Word of Salvation – June 2018

 

Hope for the Vulnerable – by Rev. David Waldron

Text: Zechariah 11

Scriptures: Zechariah 11

Series:  Zechariah. Sermon 14 of 19

Theme:  The vulnerability of sheep without a shepherd

FCF:  We naturally detest Christ (we all like sheep have gone astray)

Proposition:   Do not follow false shepherds, follow Christ

 

Introduction

As human beings living in a fallen world we are all vulnerable. We may be attacked and sustain injury to body and/or soul. Our bodies, physically and mentally, are open to the ravages of disease/sickness in a groaning creation. Spiritually we are vulnerable to attacks by Satan, the Devil. A real being with real, but limited power. He is the leader, the commander, of the “powers of this dark world and … the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12b). If you do not feel vulnerable physically and spiritually this morning, then your feelings are not sending you accurate signals! If you and I do understand the need for our lives to be protected, then we will find hope in our text today.

However, Zechariah 11 is a difficult passage to interpret. It contains a graphic allegory of the Lord’s dealing with his flock. This is one of the darkest passages in the whole body of Israel’s prophetic literature – pointing forward to future events. This is a sombre chapter in the midst of much clear encouragement. Yet if we look closely we see the coming of Christ both in humiliation as the rejected Good Shepherd and in triumph as he conquers our ultimate enemy and promises to bring complete justice.

We need firstly to know that leaders in the Ancient Near East were given the title of Shepherd because of their obligation to care for the needs of their people and to protect them from outside threats (Num 27:17; 2 Sam 5:2; Ps 78:70-72). For example, the Lord said to King David ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler‘ (2 Sam 5:2).

So when you see the word ‘shepherd’ in our passage, read ‘leader’ or ‘ruler. Our three points:

1. The wailing shepherds
2. The detested shepherd
3. The foolish shepherd

Could therefore equally well be: The wailing rulers, the detested ruler, the foolish ruler

1. The wailing shepherds (1-3)

We are most familiar with quiet, somewhat sombre funerals. In many cultures, however, grief is expressed by wailing. “Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead” (Exo 12:30). This was not discreet grief, not quiet sadness, but audible grief heard across the land.

As Jesus came to the house of Jairus where his daughter lay dead. He “saw the flute players and the noisy crowd” (Matt 9:23b). Some of these would have been professional mourners who loudly helped the people express their grief. In today’s parlance they might have said ‘better out than in’!

Look at the first 3 verses of our text and you’ll see there is a great outpouring of loudly expressed grief. The pine tree wails because the cedar has fallen (v2). The oaks of Bashan wail because the dense forest has been cut down (v2). The shepherds wail because their rich pastures are destroyed (v3). What is going on here? Why so much sadness? What does it all mean?

The image is of mighty trees, cedars and oaks which once stood tall and plentiful coming crashing to the ground. These tall trees are symbols of the glory that the leaders once had, but which has now been dramatically lost. The great cedars of Lebanon lie broken, charred and smoking on the ground. The vast forests are no more. The land is laid waste.

This is a chilling image of destruction set in the midst of a prophetic book of great encouragement. Bible scholars are not sure whether these first 3 poetic verses fit with what precedes (God’s judgement against the nations) or with what follows – His judgement against Israel for rejecting his shepherding of His people. That is to say, whether the leaders here are the rulers of the nations, or of Israel.

Whoever they are, these shepherds are grieving. They are wailing because the agricultural resources they once controlled, have been destroyed. Notice that they are not weeping because the people they have been caring for and protecting are in trouble or lost. They are mourning because they themselves have been brought down. This is the grief of self-pity. They have lost their status, their wealth, their land. They are examples of the proverb: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov 16:18)

These shepherds are unfaithful leaders who fit the description of the Lord through his prophet Ezekiel (34:2b-4): Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.

What happens to a flock of sheep when they are not taken care of? When they are not led to good pasture and protected from danger? When they are left to fend for themselves in the wild? Ezekiel provides the answer (34:5): “So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals”. When the vulnerable are left unprotected, they are in trouble!

Listen! There is another loud noise here. Above the sound of crashing trees and wailing shepherds, the loins roar (v3). Did you know that a lion’s roar is one of the loudest noises any animal on this earth can make?  It is so loud that it can be heard over 8kms away.  If you are a sheep without a shepherd guarding your life, the lions roar is a terrifying sound. The lions in v3 are roaring because they know that the flock is unprotected. A meal of choice sheep-meat is on the way for these predators.

But these are no woolly, four-legged animals. The sheep represent people. If these shepherds are the rulers in Israel, then the sheep are God’s covenant people who belong to the Lord. So the false shepherds, the proud, selfish rulers are being brought down. God’s perfect judgement has come. To which events does this prophesy point us?

We know that Christ echoed the words of the OT prophets against the self-serving religious leaders in 1^st century Israel: “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?” (Matt 23:33) Within a few decades Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. The false shepherds of Israel who had been judged by Christ were bought down.

There is a leader in the world today – a false ‘shepherd’. He is the “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2) – Satan, the father of lies. He is a dangerous ‘shepherd’, one who will lead with deceit and guile, seeking to entice people like you and me into sin by temptation. In light of this hear this warning from the Bible: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8)

Beloved Brothers and Sisters, do you not long for the day when our enemy, Satan, will be destroyed? When He will be laid low never to tempt you again? Do you not hope for a time when you will no longer be vulnerable to the attacks and enticements of Satan?

Here is hope in our text this morning: for this prophecy points forward to his destruction: Revelation 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown.

And now? Where is hope for you and me in our spiritual vulnerability? The victory has already been won over Satan. The Lion of Judah roars: “They are mind. I will protect them!”.

Are you safely protected by Jesus, the Good Shepherd, today? Or are you yet vulnerable? Do not falsely put your hope in yourself, or anyone or anything apart from Jesus Christ. Come to Jesus in repentance and faith and he will be your refuge and your strength. Then no one nor anything shall be able to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39).

Before we move to our 2^nd point, there is a warning here for office bearers – their task is one of great responsibility. Elders are called to “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers– not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2-3)

“Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain” (1 Timothy 3:8)

Pray that God would continue to raise up godly men in this church to shepherd his flock., that we may hear the sounds not of wailing, but of rejoicing in the house of the Lord.

2. The Detested Shepherd (4-14)

‘Role play’ is changing one’s behaviour to portray a role. A little like acting, but not for entertainment. For example, the prophet Hosea was called to “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods” (Hosea 3:1). Ezekiel was commanded to symbolize the siege of Jerusalem, lying on his side for an extended time and living on meagre rations (Ezekiel 4).

Here the prophet Zechariah is likewise called to play the role of a shepherd, perhaps not to actually act it out, but certainly to be part of an allegory; an extended metaphor. The picture here is a distressing one, prophesying dark days of destruction and despair. Here is a flock of sheep ‘marked for slaughter’. They are doomed. They are being raised for meat production before being taken to the abattoir. The problem here is not one of animal rights but of human injustice.

The flock here are certainly God’s own covenant people. They belong to him, but they are being taken to slaughter by their own shepherds – the leaders whose task is to protect these precious sheep, not to exploit them. They will be handed over to the foreign forces and their land will be oppressed. Literally beaten down/crushed/pulverized. There will be no rescue. The situation of these sheep is utterly hopeless.

Don’t you find it hard to square this prophecy with the optimism and encouragements of the previous chapters? Did God not say that he would have compassion on his people and restore them (10:6)? Has God not just foretold of his judgement on the unfaithful shepherds who will wail in the grief of being brought down in their pride? Why does God not intervene to supply the protection his people need?

The sad reason is that they have detested/loathed their divine leader, their covenant Lord. They have rejected their Divine Shepherd, their Almighty Protector; so he has abandoned them in their unfaithfulness. This is pictured in the symbolism of the two staffs which Zechariah takes up: one is called ‘Favour’ and the other “Union’.

The word ‘favour’ here conveys the idea of being pleasant or delightful (cf. Gen 49:15). The breaking of this staff represents the removal of God’s good protection from His people.  God had made a unilateral ‘covenant’, a divine decree to the nations surrounding Israel.

He had worked through his chosen agent Cyrus, King of Persia (Isa 45:1), to enable the exiles to return. He had responded favourably to their prayers and fasting and had protected them as they travelled back to rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra 8:21-23).  Now they were on their own. They were vulnerable – like sheep being circled by prowling predators.

Whilst they had received much comfort and encouragement through the Lord’s prophet Zechariah to rebuild the temple, this prophecy warns of a future time when they will reject their Lord’s leadership. They will spurn his pleasant and delightful favour.  His grace will then be removed from them.

The first part of verse 8 “In one month I got rid of the three shepherds” begs the question: who are the three shepherds? Well the answer is: nobody is entirely sure! In fact, these words have been described as being ‘probably the most enigmatic in the whole OT’ by commentator Joyce Baldwin. The shepherd leaders have been identified in more than 40 different ways including known leaders of Israel, Pharisees, Sadducees or the Essenes of the Roman period.

However, two explanations do stand out. The number three represents completeness. The phrase would then mean that the Lord removes all the false leaders.  The three offices of prophet, priest and king could be represented pointing forward to the promised removal of all unfaithful prophets, unfaithful priest and unfaithful kings. All unworthy leaders. All false shepherds.

Zechariah says, as he enacts the role of the Divine Shepherd, ‘The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”’ (Zech 11:8b-9)

Judgement came on Jerusalem about 40 years after the death of Christ. These prophetic words in Zechariah were fulfilled. In AD70, the Roman General Titus surrounded the city. Food supplies were cut off and the people resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. Jewish historian Josephus (works p564) records “when those that were most dear were perishing under their hands, they were not ashamed to take from them the very last drops that might preserve their lives”. On July 17, AD70, daily sacrifices in the temple ceased for lack of men to offer them up. The temple was burned. Thousands were crucified. Titus set up the victorious Roman standards in the temple court.

 Back in our text, can you see what happens to Zechariah’s second staff called ‘Union’? It is also broken, symbolizing that the close fellowship of the northern and southern tribes of Israel will be broken.

After the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD70, the Jewish people were widely scattered throughout the known world.  Zechariah’s prophecy was fulfilled. As Zechariah symbolically acts out the role of the detested shepherd who is rejected by the flock, he invites them to pay him for his services if they no longer wish him to continue his shepherding. So the people reimburse him for his time – the paltry sum of 30 pieces of silver. This was the price of a servant gored by an ox (Ex 21:32). The message is “you are easy to replace”. Shepherds are not worth much! The point here is that the shepherd is neither honoured nor appreciated. Zechariah ironically calls it a “handsome price”.

The 30 pieces of silver which were thrown into the house of the Lord would likely have been mysterious to those who first heard these words, but we know more! Don’t we! We rightly think of Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord Jesus for the same sum; blood money given to him by the chief priest (Matt 26:15). Similarly, an insultingly small amount for the life of the truly Good Shepherd.

After betraying Jesus, Judas is seized with remorse, returning the silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. When they refuse to accept it, he throws the coins into the temple (Matt 27:5) before hanging himself. The chief priests will not receive blood money into the temple treasury, so they buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners instead. Gospel writer Matthew explains that this fulfils the prophecy of Jeremiah (19:1-13 and 32:6-9) about the Potters field, which is combined with the prophecy of Zechariah here about the 30 pieces of silver.

The message here is that Zechariah is foreshadowing the rejection of Christ, the Good Shepherd. We’ll come back to this after we’ve seen the foolish shepherd…our 3^rd point.

3. The Foolish Shepherd (15-17)

Again, the prophet Zechariah is called to play a role. This time not of a detested shepherd, but a foolish one. This leader, portrayed by Zechariah, is a fool because he does not care for the people. Like a careless shepherd he does not care for lost sheep, he does not seek to guard the young, he does not heal the injured, nor does he feed the healthy of the flock. Not only is he careless, but he is also brutal. Instead of protecting the sheep, he violently eats their flesh – tearing off their hoofs!

Israel had suffered under such ‘foolish’ shepherds in the past. The prophet Ezekiel speaks the Word of the Lord against them saying: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally” (Eze 34:2b-4)

Who are these careless and brutal leaders? Certainly the Romans were known for their brutality. Crucifixion was not merely a method of ending someone’s life, it was a way of prolonging the agony of dying. So much so that no Roman citizen could be executed by crucifixion, no matter how terrible their crime.

This prophecy also points forward to the antichrists (1 John 2:18); false teachers/leaders who are enemies of God who once were part of the church. Such antichrists deny the incarnation (1 John 4:3) and Christ’s deity (1 John 2:2). The beast in Rev 13 is viewed by some as an antichrist figure.  Zechariah prophesies that the sword will strike his arm and right eye. Judgement will come upon his superhuman strength and insight. The attributes in which he takes most pride. The arm is the strength which should have protected the sheep. The eye should have looked for the lost.

When Christ returns he will completely fulfil this prophesy. ^“Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).

Here is hope for the vulnerable. Christ has conquered our greatest enemy. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt 10:28)

Here is hope for the vulnerable. Christ does not desert his sheep, even though by nature they detest him. He cares for them. Matthew 9:36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd”

If you belong to Jesus, He will never leave you! You are safe!  “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”. (Matt 28:20) “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:27-29)

Do you understand your own vulnerability today? Do we understand our own need of the Good Shepherd’s continuing protection and care?

Like the returned exiles we are being blessed as a church.  Will these blessings themselves protect and secure us as a church?

Not in and of themselves. Only Jesus the Good Shepherd can provide for our vulnerability as a church.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2-3)

AMEN