Title: The Shepherd's Coming to the Chief
Content 17. Coming to the Shepherd Chapter
Zechariah 10:1-5
“I will be angry with the shepherds, and I will punish the goats; the LORD of hosts will visit their multitude, the house of Judah, and make them like horses for war” (Zechariah 10:3).
Jehovah God is compared in many ways in the Old Testament, especially as a shepherd.
God is revealing his place as a shepherd because he knows how important the position of a shepherd is to the Jewish people living in a shepherd land.
1. The shepherd saves his people
“In this day the LORD their God will save them as the flock of his people” (Zechariah 9:16).
The people of Israel worshiped idols in the past.
And he asked for something in front of that lifeless idol.
The people of Israel at that time were like sheep without a shepherd.
They wandered and scattered like sheep without a shepherd.
Therefore, Israel has reached the pitiful state of having no one to rule, no one to guide, no one to guide, and no one to provide.
Naturally, enemies invade and take away our land and sovereignty, and we often experience oppression and no way to find a shepherd.
If Israel returned to God, they would be able to seek God and meet God, but they did not return to God.
The text shows that God not only saves Israel politically, but also saves the people of Israel who have turned away from God for centuries and are in their downfall.
2. The shepherd supplies his people
“In the spring rain, ask the Lord for rain, from the Lord who sends lightning, and he will send showers of rain to the multitudes, and the vegetables of the field will be given to each one” (Zechariah 10:1).
The phrase 'seek rain' shows the God who rules nature.
God claims not only human life and death, but also nature.
Therefore, instead of bowing down to nature, ask God who rules and rules nature.
Giving the vegetables of the field means giving them wealth.
If God scatters, we will all fall, and if God rescues us, everything will be given to us.
Serving idols is depressing.
The consolation of all the fortune tellers is only a poor man who walks without a shepherd.
But God can give us what we need.
We must ask that God.
3. The shepherd raises up his people
“The LORD of hosts will visit their multitude, the house of Judah, and make them like horses for battle” (Zechariah 10:3).
People can't stand alone, so they have to rely on something and follow them.
So, in the end, the people of Israel pursued the false shepherd because they turned away from God.
Who the false shepherd is is a very difficult question.
Whether it refers to all the kings of Greece, especially the Greek kings who ruled over Palestine, or the evil kings and false prophets of Israel have different interpretations by scholars writing commentaries.
But put together, false shepherds are spiritually false prophets and fleshly evil kings, in other words, all the powers of Satan who oppress us.
The only true leader is the God of Israel, the shepherd.
Therefore, verse 4 is also a prophecy of the Messiah.
Here is also an important prophecy: "The cornerstone is to him, the stakes to him, and the fighting bow to him" (10:4).
The figure of Jesus Christ appears in three ways: the cornerstone, the stake, and the battlefield bow.
1). Cornerstone
“The cornerstone is from him” (Zechariah 10:4).
A 'corner stone' is a word based on Isaiah 28:16 and is a foundation stone.
Also, Psalm 18:22-23 says that the stone thrown away has become the corner stone of the house.
And in the New Testament, the corner stone in Matthew 21:42 and Acts 4:11 was immediately revealed to be Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:4-5 says that the corner stone is rejected by men, but it is a living stone chosen and precious to God.
He continued, 1 Peter 2:6 (1 Peter 2:6), "Behold, I lay in Zion a corner stone, a chosen, precious and essential, whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."
Also, in Ephesians 2:19-22, it is said that Jesus Christ Himself has become the corner stone, so verse 4 of this text is undoubtedly a prophecy of the Messiah.
“In him every building is joined together to become a temple in the Lord, being built together in Jesus.”
So what does the corner stone do? The most important thing is to support the pillars.
You cannot build a pillar without a corner stone.
Prophets and apostles did not just stand, but were built on the corner stone.
When our faith is founded on Jesus Christ, who is the cornerstone, it becomes the pillar of the church and the pillar of the house of God.
The corner stone is the basis of the pillar.
Therefore, our faith must be laid and built on the foundation of the eternal rock, Jesus Christ.
Also, the corner stones work together because they build this wall and that wall and both walls on the corner stone.
It is a peace offering.
Just as we cannot connect two walls without a corner stone, we cannot be connected to God without Jesus Christ, the propitiation sacrifice.
It also connects people to people.
What does Bangladesh or Egypt have to do with us? But we are connected in Jesus Christ, the Cornerstone.
In Jesus Christ, men and women, the poor and the rich, the high and the low are all connected.
However, when a corner stone is in a corner, it is sometimes buried in the ground, making it difficult to see with our eyes.
It is the cornerstone that plays such an important role, yet is in a position of humility and sacrifice that is not often shown.
Our Jesus is the sacrificial sacrifice, sacrificing Himself while carrying out all our sins and accomplishing God's work, without revealing it.
God, the Chief Shepherd, sends Jesus to us.
2).Piles
“Pegs are from him” (10:4)
Because Jews are nomads, they often have to migrate from the wilderness.
Even today, there are Bedwon people who live in tents in Israel.
They have their own cars and they have TVs.
It's easy to think of nomads who live in tents.
To pitch a tent, you need stakes.
However, this stake is also inside the tent to hang clothes.
The stakes outside the tent and the stakes inside the tent are expressed in Judges 4:21.
These speak of the inner strength of the Messiah.
In other words, it is the power that enables the Messiah to pitch the tent and the power that spreads everything within it.
3).Fighting Bow
"From him a fighting bow" (10:4b)
A fighting bow is a bow used on the battlefield and is a word that represents the figure of a conqueror.
When the Messiah comes, he will conquer all evil.
Messiah, the cornerstone, the stake, the fighting bow, and the one who holds power against me will be put to shame by those who ride it.
The riders are Greeks.
The Greeks despised the Jewish people and attacked them, saying that God would put them to shame.
It says that God saves us from our enemies.
You and I must live by relying on the Lord Jesus, who is the cornerstone, and the Lord who builds us up like a stake.
God has sent the Messiah to us and blows it away like arrows on the battlefield. I hope that you will have victory in the arms of Jesus who fights on our behalf.