Reasoning Through the Bible
Taking a cue from Paul, Reasoning Through the Bible is an expository style walk through the Scriptures that tells you what the Bible says. Reviewing both Old and New Testament books, as well as topical subjects, the hosts methodically show how Scripture is one cohesive story. Critical Thinking with a little bit of theology and apologetics and you have what this podcast is about. Just like Paul on Mars Hill, Christianity today must address woke, deconstruction, and progressive Christianity, all topics that are addressed if we go purposefully through the Bible. Join Glenn and Steve weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as they reason with you through the Bible.
Reasoning Through the Bible
S20 || Divine Justice and Spiritual Leadership || Zechariah 11:1-6 || Session 20 || Verse by Verse Bible Study
Can wealth and power shield us from divine judgment? Through the prophetic messages of Zechariah 11, we explore the powerful imagery of Lebanon's once-majestic cedar forests, a stark reminder that true security lies not in material possessions or national pride, but in a steadfast relationship with God. As we unravel the fate of leaders likened to shepherds and young lions, destined for downfall, we reflect on the enduring New Testament teaching that our true treasure is spiritual. Alongside us on this journey, we question the role of leadership in guiding or misguiding followers, drawing parallels to our own times. Join us for a thought-provoking exploration that promises to deepen your understanding of divine justice and spiritual leadership.
Hello and welcome to Reasoning Through the Bible. My name's Glenn. I'm here with Steve. We do verse-by-verse Bible study through the Word of God. If you have your copy of your Bible, open it to the book of Zechariah, chapter 11. There we're going to read. Today we're in the midst of a very prophetic book and a very prophetic section of a very prophetic book. Here we're going to see some teachings about God's message to the Jewish people, about what's going to happen to them in the future. We're in some of the passages here that Bible teachers over the centuries have had some of the most difficulty with. But we think if we just go through it slowly and carefully, then we'll be able to get out the critical truths that God has for us and it will ultimately be rather clear once we look at the details. That's in it. Here let's go ahead and start reading. Steve, if you could read the first three verses of Zechariah, chapter 11.
Speaker 2:Open your doors O Lebanon that a fire may feed on your cedars Wail O Cyprus.
Speaker 1:Of course, this is very depressing, especially if you're from Lebanon. What he's saying here is a message to the people of Lebanon. Of course, lebanon was known for its forests. They had these great cedar forests, and cedar was valuable in those days for building, simply because it was very rot-resistant and was easy to work and would last a long time. Cedar buildings were treasured and valued for their longevity and it was a great building material. So Lebanon had these great forests. Going all the way back to King David, he had obtained cedar wood, cedar lumber from Lebanon to build the temple. That's one of the things that Lebanon was known for. In verse 2 here, god is saying to Lebanon open your gates and let the fire burn your forest down. Now, steve, if you were from Lebanon, how do you think that would react? I mean, what sort of a message is this and why would God be saying this?
Speaker 2:It is a message of doom and destruction. I think God is just starting here in chapter 11, beginning to give a description of the conditions and the situation that's going to happen. As he unfolds this into the rest of chapter 11, when he starts talking about the good shepherd and the bad shepherd, this is kind of setting the stage of the way it's going to turn out it also mentions Bashan or Bashan.
Speaker 1:That was an area to the north of Israel. Lebanon was also viewed as being north of Israel. God is speaking judgment against these countries to the north of Israel, saying that they're going to be judged and left desolate. The verse here verse 2, talks about these impenetrable forests. Have come down, steve.
Speaker 1:I think here this would have been a source of natural resources, would have been a lot of value to Lebanon. They were known for their forest and their lumber. It would have brought a lot of money to the country.
Speaker 1:I think here the message that we can take away with this would be a similar one to the one Lebanon received, which is what should we really take our value from? Where should we keep our treasure? Should it be in our resources and our abilities? Okay, we live in a wealthy country, so we're always going to have these resources. A wealthy country, so we're always going to have these resources, or what? What I see here is God saying don't be so proud because of what you've done. I'm going to take away your place. I'm going to take away your sense of national pride, even your wealth. If the forests come down, then the people are going to be left poor. God is judging these people. Are we ever in a situation today where we take so much pride in our national identities, whatever country we might be from, that we lose sight of the fact that God's really the one in charge here and we should be putting our treasure?
Speaker 2:in him.
Speaker 2:And that's the key, glenn, of what you just mentioned is that this is a description of judgment coming on the area.
Speaker 2:They wouldn't be in this situation if they stay close to God and if they acknowledge and worship God and follow Him. This is the background or the reason why this judgment is coming on and, as I mentioned before, we're going to find out more specific things that happen as we go through chapter 11 here. But the question that you ask is should we rest on our things that we have done and take pride in what we had done? Yes, we can rest on the things that we have done, as long as we keep it in perspective that God is the one who has maybe helped us to do it. Give God the glory, give him the acknowledgement, be a worshiper of the one true God, and then you have assurance that you're not going to have this type of a judgment that's going to come on you. They've done something of rejecting God, and something really bad, if I can use that word, in order to bring this type of judgment on them.
Speaker 1:I'm reminded of over in the New Testament, when our Lord was approached by the rich young ruler and Jesus put his finger on exactly where that man had put his treasure, which was in his money. Jesus gave a command that said where your treasure is, there will your heart be. Also, we should not put our heart in earthly treasures, where moth and rust destroy and thieves come in and steal, but we should put our hearts in heavenly treasures and spiritual matters, because that's where the true treasure is. In verse 3 here it also speaks of shepherds. Now shepherds were leaders. That's the analogy. Here the leaders are going to be brought down as well. He's speaking against these northern countries your resources are going to go away and your leaders are going to be brought down. Then it talks about these young lions. These young lions are younger, stronger leaders who are going to overthrow the forests of Jordan. So these proud countries that had all this wealth in these forests are going to be brought down. Next we'll start in verse 4, it says this Thus says the Lord, my God pasture the flock doomed for slaughter.
Speaker 1:Those who buy them, slay them and go unpunished. Each of those who will sell them says Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich and their own shepherds have no pity on them. For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land, declares the Lord. But behold, I will cause the men to fall each into another's power and into the power of his king. They will strike the land and I will not deliver them from their power.
Speaker 1:We have here again a section that is talking about judgment, and the verses we just read are continuing that judgment. If we remember, in the previous chapter 10, God had said he's going to protect the Jewish people from Jerusalem and Judah and Israel. He was going to protect them from their enemies. Now, here in this passage, God's saying his flock is doomed for slaughter and he will no longer have pity on them. I always think that it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. How should we react? How would they react when they would hear God's message I will no longer protect you, You're going to be sheep for the slaughter.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is something that harkens back to Deuteronomy, with Moses telling the people when you go into the land, I'm going to be with you, I'm going to go before you, but a condition for me to continue to do that is you shall follow my ordinances and my statutes, even back in that time God, through Moses, tells him. But yet when you get in there, even though I am going before you and going to drive the people out, you will falter and you will not follow all of my ordinance and statutes. Then I'm going to withdraw myself from you. This is a reflection of that. This is kind of a reference to that.
Speaker 2:Of course, at the time that Zechariah is saying this, or giving this prophecy from God, they're coming back from a time of punishment and being taken off in Babylon for 70 years, so this obviously has to do with something that's still going to yet happen in the future. I do want to point out, though, when it says there in verse 4,. I do want to point out, though, when it says there in verse 4, thus says the Lord, my God, pastor the flock doomed to slaughter. That this is a description of something people that he's removing his hand of protection from are doomed, that he's not going to be protecting them anymore. It's not something that he is prescribing. He has created them in order for them to be slaughtered. It's a description of what's going to happen, because they have rejected him and specifically rejected the Messiah, as we'll see here in a little bit.
Speaker 1:There should be no doubt in verses 4, 5, and 6 what God is actually saying here. Let's look at it again. Verse 4, the flock is doomed to slaughter. Verse 5, those who buy them, slay them. Verse 6, I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land. So God is very clearly passing judgment on the Jewish people. The land is always the land, the land of Israel. We have to remember the flow of the book of Zechariah. Here In chapter 10, god was saying he's going to protect the people of Jerusalem and Judah. Here in 11, he's saying he's going to protect the people of Jerusalem and Judah. Here in 11, he's saying he's going to allow people to buy them and slay them and he's going to have no pity on them. They're going to be destroyed. In the next chapter, 12, he's again saying he's going to protect his people. Steve, is Zechariah confused or is there a simpler answer? And I think the simpler answer is simply that he's talking about different time periods and it's not a chronologically sequential book, am I?
Speaker 2:correct. He is talking about different time periods and he's also talking about the group of leadership and the group of people that don't have any type of concern for the people themselves. He says there in verse 5, the ones who buy and slay them, that go unpunished and they even glory, and says that I have bought and sold these sheep for slaughter. In other words, they have led the people astray and yet they glory and say blessed be the Lord. The people astray, and yet they glory and they say blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich and through that, these shepherds have no pity on them. This is the description that God is talking about here in these different time frames. It does center around the leadership leading the people astray, leading the people in the wrong direction. It also, if you think about it, whenever Jesus came the first time, the leadership opposed him the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They opposed him from the very beginning. In fact, they actually went out to John the Baptist and even opposed him. When that started, the people were looking to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the leadership, to acknowledge when the Messiah would come. They didn't do that. They rejected Jesus as the Messiah. They led the people astray, yet it seemed at the time that they had gone unpunished and that they still lauded it that they were representatives of God.
Speaker 2:I'm just using that as a description as to what God is relaying to Zachariah here. I think he's very clear in warning the people hey, these shepherds that you have, the ones that are leading you astray, they really don't care about you. And I think that even in our day and time, Glenn care about you, and I think that even in our day and time, glenn, there are people out there that are posing as shepherds of flocks that are leading the people astray. They're saying look at all the riches that I have, look at all the jets that I have, look at all these things that I have, yet they really don't care about the people at all. This, to me, is specific to the nation of Israel, but there are some timeless principles in there that we can take from it.
Speaker 1:There's timeless principles that have applied over and over again to the nation Israel throughout its history, all the way back to the book of Judges. There was a series of cycles. When Israel obeyed God and depended on him, then God would drive out their enemies. Then, when they forgot God and disobeyed, he would allow the enemies to come in and he would even judge the people of Israel and that happened over and over and over again throughout its entire history where when the people would truly trust God, he would bless them. When they truly didn't trust God, he would curse them over and over again. So the pattern we see here in Zechariah is really no different than throughout the entire history of the Jewish people. In chapter 10, he says I'm going to defend you. Chapter 11, look at verse 6, I will cause the men to fall each into another's power and into the power of his king. That's what he's saying here. I'm going to take an active hand in making sure this happens. Then in chapter 12, the next chapter, he's back to protecting them.
Speaker 1:Again, we see a pattern here. We pointed this out before, Steve. We can't take these things and string them along in a chronological bit of history simply because our Lord Jesus didn't do that when he quoted them, and again, these passages here just make that so clear. The end of verse five goes back to what you were saying, Steve. Israel's own leaders have no pity on their flocks. Therefore, God will have no pity on the leaders. That's the pattern we see here. In verse six, God's going to allow God's enemies to come in and attack the flock, because he has no pity on them. Notice how God is taking an active role in protecting his people. But he's also, as you well pointed out, he remains a righteous judge. He remains a righteous person through this whole exercise. Judge, he remains a righteous person through this whole exercise. If he were to ignore sin, he would not be a righteous judge. When he does take some proactive action here to ensure righteousness, then it gets quite painful at times.
Speaker 2:I think there's another thing here to point out through these verses is that God says there in verse 6, that you said that I'm not going to have pity on them anymore, meaning the people. Yet it's these bad shepherds that have led them astray. I think we can take from this that the people have a responsibility to hold their leadership to telling the truth or leading them in a correct manner, and not just leave it up to the shepherds and not have any idea of what the truth is. This is a situation that the flock has gotten themselves into. They didn't hold the leadership to the truth. Therefore, the shepherds have led them astray. Now God is not having any pity on them. Well, the thing I think that we might be able to take away from that is we should know what God's word says and make sure that we are not led astray, so that we don't get ourselves this type of a situation that we see God working with the people of Israel because they have followed a false leadership.
Speaker 1:Let's look again at Zechariah 12.6. This is a very harsh language here. This is very tough. God that's speaking here. I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants and I will cause them into fall At the end of the verse. I will not deliver them from their power. My question here, steve, is does that sound harsh? It sounds harsh to my ear. So the question is does that trouble us? And the follow-up question to it is does God have the right to treat Israel with harsh justice?
Speaker 2:It does sound harsh if this was the first time that he had done something without any previous warning or without any previous patience or mercy or grace that he had given on them. But this isn't the first time. This is after many, many hundreds of years of wanting the people to come to him and the other prophets. Even here in Zechariah, he says return to me, o Israel, so that I might return to you. Yes, it's harsh if it's a one-off situation at the very beginning and God hasn't given them any warning or had any patience with them. But it's not harsh really whenever he has had this patience and mercy with them and has protected them over and over again, brought them back into the land and such, yet they continue to not worship him and continue to go astray, then I would say no, it's not really harsh, it's just the consequences of their disobedience.
Speaker 1:Could God be a holy God and a righteous God if he didn't deal harshly with sin?
Speaker 2:Would a parent be a good parent if they continued to enable their children to do bad and evil things, even though they continue to warn them, yet they never see any consequences for the bad and evil things that they do? Would we consider them to be a good parent or a bad parent? Well, I think most people would say no. I think we would say that would be a bad parent, because the good parent is going to discipline their children when they get out of line the first time or second time that they disobey them, so that they don't get so far down the path of doing evil things that they get themselves into trouble and find themselves incarcerated into jail and a lifetime there, not to mention the people that are hurt along the way. I think that's the same thing with God. He has to be just and he will discipline the people who don't want to follow him and want to do evil things. Therefore, we have to say that he is a good God in order to try and keep people onto the path of worshiping him.
Speaker 1:Can God be both a harsh judge and a loving Savior at the same time.
Speaker 2:That's what Roman tells us in chapter 3, that God, in order to be just and the justifier, that God, in order to be just and the justifier, jesus had to be the satisfactory sacrifice the propitiation.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I think that he would have to be both in order to be an all-powerful God. That is what he is. He is both holy and righteous and good, and he wouldn't be holy and righteous and good if he didn't deal with sin. He is good, therefore he offers a path to salvation at the same time where he's punishing evil. This passage we just read in Zechariah 11.6, very harsh, and he's harsh towards his people, israel, the Jewish people.
Speaker 1:But if we think of the history of the Jews, look at all of the benefits that the Jewish people got. They were given the wonderful Mosaic law that showed God's righteousness. They were given all the messages from all the prophets. They were given God's power to defend them against their enemies. They were given special covenants that the other nations did not have. They had all the treasures of the Word of God that was given to them over hundreds of years. They had all of that wonderful blessing from God. Yet they rejected their Messiah. They rejected their one true Messiah. For this God judged them, not just here in Zechariah when he's talking about this, but he judged them by sending in Rome to destroy the nation and scatter the people. He judged them previously, at the point Zechariah was written, he had judged them by sending in Babylon and Assyria and taking them away captive.
Speaker 1:It was an ugly thing to have to judge his people. It's an ugly thing to have to spank your child. But a righteous judge will deal with sin. It's an ugly thing, and this passage reflects that harsh justice that God alone can give. The church in our day should not be so proud or so full of ourselves or so confident that we think the same cannot happen to us. Yes, we are washed. Yes, we are redeemed. We are the children of God that God is doing today in the church age. But we should not be so self-confident that we think, oh, I can ignore God too and get away with it. My friend, god dealt with his people, israel, he'll deal with us, wouldn't you agree, steve?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think, glenn, that that's really the type of God that we want or would expect.
Speaker 2:What I mean by that is that the people that don't want to have anything to do with their creator and God, they might say now, I just want to be left alone, I don't want to worship a God that does X, does Y, does Z, whatever reason that they might have, but yet when they're on the other side of their life and they are separated from God forever, it's just like the Lazarus that Jesus gave a description of, where he said can I go tell my brothers not to come here?
Speaker 2:Send somebody to my brothers that they don't want to come here. I think you get a picture at that point in time that those people might be saying why didn't God do something to shake me up, to make me get to a point where I would believe in him? And God does do that, but they still don't acknowledge it and they just want to brush over it. So, yes, that's the type of God I think that we should expect to do everything he can in order to have people understand who he is and want to have a relationship with him, and that might include discipline from time to time.
Speaker 1:With that we're going to stop here for today. Next time we're going to see Zechariah with an object lesson. He's going to have two objects, two sticks, and they're going to have names to them and he'll have a very clear lesson for the Jewish people and for us. Tune in next time and we'll be reasoning again through the book of Zechariah.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for watching and listening. May God bless you.
