Book of Zechariah

Compiled by WD Kemner January 2024

CHAPTER 11

End of the Old Covenant and start of the New

The two staves: Beauty and Bands

Zechariah 11:1-2

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.

Continuing from chapter 10. Who can stand in the way of God’s moving? Not even the cedars of Lebanon (renown throughout the Old Testament).

Zechariah 11:3-6

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.

For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.

To this point God has taken pity on everyone, no longer, now at this point, the end is the END! Shepherds has been used many times to refer to “leaders/rulers”.

The nations and rulers that the Jews have been placed under, did not take care of the Jews.  Neither did the Jews find that care from their own leaders and rulers.

THE TWO STAVES

Definition of “stave” = staff or stick.

Shepherds had a staff or shepherds crook and a club for keeping animals away.

Zechariah 11:7-9

And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock.

And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.

BEAUTY – sacrificial lamb    BANDS – unity

Three Shepherds:

We may not know who was being referenced here. Three shepherds were cutoff in one month.  God hated them and their souls were bad enough to be disgusting to God.

There are some who have written that this could have been descriptive of a period in the Maccabean revolt when the last three leaders all died within the same month and the inhabitants during the siege resorted to cannibalism to survive.

THE END of the ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

and the start of the NEW COVENANT

Predicted and foretold. This next passage should be of central importance to Jewish belief.

Zechariah 11:10-11

And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.

And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

“…that I may break my covenant…made with all the people.”

What covenant?  There is ONLY one covenant.  That which He made with Abraham.  That is what they have been living under for centuries. God is now breaking it!  The covenant is over!

“And it was broken in that day…”  - it only took ONE DAY to break the covenant.  The day of the CRUCIFIXTION of Jesus Christ.  The covenant was now suddenly null and void.  The “branch” from 3:8 and 6:12 was broken on the tree.

The “…poor of the flock…” watched the crucifixion.

JUDAS BETRAYAL FOR 30 SILVER PIECES

Zechariah 11:12-13

And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

The betrayal of Jesus by Judas for 30 pieces of silver.  That was the “price” paid for this staff.  It was used to buy the potter’s field AND the pieces of silver were thrown “cast down” on the floor of the temple by Judas.

Matthew 27:5-6 - Multiple prophecies in just this verse.

DISPERSION OF THE TWELVE TRIBES ONCE AGAIN

Zechariah 11:14

Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

The Unity between the twelve tribes is now broken and will not be restored until the End Times as described elsewhere in Zechariah and the prophets.  The tribes were brought together again after the Babylonian exile and now would be once again dispersed for the crucifixion of God’s son.  In 70 AD the Romans would finally put an end to the nation.

This passage also dispels some other FALSE TEACHINGS over the years. Some have claimed that the ten tribes of Judah never came back after the Babylonian captivity and only the 2 tribes of Israel did so.

Those 10 tribes becoming the “lost tribes”.  If one believes this, they then make God a liar when he says here that (After the crucifixion) he will now separate the twelve tribes.

The rise of the Antichrist

Zechariah 11:15-17

And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

An evil shepherd will arise that will not care about the young or hurting.

“…in the land…”  We know from other passages that this ruler will set himself up for being worshipped in the temple in Jerusalem.