Zechariah chapter 11 we are going through These verses, you know, the first part of Zechariah. It's got the visions. It's fairly easy to Understand it's the the returns coming back from Babylonian captivity but when we get into chapter 9 10 and 11 here and going on up into the end of the book and It appears what we've got, and like I said, we had to kind of approach this and kind of figure out what was going on. But it seems like it's talking about projecting after the days of the return, the days that are going to take place with the Greeks, the coming of Alexander, what will take place after that, but also then the coming of the Messiah. We've seen the Messiah that's going to come riding on a donkey. But then all those prophecies are both In a sense, they're talking about the ministry of Jesus, but projecting even into eschatology. has those first four verses are kinda hinging between the nations uh... being mentioned chapter ten and and being judged what's gonna be taking place and uh... the lord returning and setting up his kingdom and uh... i'll read uh... disorders read on the on the notes the english standard version on page one of the notes this verse about uh... the the trees uh... this can be talking about the destruction of course that takes place when the Lord returns or when Rome comes back, talking about the devastation of land, or it can be talking about the nations that are being judged. But nonetheless, open your doors, O Lebanon, that fire may devour your cedars. Wail, O Cyprus, for the cedar has fallen, for the glorious trees are ruined. Wail, Oaks of Bashan, for the thick force has felled the sound of the wail of the shepherds for their glory is ruined the sound of the roar of the lions for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined and that is discussing again some kind of a judgment that is taking place if it be the return of the Lord, if it be the Romans coming in after Jesus Christ was rejected. And that leads into chapter 11, verse 4, where we began this week, last week, talking about the Good Shepherd. It mentioned the shepherds there in those verses. They were the wailing shepherds. There and the shepherds would be leaders there that we could see that as that's why this could be a very easy Metaphor that the shepherds were wailing because of the destruction of the nation's Syria Lebanon coming down into Jordan with the marching of Rome coming through in 66 of 70 AD destroying it if that's it the historical prophecy of this taking place you've got the wailing shepherds now we're going to talk about The Good Shepherd is going to be mentioned here. We're going to spend some time tonight talking about the Good Shepherd, which is, I'm going to say, Jesus. And I'm going to play this into being fulfilled in 30 A.D., or in Jesus' ministry. then the chapter is going to end. We won't get to the verses tonight. The foolish shepherd or the worthless shepherd. And this worthless shepherd is going to probably be, and I'll say probably just so I don't sound dogmatic because we want to study it, but that's going to be the Antichrist that's going to be replacing the good shepherd. So the wailing shepherds would be potentially the leaders that were wailing because they're seeing everything being devastated by Rome coming down through the Jewish wars. the reason those shepherds are wailing is because the good shepherd had come and the flock had rejected him and so he also rejected the flock because they rejected him and has sent them off to their fate and they're going to be destroyed and coming in because the good shepherd was rejected what's going to follow that is going to be the foolish or worthless shepherd who's not going to care for the sheep but is going to use the sheep for his own advantage now during this time talking about the good shepherd in these verses coming up there's gonna be a a section where he's going to get rid of three of the worthless shepherds he's gonna have some shepherds working for him that he's going to dismiss gonna fire get rid of them so within here the good shepherds gonna be firing the worthless leadership that is working alongside of him and that's what's coming up in these verses uh... tonight we started this last week Some of the verses, like I even said last week, some of these verses have up to 40 different interpretations, trying to figure out where they're going. It seems to me to fit very well between 66, excuse me, excuse me, that in thirty a d jesus being rejected in his ministry and the destruction coming then sixty six the seventy d the the roman destruction of the sheep so in the sheep reject jesus jesus of course rejects the sheep and they go to their destruction so here it is chapter eleven verse four fusses the lord my god this is a god speaking to zachariah become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter and we talked about this last week is several things we take place either he's going to be acting this out he's going to be speaking this as just a story or he's actually gonna take on this job as a shepherd uh... and so these are the this is what we're working with it is prophetic talking about whatever zacharias doing someone's gonna be doing a good shepherds going to do this very same thing with the people of Israel become a shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter so now the sheep the sheep that he's gonna shepherd are doomed and that would be matching up 30 AD the sheep are doomed their fate is set but Jesus is gonna come minister to them see if he can do something about turning their hearts and we did mention last week I would believe that parable of the owner of the vineyard coming and saying, I've been coming for three seasons to get fruit from this tree and it's not producing. Cut it down. Let's not waste the soil. And the gardener taking care of it says, give me one more season and let me fertilize it, take care of it. And if it produces fruit, good. If not, then we'll cut it down. so that would be a parable of uh... israel was already doomed you they're sitting there for three seasons god's been coming looking for fruit jesus is give me one more let me be a good gardener or in this case let me pastor the sheep doomed to slaughter and let me see what happens and of course it's not going to work out for those who buy them slaughter them and go on punish is going to be the result uh... and those who sell them say blessed be the lord i have become rich and their own shepherds have no pity on them uh... i put in here again uh... the circling the the pronoun that was feminine. All the pronouns there are feminine. We're referring to them, the sheep. And feminine sheep, if that was the case, they're not for butchering. They're for breeding. And so the very fact that some commentators make a comment about that, that That is unusual. It doesn't fit if the sheep are going to be slaughtered. They would not be slaughtering the The the use that were used for breeding you'd breed and then slaughter The the ones that would the male sheep, but here the ones that are for breeding are being slaughtered And who are all these people you got those who buy them and they're gonna buy them and slaughter them but someone is selling them and this appears to be the leaders the the leaders of Jerusalem or Judea are the leaders are selling the people to the nation's to the foreign powers or willing and someone is getting rich within the nation and the nations are selling them and it says right there and their own shepherds have no pity on them and that there's the it's again sheep are you know they're not people so we're talking about sheep they're gonna be used for you know clothing for food for breeding that they're they're an animal but now we start talking about shepherds not having pity on them that would be the leadership of the people they're not really good leaders they're not concerned about the people they're treating the people they're treating the people like animals now if these are sheep and you're selling the sheep uh... unless you're you know uh... from western society in modern america and you know animals are just like people you're all twisted up in your understanding sheep are meant to be sold, slaughtered, used for clothing, animals. That's what they're raised for. But people, this would be completely out of the realms of what is proper. And that's what's interesting because when we go through the book of Mark on Monday nights, one of the things we keep seeing is Jesus having compassion. Jesus having compassion on the people. He's going to the people. We were talking about last night. He was touching people. He was getting with them, taking them alone so he could heal them, whatever. He was feeding them. I have compassion for these people. Well, here are the shepherds. Jesus is even going to say it. The people are like sheep without a shepherd in 30 A.D. And He has compassion on them. But these leaders are selling the people here apparently to the foreign nations like Rome and the Jews are going to end up going into slavery, especially after 60 and 70 AD. Those who buy them slaughter them. They use them for their own benefit and go unpunished. Now they're going unpunished because God, we're going to see why, God has broken the covenant with them. The covenant has been broken and he gives them to the nations. He's already done that with Babylon. He's done that with Assyria. he's not going to do it again with rome and they're going to go unpunished because they've been given over to them uh... ford for judgment and those who sell them say bless the lord i mean their their theology twisted i'd become rich their own shepherds have no pity on them chapter eleven verse six Why is this happening? Chapter 11, verse 6, And again, the fact that the word land is used right there is probably important because it's talking about the land of Israel. Whenever the phrase land pops up or the land, especially in the Old Testament, it's not just a land or any land or the world. It's the land, no longer in the land of Israel, will I have pity on them, declares the Lord." Now this is God talking to Zechariah who's acting the part of the shepherd. So you've got back here in 518, Zechariah is hearing this word, proclaiming this word, acting it out, getting the job or whatever. But God is now explaining to him, we're not going to have pity on these sheep. Or any the inhabitants of the land tying him into the sheep declares Lord because I will cause watch each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor and Each into the hand of his king and they will crush the land and I will deliver none of them from their hand So what you see here, it's gonna come up again throughout these verses. I'll hand each of the the people and and you can't get away from this is in one sense we're talking about sheep but in the very next verse we're talking about the people in one sense we're talking about shepherds and the next line we're talking about the leaders so that the the connection there is very very solid these are these are allegorical these are metaphors maybe zacharias actually watching sheep and maybe zacharias actually going to fire some shepherds that are actually working with him but this whole imagery these are representative of people and of the leaders and what it says here for i will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land the people of the jews living in the land god is no longer going to have pity on them now this is not this time period here's what's again we got to keep his mind he's writing this in five eighteen or five hundred bc the exiles every turn the temples being rebuilt they're up and running heading into these these these new days with alexander the great coming and then ultimately the messiah coming the first time so this is talking about some other generation than zacharias generation because god would not be safe at this time i'm no longer have pity on these people because he's just been telling them I'm going to make you great. Things are going to grow. I'm giving you your priest. I'm giving you Zerubbabel, the crown of the priests and everything. The temple's coming back together. So this is a new and exciting time here. So Zacharias is definitely talking about a prophetic future. At some point, these same Jews are going to produce a generation that God is going to say, I'm done with them. This is what's coming. You are going to eventually become a people I'm going to walk away from. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor. For these people in this land, their neighbor, they'll fall into the hand of their neighbor." Now, that's the first level of punishment is going to be in a sense crime. I mean, your neighborhoods, your own community, it's going to become corrupt. They're going to start fighting or falling into each other's hands, and then each into the hand of this king. Then the king is going to come in, where now it's dangerous within your neighborhood, within your neighbors. You can't trust them. Well, the king has to gain control, and now the king is going to come in and start taking control of this. See, that's where we're at today, and it's obvious. People know this. uh... we talk about democracy but the more we violate law the more we try to change or cheat there's only going to be one way of getting us back into control and it's not going to be democracy you're not going to vote your way out of crime the only way you're going to recover from a crime infested land or crime infested government is tyranny does if that makes sense you're going to you could have you could have a a Powerful person a powerful group of people in charge of a country and them being be willing in a controlled state to Establish a new type of government say a democracy. We're gonna establish this law and then they're gonna enforce it and That's kind of how our country started. We won the war. Here's now our new government. Here's how we're going to do these things. Follow the law. But when people start trying to break it apart and it gets to the place where it becomes lawless, you can't say, oh, it's so lawless, let's all go out and vote and have an orderly, fair election. Well, it's impossible because it's controlled with corruption. There's only one way you're going to gain control of neighbors turning on neighbors is some king is going to come in and have to be a tyrant and established by force. That's what Jesus, when Jesus comes back, He's not going to come back and say, OK, let's stop fighting and let's all just get along. Let's all just vote and do what is best for everybody and decide what's right. He's going to come back with militant force and rule with an iron fist, with an iron scepter, it says. He will be, in a sense, a tyrant, except He's going to rule with righteousness. He can do something that humans can't do. Humans have a human nature, a sinful nature, and the tyrant is always going to be selfish. They can say, well, I'm going to do what's best for the people. Unless you've got a checks and balance system, you're going to eventually do exactly what you want to do in spite of what's happening to people. Jesus Christ is not that way. He is compassionate. He is righteous. So when He comes back, He'll establish the righteous kingdom. Nonetheless, For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the Lord. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of the king, and they shall crush the land. And then coming after the king, they shall crush the land. That would be a foreign power, because you're going to always have here in these verses the middle class, the leadership, and then the foreign power. You're going to have the nation. The nations are the ones buying the sheep. The leaders are the ones selling the sheep. The sheep are the middle class. And so when you read this here, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand." And when Rome comes up, the king, the leaders won't be delivered, the people won't be delivered, none of them. I'm bringing Rome in a foreign power and I'm going to crush them. No one's going to be delivered from their hand. You say, well, would God do that? Well, that's what he did with the Assyrians. That's what he did with the Babylonians. And now he's did it again with the Romans. Or in this case, it doesn't say Romans. You see where I'm reading into this the fulfillment. So you've got your Bible verse there, the neighbors, the king, and then whoever's coming in to crush the land. I put Romans there. And then I've got an application of finding it fulfilled in prophecy. Chapter 11, verse 7. Because that's going to happen. He says the sheep destined for slaughter. They're doomed to slaughter. Now, again, in Zechariah's day, that may be a group of sheep that are set aside. They're going to be going to market. In this case right here, this would be potentially 30 A.D. Jews marked for slaughter in 60 to 70 A.D. And if that's what this is talking about, good. If this is not what Zechariah chapter 11 is talking about, this is still true. Because Jesus says the same thing in 30 AD. There's not going to be one stone left upon another. Don't cry for me. Cry for yourselves and your children. What men will do when the tree is cut down. Because Israel is going to be cut down. And that was at 40 years. So this is a good potential fulfillment. Because it is true. It's going to happen. Historically and biblically it happened. But that that's what this is all about but now the sheep mark for slaughter right at this point right here this is where jesus is going to inter and say i will be the good shepherd i will come and when in the in other words this with this is jesus ministry we got the the christmas story the baby born in the manger and he grows up in you know goes through the three years of ministry This is chapter 11 verse 7 is the Christmas story right here. So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered. So that would be, see now notice right here, God says this is what I'm going to do, that's the verse before, for I no longer have pity on these inhabitants, I'll hand them over to the neighbor, over to the king, and then they'll be crushed, nothing will be left in the land. That's what's gonna happen, that's what God is telling Zachariah, that's what's going to happen to these people. Now, Zachariah says, so, because of that, I became the shepherd of the flock. Now, that's Zachariah talking, but that's Zachariah fulfilling the role, this was the Messiah. The Messiah is gonna say the same thing. So I became the shepherd of the flock. What flock? The flock doomed to be slaughtered. He became the shepherd of the Jewish flock in 30 AD, the flock doomed to destruction. Doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. I took two staffs one named favor and one named Union So he's going to take two staffs Is that again? This is Zachariah? Either acting this out just telling a story or actually have on the job but it's prophetic of the Messiah who's going to come in 30 AD. Fabian's got two staffs. He gets two staffs. I'm looking here. Yeah, point three. Shepherds carried a club or a rod to beat away wild beasts and then a crooked staff for retrieving sheep. Just just to know they would have a club some kind of a weapon that they could beat away Opponents, but they also have a crooked staff they could reach down and a rescue sheep lift sheep up like that So they got a weapon and in a in a crook that they could reach in for sheep The staff favor you can see the heat point to there. It's the the word n o n AM in the Hebrew it means Pleasantness it means graciousness this favor is going to be speaking of covenant It's a covenant that God has with these people, favor. He's going to come to these people that are doomed to slaughter, but He's coming with favor, with a covenant. He's coming with grace. He's coming to help them because of what, in a sense, He owes them because of the covenant. They are my people. I'm coming to them. I'm going to offer them my covenant, my favor, pleasantness, graciousness. the other staff was union. And union, it means binders or unifiers. This would be speaking of the people. He is going to come with favor from God for the covenant people, but he's also going to bring union. The people can unite together. Not favor, but union with each other. Before they start to devour each other, They're going to be a people group. They're going to have the common holidays. They're going to have the common culture. They're going to have Jesus speaking to the crowds, pointing them in the same direction. He's going to bring union to the people. So this would be between brother and brother. Before the brethren or the neighbor turns on the neighbor, He's going to turn the neighbor to the neighbor. You're going to have union and you're going to have favor from God. So, I mean, this sums up a perfect culture. Favor with God and man. and unity with your brothers he's gonna bring these two steps so what would be jesus the messiah comes he's bringing cover with of god i'm here for my people and i'm gonna help you have unity and help each other you're gonna you're gonna well you know he's a demonstrate how to be kind how to work together okay so that i became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered i mean look at they're heading here they're gonna have favor in unity at this point I took two staffs, one named Favor, the other named Union, and I tended the sheep. That's what Jesus did. I had companions. I showed up and I fed them. I taught them. I ministered to them. I trained disciples. I tended the sheep. I did what a leader was supposed to do. I tended the sheep. Chapter 11, verse 8. Here, two verses is where it gets... This is some tricky stuff right here. Now, of course, I've got an opinion, but understand, these are slippery verses. Chapter 11, verse 8. If Jesus comes in 30 AD, or if Zacharias is out in the field with the sheep, So he's either in 518 or the future. Both of them are going to be true. Chapter 11, verse 8, Zacharias says, In one month I destroyed three shepherds, but I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. So in one month, I destroyed three shepherds. So the question is, one month, what does one month mean? Well, 30 days, okay? But this is where you get like 40 different interpretations. And I destroyed the three shepherds. Now, if Zechariah's talking 518, 500, he's out got a job. He goes out there, and in one month, his first month on the job, the problem here is these three guys, they just sit around the fire playing cards or playing some dice game while the sheep are getting eaten by the wild beast. It's like, you're all fired. You're doing a terrible job. You're not tending the sheep. I fired them. They're sheep. I got rid of these three bad shepherds. I will now take care of you. But the sheep were like, we don't even like you. we like the other guys better they were even taking care of you we don't like you which again if you talk about jesus jesus is coming with favor and union he's coming in a righteousness being righteous showing them compassion expecting them to respond to righteousness and compassion but the people are so what they're doomed to destruction they've already crossed the line into the fourth generation he says i'll show you righteousness i'll show you compassion they go Get out of here. We don't want that. We don't even understand. We don't even hear that They didn't want righteousness. They didn't want his compassion. And so the sheep detested him. It's like what you know we want what was wrong with these people he came john begins his gospel he came to that which was his own but his own did not receive him here it is right here so i became the shepherd of the flock to the slaughter uh... by the sheep traders i took to staffs one name favor the other name union and i tend to the sheet and in one month i destroyed the three shepherds the three worthless shepherds But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. So I started taking care of the sheep, having compassion, healing them. And all they want to do is argue with me. So they didn't like me. I didn't like them. So there's going to be tension between this good shepherd and the sheep, or the Messiah and the people. Now the question is going to come, who are the three shepherds? Now, in Zachariah's story, if it's 518, there are just three worthless guys that are showing up for work every day, but not taking care of the sheep. But prophetically, who were the three shepherds? First of all, Point two, there are many interpretations for chapter 11, verse 8. The one month could mean these things, a literal 30-day period, a shorter period of time, something shorter than 30 days, or a longer undefined period of time. See? OK, 30 days or less than 30 days or more than 30 days, even undefined so long. or thirty years if a month equals a year or i'd like to consider the last month of jesus ministry in thirty days that's when you go through matthew never win in expression we go through mark and matthew similar to it jesus spends that those that time up in galilee that we've been talking about and then he gets uh... he leaves goes up into the gentile territory and after that gentile ministry goes to cestria philippi and then heads to jerusalem for the final month of his ministry and that final month of his ministry that's where you're going to have Jesus that was that chapter in Matthew where he argues with the Pharisees and shuts him down argues with the Sadducees and shuts them down argues with the Herodians and shuts him down so much so that No one dared ask him any question He goes to the temple mount and they attack him and he answers them and asks them a question and they just they're all like whoa No one can outsmart Jesus and he's looking at the people like whoa. Well done. He destroyed three leaders during that final month but then as you know the palm sunday the people are here he comes are excited about they want to do the certain things any ends up that the final week the people don't want him and he he's crying for jerusalem he says how i've tried to gather you like a like a hand tries to gather the chicks but you wouldn't have me you know aces now you're left to yourself your your your temple remains is left desolate it's it's gone Yeah, I could see it being the last month of Jesus' ministry in 30 AD when he's getting rid of those leaders. Now, who are those three shepherds? Here we go. The three leaders of the Jewish political factions fighting each other in Jerusalem before and during the Roman siege of Jerusalem. Now, when the Romans march on Jerusalem, Just like the verse says here, I'll turn neighbor against neighbor. There were factions. Okay, let's imagine China invading America. Now if you see China invading America romantically in 1776, we're all going to jump on George Washington's boat and sail across the river and fight him on Christmas morning and win the Revolutionary War. We're all unified. But if you see China invading the United States in 2023, there's gonna be someone that's going to go fight with china against america there's going to be another group fight other americans and try and start their own government and then there's gonna be another group fighting the other two groups and china and it's like who's who's sorry are you would would i fight with china what i fight uh... against china or i fight against everyone else try to sell it for a little government my point When rome is marching on jerusalem in 66 and 70 a.d. You know in 70 a.d. When they arrive they don't find a unified jerusalem at the walls ready to defend jerusalem they find a civil war inside they've got the the democrats are fighting the republicans who are at war with the you know the freedom fighters or whatever i mean it's they're all fighting each other and the each had a degree this in josephus was josephus records as josephus was one of the political parties that had to look at this is over and just went back to rome were sided with rome they even had you can find it as you go through the studies you can find out what part of the city each of these guys control is like games like who controls the south side who controls the west side who controlled the temple mound and they all are fighting each other and then rome comes in and ends up fighting against them. So it's like, it's exactly what this is saying. Neighbors turning on neighbor and then the Romans come in. So, the three leaders of the Jewish political factions would be Eliezer, John, and Simon. Now those are not John the Apostle and Peter, Simon. Those are just three guys. You could spend a lot of time researching and you can find out a lot about their groups. In fact, you can find remains when they do archaeology. You can find remains of the battles they were fighting in Jerusalem in 70 AD. The three Solution Kings are leaders. And the ones that are mentioned here, Seleucus IV, Heliodorus, and Demetrius Soter. And then you could just keep picking and choosing. Antiochus Epiphanes is not even in there in that particular group. But these would be after Alexander dies and his kingdom is then divided between the four generals. Those generals branch out. One goes into Egypt, which is Ptolemy. Cassander goes back to Macedonia. Seleucus takes Syria. And that becomes the Seleucid Empire, which is basically the Greek Empire in Syria. And that would be the three leaders there. Okay, I gotta keep going. Three corrupt high priests during the Seleucid oppression. So while the Seleucids, the Greeks in the north, were oppressing Jerusalem, the high priesthood, get this, the high priesthood sides with the solutions against the people because if they could have the power and get the money so people were actually killing priests or killing the high priests going up and trying to sell the solutions to the high priests so they could end up having access to the wealth of jerusalem so you end up having people that were priests that weren't even levites but they were put in position by the solution kings so now you've got three corrupt high priests jason was one menelaus and alchemist uh... three classes of leaders prophet priest and king those could be the three leaders that were or the shepherds that were destroyed the pharisees the sadducees the essenes you know uh... i mentioned the pharisees the sadducees and the herodians that jesus defeats that last month They could simply be symbolic of completeness or basically the whole point of this is the good shepherd would deliver Israel from the poor corrupt shepherds that are forerunners of the foolish and worthless shepherd. So whoever these shepherds are, these three shepherds that are destroyed, Basically what it's saying is the good shepherd will get rid of the bad leadership It will punish the bad leadership and go directly to the flock and say I've got you now that we've got rid of the bad shepherds I will take care of you and now the sheep are so corrupt. They reject the good shepherd themselves He's got rid of the bad leadership and we can see in mark. In fact, we're gonna go there next week as you know, um uh... jesus gonna be sailing back across the of galley in the gala into jewish territory and the hyper the first is gonna meet him on the shore and start arguing with him again he's just in turn and go away we want to get rid of that his problem is that well i got rid of the pharisees in the sadducees and the poor leadership but now you've got the people and the people to be the ones that i'm shouting crucify him crucify him and get reading uh... heavy and that's exactly what this is talking about So, in one month I destroyed the three shepherds. Again, we don't know what to do with that. What is one month? In 30 days, he destroys three shepherds. In Zechariah's time, Zechariah, in the first month of work with the sheep, fired three shepherds. There you have it. Prophetically, what does it mean? I can tie that into Jesus' ministry, but that's not a slam dunk. It seems to fit. But I became impatient with them, the sheep, And they also detested me. So now you've got a conflict between the good shepherd and the sheep. Chapter 11, verse 9. So I said, I told them, I will not be your shepherd. What is it to die, let it die. What is it to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another. Alright, I got rid of those bad shepherds. I'm going to show you what a good shepherd. This is what I will do for you. I'll bring you covenant with God. I'll help you build unity as a brotherhood. I will have compassion and lead you in righteousness. What? You don't want any of that? Well, then I'm not going to be your shepherd. And now you've got nobody. You don't have the bad leaders. You don't have me. I'm going to let those that are destined to die, you're going to die. Those who are going to be destroyed, I'm going to let you be destroyed. But that's not going to be all of you. Some of you are going to be left. And I'm going to let you eat each other. you'll eat each other again sheep eating each other but here we have it right here i will not be your shepherd what is it to die let it die what is it to be destroyed let it be destroyed and let those who are left devour the flesh of one another talk about neighbor turning on neighbor they're going to be eating each other and here we have it The flock detested their good shepherds, so the shepherd quit and left the sheep to their fate of being the flock without a shepherd. First death, then destruction, and if that didn't get you, devouring each other. Now, without becoming too graphic, this is not just a metaphor or poetry. Josephus, and I've read the account, records people eating each other because with all the war going on in each other, those groups, those political factions that were fighting, they would invade each other's storehouses and burn the grain. you know it would be like someone in the west the morning knowing that we've got food out of hiv they go out and burn hiv so we don't have any food but we retaliate and go over to their part of town and burn their little you know what their supply is like their now you're gonna starve to well then rome comes in and one have any food and and they're still people some people die Lucky them. Some are destroyed. Lucky them. But some don't. They're just like, they're just like, they're still alive. Things are burning. Everybody's dead. There's no, can't trust anybody. And they haven't eaten for a month. But hey, I'm faster than that guy. And they start eating each other. And then there's stories, Josephus records one particular one of a mother cooking her baby making a deal with another woman to do this and then the other woman hides her baby and the other mom's mad because it's like we had a contract we were going to take turns eating each other's babies and it's like now you hid your baby and it's like Josephus and people heard about that they were just devastated those that hadn't already died 0.2 under C on page 4. Deuteronomy, and again, we could go in more detail. But this is not unusual, because part of the Mosaic Covenant, the curse of the covenant, if you go all the way through chapter 28, verse 53 to 55, I've got it written here. Because of your suffering, your enemy will inflict on you during the siege. This is God telling the people through Moses. If you don't listen to me, this is the fifth. We talk about the four generations. This is the fifth cycle of discipline. It comes at the end of the fourth generation. It happened in Samaria in northern Israel. It happened in Jerusalem in 586. It's promised here, and it happened in Jerusalem in 70 AD. And here it is. This is what God says will happen to you. If you don't respond in the first generation, the second generation, the third generation, you don't respond in the fourth generation, then you will not have a fifth generation because this is how I will end the fourth generation. Because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you. Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or his wife he loves or his surviving children, and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. What? That's in the Bible? That's the law of Moses. That's the fifth cycle. That's why we talk about the fourth cycle of this or the fourth generation cycle. It doesn't end pretty. I mean, it's like if we are in the fourth generation, this, okay, Jeremiah 19.9, Jeremiah who is saying the fourth generation is here and this is where you're going to end up, he writes, God says, I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege. And that's 586 B.C. So you've got 70 A.D., you've got 586 B.C., and you've got God promising it in the book of Deuteronomy. That's what I'm going to do to you. And that's what it's going to be like when He breaks favor with them. But nonetheless, I'm going to read that verse again. So I said, because they don't want to be shepherds, I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another. I'm out of here. Christmas our Christian story ascends into heaven is seated at the right hand of God and Jerusalem goes into their final final 40 years and end up eating each other I mean in Christianity Jesus sends into heaven but the reason he was crucified and rejected by the Jews is going to lead to their destruction chapter 11 verse 10 and I took my staff favor and broke it, unknowing the covenant I had made with all the peoples." In other words, they had favor. Remember, they had two staffs. Favor, that was covenant. with god meaning god's got a cover i'm gonna show you i'm gonna come to you you're not deserving but i'm gonna come show you favor i'm gonna show you righteous when you get rid of your bad leadership i'm gonna have compassion on you and and you don't want you don't want compassion you don't want righteous okay that i break it you no longer have favor with god and what comes out when there's no favor to go to the covenant is another broken what comes next the nations the nations come and invade you I took my staff favor and broke it, annulling the covenant I had made with the people. So it was annulled on that day. And the sheep traders who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord." Interesting verse right there. In 518 or whenever Jeremiah, Zacharias is saying that, he says that and breaks that staff. says the covenant is broken the sheep traders who are watching they understood what that prophecy meant or if this is Jesus ministry they knew what it meant when he says there will be one stone left upon another your temple is left you desolate don't cry for me cry for yourselves and your children the sheep traders they knew what this meant the people that were choose the sheep traders that would be the leaders of jerusalem that are selling the people off to the nation's or the nation's coming in and buying them they they they knew that god's favor especially in sixty six to seventy eighty as rome is just marching through the land they realize god has left this place when they see there's a vast majority the jews they died in the streets they died of famine But a lot of them are just taken captive and taken to Rome. They say the Jewish slaves were so cheap. I don't know, I heard one say they're like a dollar apiece. I mean, it's like, how many slaves do you want? I mean, it's like, I don't want any more, so I can't take care of the ones I got. It's like, how many dogs? You can just get free dogs. You're like, well, how many dogs? Well, I only want one or two, because I've got to feed them. I've got to take care of them. It's like, look at all the slaves I got. They're cheap. Yeah, you've got 30 slaves. What are you going to do with them? You've got to feed them. You've got to put them somewhere. And that's what it was, the slave market just, they're so cheap because of what takes place right here. Favor was gone. And the slave traders, or here it says, the sheep traders knew it was the Word of God. There's so many slaves. And again, when we talk about slavery here, it's not, in a sense, a racial thing like what we have in our culture. It's a cultural, it's a national of the loss of warfare, loss of your society, loss of culture. Chapter 11, verse 11. So it was a null on that day, and the sheep traders who were watching knew that it was the word of the Lord. Then I said to them, now again, this is the shepherd, the good shepherd, saying to the sheep, Then I said to them, if it seems good to you, give me my wages, but if not, keep them. and they weighed out my wages as my wages, 30 pieces of silver. Then the Lord said to me, throw that to the potter, the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter. Now obviously you recognize these verses because they're right out of the New Testament. Both these things are quoted and refers to Jeremiah 19. Let's look at this again. Then I said to them, meaning this is the good shepherd. He's rejected the sheep. He broke favors. He says, you're done. And then he says, here's what I think, really, this is what it means. Here's what I think of you. This is more of a reflection on what the good shepherd thinks of the sheep than what the sheep think of the shepherd. He says to them, then I said to them, if it seems good to you, if you want to, you can give me my wages. But if you don't want to give it to me, keep them. What do I care? I have no, I don't care what, if you want to pay me what you owe me, pay me. But if you say we're not gonna pay me, I don't care. I don't care if you give me my money or if you don't give me my money. I don't even care what you think. Your opinion means nothing to me. I dismiss your opinion totally. If it seems good, give me my wages. But if not, keep them. I don't care. And they weighed out for me as my wages 30 pieces of silver. So I said, I don't care what you do. They say, well, we'll pay you 30 pieces of silver. Now, before you say, well, 30 pieces of silver, that sounds like a lot of money. Don't go there. Stay in the context, because the context will tell you what this means. So they weighed out for me thirty pieces of silver. And then the Lord said to me..." So now you've got the Lord. That was Zechariah speaking. But whenever Zechariah is speaking, it's prophetic of the Lord Himself speaking. "...Then the Lord said to me..." Now, Zechariah has said this. Whatever you want to pay me, pay me. I don't care. I don't care what you think. Then the Lord said to me, throw it to the potter. So he says to Zachariah, throw those 30 pieces of silver to the potter, and then right here, the lordly price at which I was priced by them. They thought I was worth 30 pieces of silver, or the handsome price. He says that mockingly. So, this person, or Zachariah, For their wages, their severance pay to end the contract, here's 30 pieces. All right, 30 pieces of silver. Ooh, that handsome price you paid me. Meaning, he's mocking how little it was. It was next to nothing in this story. And here's some information about this. 0.4 a 30 piece of silver was the price of a slave sold in Israel in Exodus 21 So if you wanted to buy a slave 30 pieces silver would buy a slave also 30 pieces silver was considered now get this was considered at times the wages of a slave and So, I mean, I didn't even know you paid a slave. A slave just does what they're told. But I know, but here, here's a little bit for your trouble. It's like a tip. The slave does the work, and here's 30 pieces of silver. Here's a little something for you. Meaning it's like leaving a tip, and it's not like paying your bill. Your bill is, say, $50, and then you leave 10% tip, you leave $5. So it's like, they get $5. You got a whole meal, you had this whole experience, and they get $5. That's what this is like the wages of us like tipping a slave for doing their work. It's it means next to nothing I'm looking for other things there about what it says there. Oh Zachariah, okay These next verses right here. I probably want to spend some time on this next week Boy because right here you can see right here. I've got this written down In chapter 11 verses 12 and 13 is used in Matthew 26 and Matthew 27 we'll read those right now And then we got to come back and clean this up if we if we want to Matthew 26 again, there's no class next week. So it'll be in two weeks Matthew 26 Verse 14 Just as Jesus being betrayed by his own disciple Matthew 26 verse 14 then one of the twelve the one called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests, one of the leaders, and asked, what are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you? So they counted out for him 30 silver coins. From then on, Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. Now we're going to go to Matthew 27. Judas gets 30 pieces of silver. That's what he was valued at. Judas was willing to sell him. What's he worth? 30 pieces. What a handsome price. Judas, I'm worth 30 pieces of silver. What a handsome price. Chapter 27, verse 3 through 10. Chapter 27, verse 1. early in the morning all the chief priests and elders of the people came to the decision to put jesus to death they bound him let him away and handed him over to pilot the governor so this effort jesus had been arrested judas had kissed him he'd been arrested he'd stood before anna's rishi he stood before typus had gone to anna's had been before the sanhedrin had gone to hear it antipas and now was going back to uh... Going back to Pilate. When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the 30 silver coins to the chief priests. So here's the 30 pieces of silver you got for Jesus. He returns it to the chief priests and the elders. He says, I have sinned, he says, for I have betrayed innocent blood. They say, what is that to us? They replied, that's your responsibility. So Judas threw the money into the temple. So there's the idea there. Just simple reading there. And again, this develops. They won't take it from him. It's your money. We're not taking it. He throws it. You've got to take it. I'm throwing it back. Throws it into the temple. Then he went away and hanged himself. The chief priest picked up the coins. chief priest. So when it says the chief priest picked up the coins and said it is against the law to put this into the treasury since it is blood money. It was used to bribe or betray somebody. So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the field of blood to this day. Again, that would be, you know, 48, 50 A.D. when this was being written. then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled. Are you with me? What was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled. They took the 30 silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field as the Lord commanded me. And if you look there's a footnote, a few manuscripts have something different right here. Now go to Jeremiah 19. Go to Jeremiah 19. And they are buying a potter's field, which is probably south of Jerusalem, near the Hinnom Valley, in that area. In fact, we can kind of find it, we can show you the area. But they would go out there, but the clay was good for pots. And that's exactly in Jeremiah, that's where Jeremiah, when Jeremiah goes to the house of the potter and watches him make some pots, he also goes out with a pot and smashes the pot with the priest and gives them an object lesson. But by the New Testament times, the good clay had been scraped off, and the only part that was left was worthless. You could not use it for pottery. So it was an exhausted, abandoned potter's field. The potters used to own it, but they'd scraped all the clay off that was useful, so it was now worthless. And so they're going to use the 30 pieces of silver to buy this worthless piece of land and just use it to bury foreigners or Gentiles outside the city in the Hinnom Valley. Jeremiah chapter 19, because Jeremiah's name comes up in the New Testament while this is being talked about, chapter 19 of Jeremiah verse 1. This is what the Lord says, go and buy a clay jar from the potter take along some of the elders of the people uh... and of the priest and go out to the valley of ben hinnom the hinnom valley it'd be west side and south of jerusalem near the entrance of the potsherd gate that's where they would come in uh... There proclaim the words I tell you and say, hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says. Listen, I am going to bring disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. This is Jeremiah speaking around 603 B.C. about events that will take place in 586. this is overthrow Jerusalem for they have forsaken me and made this place of of up this a place a foreign God have burnt sacrifices in it to God that neither they know their fathers or their kings of Judah ever knew and they have filled this place with blood of the innocent would be child sacrifice They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal, something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the people will no longer call this place Topheth, or the place of the burner. There in that valley were burners, places where they would sacrifice children, put them in the fire. The Topheth, it means the burner. or the valley of been him but the valley of slaughter this is no longer be a place where you're gonna burn children and sacrifice your foreign god it's gonna be known as the valley of slaughter where all you got slaughtered to death in the babylonians came in this place i will ruin the plans of judah and russell i'll make them fall by the sword before their enemies at the hands of those who seek their lives and i will give their carcasses Carcasses as food to the birds and of the air and the beasts of the earth I will devastate this city and make it as an object of scorn all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds I'll make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters and they will eat one another's flesh during the The stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives. Then, when you say that to the people, Jeremiah is supposed to say that to the priests and the chosen people he's taken out to the Hinnom Valley looking over that. Then break the jar. He bought a pottery, a jar of pottery. then break the jar while those who go with you are watching and say to them this is what the Lord Almighty says I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter's jar is smashed and cannot be repaired they will bury the dead in Topheth until there's no room In other words, they're just bodies stacked up on bodies in open grave. This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth, the house in Jerusalem, and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled, like this place, Topheth, the burner, all the houses where they burn incense on their roofs to all the starry host and poured out drink offerings to the other gods jeremiah then return from the burner return from told fifth where the lord had sent him or you know it sent him to prophesy instead in the court of the lord's temple and said all the people that he goes up to the temple court this is what the lord almighty the god of israel says listen i'm gonna bring on this city and on the village around every disaster I pronounced against them because they are stiff-necked and would not listen to my words." And so that is Jeremiah and the potter's field. And that is the field that was then bought with the money after all the pottery's been scraped off. It's all connected. And we'll clean it up next week as we look at this. agreed one more things and take place here chapter eleven verse fourteen that i broke my second staff union unknowing the brotherhood between judah and israel that's lasting that second staff is broken and now not only have they lost favor from god now the unity between the brothers that jesus tried to create is broken and the jews will just begin to devour each other and that again is probably the fate of Jerusalem in 60 to 70 AD that is being prophesied there because of their way they responded to the Good Shepherd. We'll pick that up next week and again add to it those last few verses because then Zechariah is told by God, take the tools or the uniform of the foolish shepherd, the worthless shepherd, and act out the part and no longer treat the sheep right. Treat them like the Antichrist would treat them. And that is going to be the shepherd that's going to come after Jesus that they're going to be willing to follow. But anyway, I'll pray and we'll talk about this more in two weeks. Father, I do thank you for the chance to look into these verses so we may handle it diligently, that we may take A warning to our own souls that we would be honoring you in our lives and the things we do, the things we say. And Father, we ask that we may be a light and a source of hope for this generation at this time. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for being here.