaughtered.
Verse 5.
That which acquires them to slay them and not be punished, and sellers of them say: " blessed Yahuweh (He) also to make (us) rich and their shepherds not have compassion on them!"
The Romans who acquired them, to make them a part of the Roman Empire, did slay them and were at that time not punished.
The survivors were sold out by the world at large and indeed have said that Yahuweh had given them to the world to try to make a profit from them. The world said that Yahuweh did not care for Israel anymore.
Verse 6.
Since not compassion yet on inhabitants of the land declares Yahuweh also watch me to cause to encounter (trouble) the man each by hand another and by hand of his king and crush fine the country and not to deliver from their hand.
The translation that is often used which says: "for I shall have no longer pity (compassion)"is against the context of Yahuweh's promises in this book and indeed the perspective of Yahuweh in the Tanakh.
The Hebrew says: "Since not compassion yet." This is totally in agreement with the promises of a later compassion and restoration.
Until the compassion of Yahuweh returns to them, He lets others cause troubles and crush the country, without delivering them from the other people and their kings.
This is exactly as we have witnessed it, through their history.
Verse 7.
Then (I) shepherd the flock the slaughter, therefore afflicted the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs to the one I gave the name pleasantness and to the other I gave the name bindings and (I) shepherd the flock.
Here Zecharyah takes up the imaginary function of shepherd in Yahuweh's place to see through the eyes of Yahuweh as Yahuweh had ordered Zecharyah to do.
De flock was afflicted because they were destined for slaughter.
Shepherds used two kinds of staffs, One to defend themselves and the flock against wild beasts and the other one to herd the flock, which is keeping them together.
The best conserved images of this are the sculptures and paintings of the Egyptian Pharaohs, pictured as the shepherd of the nation and holding the two staffs crossed in front of them.
Verse 8.
Then wipe out three of the shepherds in month one, also inpatient my soul because of them and even their souls to loathe because of me.
People have come up with various explanations for the three shepherds in one month, but not one of them could be considered dogmatic. However, when looking at it in the context of the dealings of Yahuweh, as the Moshiya, there could be an explanation.
When we take a month to be a month of years then it would be 30years. After the Moshiya left this Earth it took about thirty years for the first revolt against the Romans.
After this, they were without civic leaders, the Sanhedrin, the priests and the prophets, the three shepherds of Israel.
Don't take this as a doctrine but as a plausible explanation.
Verse 9.
Then said not shepherd you (any longer), to die that die and to be cut off that be cut off and the remnant to destroy each flesh another.
This too we witnessed, Yahuweh did stop acting like a shepherd over Israel. Many died; many were cut off that is, escaped from the land.
And how truly the last line was literally fulfilled. The remnant of Israel took a last stand on the fortress Masada and they killed one another to prevent themselves from being captured by the Roman. Verse 10.
Then took my staff pleasantness and chopped in two it, to break my covenant that I made with all the people.
Yahuweh broke the staff used for protection of the flock and with this he is demonstrating that, He has broken the protection that was laid down in the Old Covenant.
And indeed we see that none of the protections set out in the covenant are protecting Israel any longer. They have to wait for the New Covenant that shall come in force after the day of Yahuweh when He returns as the Moshiya (deliverer) and the restoration of Israel as a theocracy. That Yahuweh made a new covenant with the Church(es) is something that is nowhere recorded in the Scriptures and is only wishful thinking to justify certain doctrines.
Verse 11.
And to be broken in the day the him also to know thus afflicted of the flock, the ones watching me, because him (it) the word of Yahuweh.
There are those of the flock who are afflicted by all this, but are keeping their eyes on Yahuweh.
They also, shall know that Yahuweh's protection of the flock has lifted because it was according to the word of Yahuweh. They understood that Yahuweh had said that this was going to happen when the nation rejected Him.
We could regard the Nazarenes in this, the people who accepted Yahuweh in the flesh as the Moshiya Yeshua and who continued to observe Yahuweh's Torah.
They were made aware that Yahuweh not longer would protect Israel but they were assured of Yahuweh's personal protection by the promises of the Moshiya Yeshua.
Verse 12.
Then said to them if good in your eyes to give (me) my wages and if not leave off. Then they weighed out my wages thirty (pieces of) silver.
They were not obliged to pay, but they decided to show their contempt by giving him the price that was paid for a mutilated slave.
Verse 13.
Then said Yahuweh to me: "Throw it upon the fashioner, magnificent (is) the value (in) which I be highly valued by them. Then took thirty the silver (pieces) and threw them in Beyt Yahuweh upon the fashioner"
Remember this is figuratively speaking and it is not relating this after the facts, but before this actually happened in reality. We know from history that this was the price paid for the betrayal of the Moshiya and that it was thrown back into Beyt Yahuweh (the Temple) and used to buy a fashioner's (Potter) field, Matthew 27:3-10.
Yahuweh tells Zecharyah and us that He was valued as the lowest form of a useful human being, a damaged slave.
The price was paid for a field that was no longer useful because the potter had used up all the clay and now it was only useful to burry the dead.
Verse 14.
Then chopped in two my staff the second one, the bindings, to break the brotherhood between Yehudah and between Yisrael.
The staff used to keep the flock together was broken.
The brotherhood between Yehudah the two tribes and Israel the ten tribes was already broken more then four hundred years before this was recorded.
Therefore this suggests that a total breaking up is meant.
The breaking op of Yehudah as well as Israel in individual groups and this is indeed what has happened after the destruction of the Temple.
Verse 15.
Then said Yahuweh to me: "Again take to you implements of shepherd foolish!"
After the normal implements of a good shepherd were broken, inadequate implements were to be taken such as a foolish shepherd would use.
Since the one figuratively future episode is closed another figuratively episode is envisioned.
I believe this is the episode after the return of Israel in the country in the year 5708 (1948). This is the time that a new shepherd would be needed.
There was no shepherd between the destruction of the temple and the return to the land after the Second World War.
Verse 16.
Because watch Me raising up shepherd in the land, (which to) those to be destroyed (do) not to pay attention to, the shaken not seek to secure and the broken not to heal, the one taking stand not to sustain and flesh the fat to devour and their hoofs to tear off.
Let us look at the leaders of the nation Israel from 5708 (1948CE) onwards.- They have denigrated more and more over the years.
- They have made Israel into a global village instead of Yahuweh's country.
- The individual Israeli in trouble has not been their concern.
- Out of fear for retaliation they have not tried to secure those, shaken by attacks from the outside.
- The ones trying to take a stand against the enemy are not supported for fear of the world's condemnation of their actions.
- The leadership has well looked after themselves and are far from starving, like most governments.
They tear their hoofs off. In other words they do not use the arguments of Yahuweh's word but have no other means of justifying their rights, they have no leg to stand on.
Verse 17.
Alas shepherd the good for nothing to leave the flock, sword on his arm and on his eye the right. His arm completely withered and eye his right completely goes dim.
This leadership shall fail. When your opponent in the battle put his sword on your arm, he effectively disables you from using your arms to fight. This we see clearly to day in the year 35761.
Israel has a mighty army but is prevented from using it by the world at large, to protect itself and retaliate.
The right arm used to wield the sword becomes useless and his right eye used to aim the arrow becomes unusable. In order words they will be no longer able to defend themselves or attack.
We have seen in this chapter how things that became reality were foretold by vision and figurative experience.
This is for us a sure sign that not only the last verse of this chapter but also the events of the following chapters are literally going to happen. When verse 17 is going to be reality, than it is the time when Yahuweh is going to take over, as we will see in the coming chapters.
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