Zechariah 11:10

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 I TOOK MY STAFF, EVEN BEAUTY, AND CUT IT ASUNDER, THAT I MIGHT BREAK MY COVENANT WHICH I HAD MADE WITH ALL THE PEOPLE. The covenant made with the whole nation is to hold good no more, except to the elect remnant. This is the force of the clause, not as Maurer, etc., translate, 'that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the nations' (not to hurt my elect people, Hosea 2:18). But the Hebrew is the term for the elect people [ ha`amiym (H5971)], not that for the Gentile nations ( gowyim (H1471)). The Hebrew plural expresses the great numbers of the Israelite people f...

He confirms the same truth, but a metaphor is introduced: for he says, that when he freed himself from the office of a shepherd, he broke the two rods, even _Beauty _and _Gathering_. He speaks of the first staff, because things were in a confusion in Judea, before the people were wholly cut off; for the dispersion did not immediately take place, so that there was no sort of social state among the Jews; but social order was so deranged, that it was sufficiently evident that they were not ruled by God. By degrees the purity of doctrine was corrupted, and a flood of errors crept in; superstition gained great strength. When things were in this state of confusion, the pastoral staff was broken, which is called, Beauty. This verse then contains no more than an explanation of the last: and hence also he says, _That broken might be the covenant which I had made_, that is, that it might be now qu...

4-14 Christ came into this world for judgment to the Jewish church and nation, which were wretchedly corrupt and degenerate. Those have their minds wofully blinded, who do ill, and justify themselves in it; but God will not hold those guiltless who hold themselves so. How can we go to God to beg a blessing on unlawful methods of getting wealth, or to return thanks for success in them? There was a general decay of religion among them, and they regarded it not. The Good Shepherd would feed his flock, but his attention would chiefly be directed to the poor. As an emblem, the prophet seems to have taken two staves; Beauty, denoted the privileges of the Jewish nation, in their national covenant; the other he called Bands, denoting the harmony which hitherto united them as the flock of God. But they chose to cleave to false teachers. The carnal mind and the friendship of the world are enmity...

Verse Zechariah 11:10. _I TOOK MY STAFF - BEAUTY, AND CUT IT ASUNDER_] And thus I showed that I determined no longer to preserve them in their _free_ and _glorious_ state. And thus I _brake my covenant with them_, which they had broken on their part already....

AND I TOOK MY STAFF BEAUTY, AND CUT IT ASUNDER - Not, as aforetime, did He chasten His people, retaining His relation to them: for such chastening is an austere form of love. By breaking the staff of His tender love, He signified that this relation was at an end. THAT I MIGHT DISSOLVE MY COVENANT WHICH I HAD MADE WITH ALL THE PEOPLE - Rather, “with all the peoples,” that is, with all nations. Often as it is said of Israel, that they brake the covenant of God Leviticus 26:15; Deuteronomy 31:16, Deuteronomy 31:20; Isaiah 24:5;...

EXPOSITION ZECHARIAH 11:13 § 8. Restoration to their own land and material prosperity do not free the Israelites from probation or trouble. The prophet, therefore, darkens his late picture with some gloomy shadows. _The Holy Land is threatened with judgment _(Zechariah 11:1). ZECHARIAH 11:1 OPEN THY DOORS, O LEBANON. The prophet graphically portrays the punishment that is to fall upon the people. The sin that occasions this chastisement, viz. the rejection of their Shepherd and King, is denounced later (§ 9). Lebanon stood in the path of an invader from the north, whence most hostile armies entered Palestine. The "doo

AND I TOOK MY STAFF, [EVEN] BEAUTY, AND CUT IT ASUNDER,.... Signifying that he dropped his pastoral care of them: the Gospel indeed, which is meant by the staff "Beauty", cannot be made void; it will have its designed effect; it is the everlasting Gospel, and will endure; its blessings, promises, doctrines, ordinances, and ministers, shall continue, till all the elect are gathered in, even unto the second coming of Christ: but then it may be removed from one place to another; it may be taken from one people, and given to another; and which is generally owing to contempt of it, unfruitfulness under it, and indifference to it; and this is the case here, it designs the taking away of the Gospel from the Jews, who despised it, and the carrying of it into the Gentile world; see Matthew 21:43: THAT I MIGHT BREAK MY COVENANT WHICH I HAD MADE WITH ALL THE PEOPLE; not the covena

Zechariah 11:4. _Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;_ This is a deep prophecy. It may be interpreted concerning many events, but I think it primarily refers to the departure of the people of Israel from God, and their rejection of Christ. It has to do with the first coming of Christ, and the way in which they cast off the great Shepherd, and he cast them off, so that Israel was simply spoiled and scattered throughout the whole earth. The teachers of those days were false to their service. Zechariah 11:5. _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._ They bound heavy burdens upon them, grievous to be borne, but they to

CHAPTER 11 _ 1. The judgment of the land, the temple and the slaughter of the flock (Zechariah 11:1) _ 2. The true shepherd set aside and rejected (Zechariah 11:7) 3. The foolish shepherd (Zechariah 11:15) Zechariah 11:1. This chapter presents a dark prophetic picture. We have seen in the preceding Chapter s the blessings and mercies in store for the Israel of the future. The visions and prophecies have revealed their national and spiritual restoration, the overthrow of their enemies, the destruction of the world-powers, the establishment of the theocracy and the blessings of the k

AN HISTORICAL SKETCH IN FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. The author here assumes the rô le of the chief actor in the events he is describing, and speaks in the first person. Unlike Zechariah, but in accordance with the custom of the later apocalyptic school, he does not mention by name the personages to whom he refers. They must, however, have been easily recognisable by his readers. We have here a soliloquy spoken by one who plays the part of the chief shepherd, _i.e._ ruler of Israel. This ruler is not, however, supreme, for he mentions those who buy and sell the sheep, and also the sheep's own shepherds, who are evidently Jews like himself. Unfortunately the text is not only corrupt, but also mutilated; for the three shepherds are mentioned as though they had been previously described; while some reference to the sheep must originally have stood between Zechariah 11:8_ a_ and...