by Katrina
LINK: Zechariah 10-11
BACKGROUND
Zechariah 10
Once again, God compares His people to sheep lacking a shepherd, but He will turn them into war horses (vs 3). The cornerstone and tent peg in verse four both refer to Messiah. Jesus is the cornerstone, the foundation. The tent peg is one who will take the burdens of others. They will be mighty in battle and be strengthened by the Lord. God will gather the people and bring them back. He will strengthen them, and they will walk in His ways.
Zechariah 11
This chapter explains Israel's rejection of Messiah and acceptance of Antichrist. The flock is doomed to destruction, and their own shepherds have no pity on them. The two staffs of the shepherd are "favor" and "union," and he used them to guide the flock. Eventually, God's patience ran out, and he broke the staffs, representing the breaking of the covenant. The people rejected the ministry of the shepherd. Zechariah was apparently acting all this out as a representation of the coming Messiah. The shepherd was purchased for 30 shekels of silver which were thrown to the potter down in the temple. Matthew will quote this in reference to Judas selling Jesus for 30 shekels of silver then throwing the coins down in the temple. Then that money was used to purchase a potter's field.
In the final three verses of the chapter, Zechariah represents a foolish shepherd. "Foolish" doesn't mean silly or ignorant, rather, it means "morally deficient, corrupt." This so-called shepherd will not care for the flock, but will devour and destroy them. This shepherd will be the tool of Satan. But in the end, God will break his power (represented by the right arm) and will confuse his mind (represented by the right eye).
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