Zechariah 11:16

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. FOR, LO, I WILL RAISE UP A SHEPHERD IN THE LAND. Antichrist will possibly be a Jew, or at least one in Judea. Some guess he will be of the tribe of Dan, because that tribe is omitted in the enumeration in Revelation 7:1. Compare the comparison of Dan to "a serpent by the way, an adder in the path," Genesis 49:17. 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 t...

_Behold_, he says, _I will set a shepherd in the land_. God had now, as we have said, renounced the office of a shepherd; but he afterwards set over them wolves, and thieves, and robbers, instead of shepherds, that is, when he executed his dreadful judgment on the Jews: and he shows at the same time what sort of shepherds they would be who in future should possess power over them. They were to be such as would _not look after what had been cut off_. Some consider the word הנכחדות, _enecachedut_, as signifying the sick sheep; but they are in my judgment mistaken; for careful shepherds seek what is lost, or what has disappeared from the flock; and this is what Zechariah means, for he says, he will not visit, that is, he will look after what has been cut off from the flock. Then he says, _he will not seek _ הנער, _enor_, the young. Some explain this of fat lambs; but others more cor

15-17 God, having showed the misery of this people in their being justly left by the Good Shepherd, shows their further misery in being abused by foolish shepherds. The description suits the character Christ gives of the scribes and Pharisees. They never do any thing to support the weak, or comfort the feeble-minded; but seek their own ease, while they are barbarous to the flock. The idol shepherd has the garb and appearance of a shepherd, receives submission, and is supported at much expense; but he leaves the flock to perish through neglect, or leads them to ruin by his example. This suits many in different churches and nations, but the warning had an awful fulfilment in the Jewish teachers. And while such deceive others to their ruin, they will themselves have the deepest condemnation....

Verse Zechariah 11:16. _I WILL RAISE UP A SHEPHERD IN THE LAND_] Some wicked king; and _Newcome_ supposes _Hoshea_ may be meant. See 2 Kings 17:1, and to such an abominable sovereign the prophecy may well apply....

I WILL RAISE UP - God supplies the strength or wisdom which people abuse to sin. He, in His Providence, disposeth the circumstances, of which the ambitious avail themselves. antichrist, whom the Jews look for, will be as much an instrument of God for the perfecting the elect, as the Chaldees Habakkuk 1:6 or the Assyrians Amos 6:14 whom God raised up, for the chastisement of His former people, or the Medes against Babylon Isaiah 13:17. WHICH SHALL NOT VISIT THEM THAT BE CUT OFF - Zechariah uses the imagery, yet not the exact words of Jeremiah Jeremiah 23:1 and Ezekiel...

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

FOR, LO, I WILL RAISE UP A SHEPHERD IN THE LAND,.... Not in the land of Judea, but in the Roman empire; and so not Herod, nor King Agrippa, as Kimchi; nor Antiochus Epiphanes, as others; nor those wicked priests and princes, who governed after the times of Zechariah; nor the Scribes and Pharisees in Christ's times, though they are often called fools by him, and were truly foolish shepherds; nor even Titus Vespasian, who destroyed the city and temple; nor Bar Cozba, who set up for the Messiah, and was a false one; or any other of that sort. Calmet s thinks this designs the Roman emperors, successors of Tiberius, under whom Jesus Christ was crucified. Caligula succeeded Tiberius. Claudius Caligula, and Nero succeeded Claudius: everyone knows (adds he) the characters of those princes, that they were truly foolish shepherds, mad, wicked, and cruel: but rather it intends shepherd, or shepherd...

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...