Zechariah 11:1

Zechariah 11:1

The Bible says in Zechariah 11:1-5, “Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down. There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled. Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.” The first word to notice in Zechariah 11:1 is the word “fire.” Fire devours and destroys, and therefore fire is often symbolic of a great and terrible loss. It says in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” One of the purposes of life is to create, to construct, to build up, and to improve. It can be a sad day when a time of destruction comes. We see something built up over time, and we falsely think that it will last forever. It will not. Everything in this life is temporary. Eventually what you have will run down or it will burn down. One of the reasons for a fiery destruction is given here in Zechariah chapter 11: God’s judgment. God is judge of the whole earth. He judges those who believe and He judges those who do not believe. That is why Jesus is described primarily as a Judge in Revelation chapter one. It says about Jesus in Revelation 1:12-15, “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.”

Destruction can cause great sorrow among human beings. Sometimes sorrow can cause people to turn to the Lord. Maybe that is one of the reasons that God brings the destruction. The words “howl” and “howling” are used three times in Zechariah 11:2-3. It says in verse 2, “Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.” A similar type of sorrow is expressed in Second Samuel 1:24-27, “Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou was slain in thine high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!” When the greatest city on earth gets destroyed by fire, we are told in Revelation 18:15-19, “The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.” It is a sad thing when you must come to the realization that for someone it is over. They missed their potential, they lost their chance, and now they are gone. Let it be a warning to the wise. The same thing will happen to each of us unless we are on our guard. There is a potential for failure. There is a possibility to fall. There is a potential to lose. Paul wrote in First Corinthians 9:27, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” A warning is given in First Corinthians 10:12, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”

Notice that it says in Zechariah 11:4, “Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter.” What does God want for His flock? He wants His flock to be fed. We are fed the Word of God. The Word of God will bless us. The Word of God will enlighten us. The Word of God will strengthen us. The Word of God will keep us out of false doctrine. The Word of God will draw us closer to Jesus. The Word of God will remind us how much God loves us and remind us of all the wonderful promises of God. If a flock is not fed the Word of God, the flock will probably become the same kind of flock that is described here in Zechariah 11:4, “the flock of the slaughter.” It is not surprising that the wicked one spends so much time trying to attack and render ineffective the teaching of the Word of God.

These corrupt shepherds who did not feed the flock are described in Zechariah 11:5. It says, “Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.” The failing shepherds are called “possessors.” Perhaps this word is used to show that the false shepherds had gained too much control over the flock. Pastors are reminded in First Peter 5:3, “Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” From many spiritual standpoints a pastor is the same as all other believers: all have sinned, all are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, all have the same access to the Father, all are included in the priesthood of the believer, and all are given one or more spiritual gifts with which to serve Jesus in this world. Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep. We are told very clearly that Jesus hates anyone who would dominate or control or manipulate God’s people. Jesus said in Revelation 2:6, “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.” And Jesus also said in Revelation 2:15, “So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.” The word “Nicolaitane” means “to rule over the people.” Whenever clergy attempts to control or dominate God’s people, they are being Nicolaitanes. This problem of God’s people being controlled and manipulated was seen in the Old Testament as recorded by Zechariah. And then the control of God’s people was seen to exist in the first century by those whom Jesus referred to as Nicolaitanes. Unfortunately the “possessors” (the false shepherds) may be in place in these last days more than they ever were.

Zechariah 11:5 gives several major errors demonstrated by bad shepherds in addition to the problem of being “possessors” of the flock. It says, “Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.” In stead of helping the flock, they actually destroy the flock: they “slay” the sheep. The bad shepherds “hold themselves not guilty.” In other words they do not see themselves as being sinners. This is a clergy with a holier-than-thou attitude. This is a clergy that has established a class for themselves as if they are better than other Christians. This is a clergy that likes to imply that they are closer to God than other Christians can be. Of course, the truth is that a pastor is no different in all of these points than any other Christian. He is still a sinner. He fails. He can be close to God by faith in Jesus, but no closer than any other believer who walks in fellowship with the Savior. A Christian who walks close to Jesus is always aware of his or her own unworthiness and sinfulness. That is what the Apostle John was talking about in First John 1:8-10, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

Another problem with bad shepherds is the wrong emphasis on money. Notice the words “sell” and “rich” in the middle of Zechariah 11:5 that says, “and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich.” These bad shepherds falsely think that having money is an indication of God’s blessing. It is not. One of the requirements for being a pastor is given in Titus 1:7 as, “not given to filthy lucre,” as the King James translates it. The phrase means literally, “not greedy for gain,” or “not greedy for money.” A pastor needs to always view people from this standpoint: “what can I do for them spiritually,” and “what can I teach them from God’s Word that will be a blessing to them?” Part of the problem in today’s world comes from church organizations being based too much on financial need. One of the reasons for this is that church organizations start off in the wrong direction financially speaking, and once started cannot change course. They become organized around a great need for money, and thus their organization is always seeking money to meet their needs. Did you know that you can serve God without money being involved? Start small, and only go in a direction where the needs are met. Do not finance your dreams with debt. Isn’t God quite capable of giving you money before you take on debt and before you put everyone in the church under such pressure? The gospel is free. Truth is free. Salvation is free. Jesus already paid for these things with His blood. It is a terrible thing when people visit church services and they come away with the distinct impression that one of the pastor’s biggest priorities was trying to get money.

Of course, it is perfectly scriptural for a church congregation to pay the salary of a pastor. It says in First Timothy 5:17-18, “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.” But the issue of money is a sensitive issue, and a church congregation must be very careful in the direction that they go in order to not be burdened with financial obligations, and thus harming the message of the gospel. Consider Paul’s attitude when he was in the city of Corinth. Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 11:9, “And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.” The Bible says about Paul in Acts 18:3, “And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.” Paul was a preacher, but he also had a marketable skill that he relied on when necessary or appropriate.

People who think that being rich is a blessing from God are way off track. The opposite may be closer to the truth, at least in some cases. God has promised to supply our needs, not our wants. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” If God does give you more than you need, He does it for one main reason: for you to use it to serve Him. Extra money means extra responsibility and accountability. At the judgment the question will be: how did you use the resources that God placed into you hands. That is why rich men are given such a stern warning in James 5:1-7, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.”

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