Zechariah 11:9

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. THEN SAID I - at last, when all means of saving the nations had been used in vain (), "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins." I WILL NOT FEED YOU - i:e., I will no more feed you. The last rejection of the Jews is foretold, of which the former, under Nebuchadnezzar, similarly described, was the type (Jeremiah 15:1; ; ;...

God now declares what had been briefly mentioned before, — that his judgment could not be deemed cruel, for the people had been extremely wicked, and their wickedness deserved extreme punishment. It seems indeed to be a simple narrative; but God here defends his own cause, for he had tried all means in ruling the people, before he had recourse to extreme rigor. Who indeed could now murmur against God? for he had been ever ready to undertake the office of a shepherd, and had so humbled himself as to take care of that people as his own flock, and had, in short, omitted no kind of attention; and yet he had been despised by that people, and even treated with derision. It was therefore an extreme indignity when they hated God, who had yet dealt with them with so much kindness. We hence see that God’s judgment is here vindicated from every calumny; for the wickedness of the people was altogeth...

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 11:9. _I WILL NOT FEED YOU_] I shall instruct you no longer: some of you are appointed to death by _famine_; others, to be _cut_ _off_ by the _sword_; and others of you, to such _desparation_ that ye shall _destroy one another_....

AND I SAID, I WILL NOT FEED YOU - God, at last, leaves the rebellious soul or people to itself, as He says by Moses, “Then My anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and will hide My Face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall find them” Deuteronomy 31:17 : and our Lord tells the captious Jews; “I go My way, and ye shall seek Me and shall die in your sins” John 8:21. THAT WHICH DIETH, LET IT DIE - Zechariah seems to condense, but to repeat the abandonment in Jeremiah; “Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. And it shall be, if they shall say unto thee, Where shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord, Such as are for death, to death

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

THEN SAID I, I WILL NOT FEED YOU,.... That is, any longer; either personally, or by his apostles; he fed them himself, during his public ministry; and afterwards by his apostles, whom he ordered to preach the Gospel to the Jews first; but that being contradicted, blasphemed, and despised by them, they were ordered to turn away from them, and go to the Gentiles: this shows that not the shepherds only, but the body of the people, abhorred Christ and his Gospel: and therefore it was taken away from them: THAT THAT DIETH, LET IT DIE; literally, by the pestilence, that going by the name of death in Scripture; and spiritually, they that are dead in sin, let them continue so; let them die through famine of the word they have despised; let them die in their sins, and die the second death, they justly deserve: AND THAT THAT IS TO BE CUT OFF, LET IT BE CUT OFF; literally, by the sword; spiritual...

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...