I want to invite you to take your Bibles and turn to Zechariah chapter 10. Zechariah, that's next to the last book of the Old Testament. If you're in the Blue Pew Bible, it's on page 797 of Zechariah. chapter 10. And as you're turning there, and before we read, let me ask you this question. Do you feel like you are cared for? I think each of us here knows something about that, something about what it looks like and means for us to truly be cared for. We've got someone who's got our back, you might say, no matter what the circumstances are that we're in. And at the same time, we probably all, maybe except for some of the younger children here, we probably know what it means to be left outside in this world, to be left on our own, disregarded, maybe even rejected. When it seems like there is no one there for us, no one to truly care for us, we probably know something of both sides of that. Now this morning, we're going to consider this question for ourselves. Do I know for certain that I am truly cared for in a lasting way? You know, it's amazing as we look at this passage that God spoke these words to the Israelites thousands of years ago, and yet the same message, the same basic message is there for us today, and it's still just as important. Let me just remind you as we turn to Zechariah chapter 10 that Israel was a people who had largely departed from the Lord. We see that in all the ways you go through the Old Testament. Again and again, that's the picture that we get of this people. They were His people and He calls them His people, yet often they didn't receive Him as their God. They rebelled against Him. And if we look back, even early on as a nation, they split apart as a nation. Outside of his desire, there was the Northern Kingdom, Northern Territory, which is often called Ephraim. In this chapter, it's going to be called the House of Joseph. There was the Southern Kingdom, which is called Judah, or in this chapter, the House of Judah. But both sides, really, the North even more so than the South, but both rejected the Lord and therefore suffered the consequences. So after many, many years of bearing with his people, the Lord withdrew his blessing from them so that he was no longer present with them in the same way as their God. Now, what did this look like? They were exiled from their land, from the temple, from God's presence, and taken many, many miles away to Babylon in a land in which they were essentially slaves. They had no freedom of their own. They had no king of their own. But then, after several years, he brought some of them back, back to the land, back to Jerusalem, back to the place where he promised to once again dwell with them and to be their God. But the question is, how would they respond this time? Would it be any different than before? Would they fall back into rebellion? Now that's where we are in the book of Zechariah. God sent Haggai. He sent Zechariah to this people who were discouraged there in the land. They had been there for several years back in the land. They weren't the whole nation of Israel by any means, but they had become discouraged because of many factors, including the enemies surrounding them, their difficulty with rebuilding and on and on. And so Zechariah came to encourage them. That's what this chapter, again, is about, encouraging them to look back, not to follow the ways of their fathers, and to follow him. We need that message as well this morning. So again, Zechariah chapter 10, I'll be reading the whole chapter. And again, if you're able, I'd ask you to stand as I read this. This is God's word through the prophecies of Zechariah. Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain to everyone, the vegetation in the field. For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies. They tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep, they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders. For the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle. From him shall come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler, all of them together. They shall be like mighty men in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets. They shall fight because the Lord is with them, and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them. For I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them. Then Ephraim shall be like a mighty warrior, and their hearts shall be glad as with wine. Their children shall see it and be glad. Their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord. I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they were before. Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return. I will bring them home from the land of Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, till there is no room for them. He shall pass through the sea of troubles and strike down the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up. The pride of Assyria shall be laid low, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart. I will make them strong in the Lord, and they shall walk in His name. declares the Lord. Please join me in prayer. Father, we thank you for this word, this word to your people. And we do recognize, Lord, that this was given to a people during this time, during the time of the Old Testament, hundreds of years before Christ walked upon the earth. And so I pray that you would help us to have understanding this morning, understanding of your word to them and of how that word applies to us and to your church today, a right understanding. And then I pray, Lord, that you would apply that to our hearts and that you would help us, therefore, to recognize our own path, recognize our own relationship with you and where it is. and to make amends where amends are needed, and to take joy where joy is given, and to walk in your ways. We pray this in Christ's name, amen. Please be seated. When I was a child growing up, Psalm 23 was one of the few passages in the Bible that I had down. that I had memorized well. I hadn't done a lot of memorizing when I was growing up, but at some point, I don't even remember when, but I must have repeated it over and over again. And so I knew it well. Maybe that's true for some or many of you here. Psalm 23 is a place that we turn often as individuals, as families, as churches. maybe also you used it, have used it in the way that I did. You know, I can think back and I can recall certain times, maybe times when I was afraid, fearful, maybe times when I felt like my foundation underneath me had been shaken. And I remember, I would say the words of Psalm 23, And because of what it says, it would bring me a measure of comfort. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness. For his name's sake, yea, though I walk even through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. You know, these words clearly are intended to be words of comfort. And I do recall receiving during those moments, difficult moments usually, finding some measure of comfort in repeating them. But I will say, looking back, that that's about all. I mean, I received some comfort. It helped a little bit. but really nothing more. And I'll even say that that comfort that I received, that I felt it seemed to lessen or fade over time. And the reason that I would say that that is the case was that with time and experience of life, that it failed to ring true to me. You know, think about the first few words, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. What I came to realize in my own life was that I did want. In fact, I often wanted a great deal. I'd have a lack of security. I wanted security. I wanted comfort. I wanted, at times, excitement. I wanted, later, protection and financial stability and all manner of things. A removal of fear. But these were all things that I very often didn't have. And so why would I hang on to something that it didn't ring true and it didn't provide? And so that, of course, brings up the question, why? Why did Psalm 23, for me, as I was growing up, with all of its comforting words coming straight out of the Bible, why didn't it resonate with me? Why didn't it bring true comfort to me? You want to know why? It was because All those years, I didn't respond to the Lord as one of his sheep. I didn't hear his voice and listen and respond to his voice. Now, I could say the words, I could say them over and over again. The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. But it wasn't true. He wasn't my shepherd. Not because he wasn't there, not because he wasn't available for me, but because in my unbelief, I didn't enter into his fold. What did I do instead? I wandered. I wandered. I went after gods of my own making. Now, maybe I'm saying things that resonate with you as well. Maybe in the past that's something that you've experienced. Maybe that's something that you still experience today, wandering, still seeking after gods of your own making. You know, it's worth asking the question, who is the shepherd's voice that I'm listening to today? Whose voice is my mind and my heart tuned into? Am I giving over to the Lord's voice or to that of another? Really, that's the question this passage is asking. In this passage, the Lord, through Zechariah, wants the Israelites, right here at this point that they've come to, to do some heart investigation, to check with their own hearts, and to ask the question, what has experience shown us in this life? If they were to look at themselves, they'd know that their fathers did not depend upon the Lord. They didn't trust him as their shepherd. They didn't listen to his voice and follow it where he led them, no. They turned to gods of the surrounding nations. They looked for their security and their provision and their pleasure in another place, all manner of other places. and all the while claiming that the Lord was their shepherd. And so what happened as a result? They were taken into exile. They became servants of another people and they thought, they thought that the Lord had departed from them. But what really happened, long before they had departed from the Lord, like sheep who go astray, like sheep who go after their own way. That was me, and it may also have been, or it may be you. The Lord's message to this people, the Lord's message to us, to me, is this, and it's plain, it's simple, it's clear, Notice this, trust in me, follow me, allow me to lead you, hear my voice. And when you do, you will experience the Lord's care. You will walk with me as part of my flock. You know, this is one of those passages where if you really look at it, there are essentially two paths that are drawn out for us. Now, one of those paths is, as it always is, it's following your own way, your own heart, your own desires, looking for guidance from the counselors of the world. It may seem to be the way of success, but it always is only temporary at best. Now, the other path is lasting. It's solid, it's true success, it's true security, and it will never fail you because of who it is based upon, but it is the path of faith. And so he's telling us, especially those of us who have lived in this world for some time, but including those who haven't, Pay attention. If you have lived in this world for some time, recognize the emptiness and the uselessness of all those other paths. And maybe this is something that the Lord will show us as we think about the choices that we have made and the choices that perhaps we are making today. This is something that should drive us to trust in the Lord, to listen to his voice, and therefore to experience his care as he takes care of his flock. so that you're able to not only say these words and get a measure of security out of them, but true security. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Now as we look at chapter 10, I'd like to divide this prophecy from Zechariah into two parts in order to look at how the Lord cares for and guards His people. So the first part, the first five verses, the Lord Himself will shepherd His flock. He will shepherd His flock. Have that in mind. Secondly, the Lord will restore His flock. From verse 6 to the end of the chapter, the Lord will restore. So first of all, the Lord will shepherd his flock. And really this is the great comfort that we have, that the flock is not entrusted to some person. out there. It is His flock. Now He does have under shepherds, you might call them, but it is His flock and it is His voice that we are to hear. He is the one who shepherds. And so the question for Israel, and it's the same question for us, but the question for Israel was where were they going to put their trust? Now notice what God has done with Israel from the very beginning. I don't know if you've ever thought about this, but he strategically placed them in a location in which they would have to depend upon him. The land that he gave them, we often call it the promised land. We know that it was a beautiful land, flowed with milk and honey as a metaphor for how beautiful and the provision that was in the land. but it didn't have a natural water source that's needed for crops, for living. It wasn't like living in Western North Carolina, where at times we feel like we are in a rainforest and we've got lakes galore all around us. They didn't have that. And the Lord placed them in an area where if he didn't provide for them, they didn't eat. It was that straightforward. And what do you think this tempted them, therefore, to do? It tempted them to look around them, at the nations around them. Look at how they dealt with their situations. And they had even particular gods that they were able to call upon, that they were able to look to, who were rain gods, who would provide for the weather and for irrigation. And so, what were they tempted to do? To depend upon, what do we see in verse 2? Household gods. To depend upon diviners or divination. In other words, to look for help, to look for success in other places, in ways that, from the Lord's view, were corrupt, deceitful, and fruitless. And what was the result? Well, for Israel, ultimately, it was exile. It was enslavement at the hands of others, suffering, tremendous loss. What about for you? What does it look like in the path? What path have you taken at times that has shown itself to be in the same way, fruitless and end in suffering? You know, the way that the Lord works, by His grace, He often allows us to see the error of our ways. And that's tremendously important. Now for Israel, look at what the Lord called them to do. Instead of looking to other gods, look with me at verse 1. Ask rain from the Lord, in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds. He is the one who makes them. And He will give them showers of rain to everyone, the vegetation in the field. Ask Him. Trust in Him. He will provide. He's going to require faith of you. He's going to require patience of you. But look to Him. Their fathers didn't do it. And it appears that they were beginning to stand in the ways of their fathers. And so here he warns them not to continue in those ways. It's a warning not to wander as sheep without a shepherd, following their own way. And then he'll follow this up in verse three with a harsh warning for false shepherds, for those who lead the flock astray, often for their own gain. Now that's gonna be our primary focus next week as we look at chapter 11. But right here, brothers and sisters, the error, the serious error that we need to recognize is that we not begin to think that we know better than the Lord, to close our ears to the Lord and to instead follow the voice of another that seems at the time more attractive to us. Listen to these words from Jeremiah as he speaks about the same thing. It's the words of the Lord. The Lord says, My people have committed two evils. They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. You know, when we fail to look to the Lord and we fail to depend upon the Lord and to trust in His provision for us, recognize that we're actually rejecting Him. saying, I don't want it. I know better. We're rejecting him, the fountain of living waters. And instead, we're taking on the path of emptiness, the path of brokenness and worthlessness, no matter how appealing the world might make it seem to us. Think about sheep. When they depart from their shepherd, they go where they want. And when they go where they want, there's no voice there to call them back, to tell them to stay close to the flock. There's no rod or staff to direct them and to warn them about the enemies that are around them. But they're left vulnerable, and ultimately vulnerable to destruction, to death. But worst of all, really, most frightening, you might say, is that the sheep don't even realize that they have no ability whatsoever on their own to care for themselves, to provide for themselves. They think that they're okay, but they're blind to the danger that surrounds them. So you think about it, what a danger it is to wander about like sheep without a shepherd. And so this is a warning here intended to drive them and to drive us to the Good Shepherd. Look down with me at verse 3, partway down verse 3. He says, for the Lord of hosts cares for His flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like His majestic steed in battle. the Lord cares for them and he calls them to trust in him. Now this is the Good Shepherd who really protects his sheep, he really provides for his sheep, he makes them strong, he gives them purpose. Look at verse 4, from him shall come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler, all of them together. He goes on from there. I want you to notice that each of these is a reference that we see in Scripture to the Lord Jesus Christ. You may have heard about the cornerstone. In a few different places, we read about the cornerstone. That's a foundation for a building, right? A stone that holds all things together. From him, the tent peg. He is our solid anchor. From him, the battle bow. He is the one who protects us and provides for us. From him, every ruler. Every ruler. He is the king of kings, the lord of lords. He is our God. He is our shepherd. What a contrast between these two paths. Think about it. One, to wander about like a sheep without a shepherd. Think about how many of us have done that, have experienced that, choosing not to listen to his voice, not to give ourselves over to him, but instead to go after our own way, oblivious to what we're really doing. You know, I can look back at my own life and I can see the times. I know the times. In fact, there was a large period of time when I went astray and my God was independence. It was doing it my own way. And during that time, I traveled many places. I did many, what I thought, wonderful things. But again, it was about being independent, casting off authority, really, if you look at it. But that came crashing down. The Lord brought before me a recognition that this is not the way. But what did I do? Did I listen to His voice at that point? No. I turned to another guy. This time it was seeking after fulfillment by my job. And so my job became my life and I dedicated myself to it and I received significance through it and I sought out financial security by it. So one thing after another until finally that came crashing down as well. And at that point it was almost like The second path was the only option that remained. For the first time, I had ears to truly hear that voice of the true shepherd, the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. Now, think about that. To go from a place in which you're following your own way, and there is no shepherd really, to a place in which you're under the shepherd who gives his life for the sheep. And we get this description of it out of 1 Peter 2. He himself, speaking about Christ, the Good Shepherd, bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Because he knows what we need. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were strained like sheep. but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. You think about how glorious, how comforting it is that he, the Lord, would shepherd his flock in this way, calling out constantly for you to come and to follow him and to walk in his ways. And it brings to our mind the question, are you, am I trusting in him? Am I listening for his voice? Am I following him? Or am I continuing to seek after a God of my own making? As we just heard in 1 Peter chapter 2, he is not only the Lord who will shepherd his sheep, but he is the Lord who will restore his flock. This is something that is to be to us of great comfort, that we who were scattered and wandering and lost, who were separated from the flock, and separated from the Lord, that we might be gathered together and strengthened and restored and made whole. again and therefore made useful to the great shepherd." Now this is represented in our passage to the people of Israel who had returned to this land as they're coming back together as a nation. That's the thread from verse 6 all the way to the end of the chapter that runs all the way through. Remember that they had been broken up even before going into exile for many years, broken up into the north and into the South. Ten tribes in the North, two tribes in the South. There was constant hostility between them, and both of them rebellious against the Lord, until finally the exile came about. Now, the Lord says, I will reverse all of that, and they shall be united together. One people, one flock. Look with me, beginning at verse 6. I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back. Why? Because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them. For I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them. Then Ephraim, that's referring to the north, they shall become like a mighty warrior. and their hearts shall be glad as with wine. Their children shall see it and be glad. Their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord." And he goes on and on, continuing in this manner, speaking about how he will call them back together, united as one people, one flock under one head. gathered together, he will reunite them, he will protect them. You know, it's six times in this passage he uses those words of gathering together and he says, and I will destroy everything that had created fear in their lives. He speaks about, he shall pass through the sea of troubles and strike down the waves of the sea that stands for fear and their troubles and their enemies. He would take care of all of that. This is a flock. who would be together and who would be truly cared for. Now, I want to take just a minute here and help us to see more clearly what Zechariah was pointing to, what the people there would have seen, and what this prophecy about the restoration of God's people is really describing. And I think in order to do that, we've got to recognize one fact about these people who had returned to the land. And that is that the return to the land As we look back on it, we can see clearly it was incomplete. You know, all those certain things had been prophesied about the return to the land, wonderful things, magnificent things. You know, the temple would be restored in a magnificent way. You can read the end of the book of Ezekiel, the last 10 chapters, in glory and magnificence. The land itself was to be that the borders greatly expanded and also there would be this magnificent return and reunification of God's people and they would have a king in the line of David, a king who would rule over the land with righteousness and justice. Now here's the point. That didn't happen in its fullness. It never happened in its fullness. There was a partial return, a return to the land, but never anything near what had been prophesied. You know, for 400 years, from the end of the Old Testament to the beginning of the New Testament, the nation of Israel was in an incomplete state. And the people knew that. They were constantly looking forward to the fulfillment of these prophecies. They were longing for them as a nation, yes, for the Messiah, as well as for a fulfillment of the other promises. And it only became evident later that the reason for this delay was that they were never intended to have merely a physical fulfillment in the land. God had in view for each of them something far and above, far greater, all centered on the coming of a great king, the coming Messiah. one who was not to be merely a political king who would rescue the nation from their geographic enemies, but he was to be the Savior, and he was to redeem a people for his own possession, to set them free from enslavement to sin and guilt and shame, to take care of their real problem. And this people that he was to minister to were to come out of every tribe, every nation, every tongue, a people with many differences yet gathered together without division, restored as one united people, Jew and Gentile together, one flock, one shepherd. Think about that. That's what this is pointing toward. We read about it earlier in the book of John. Listen to what Jesus said back in John, when we were in John 10, in verse 14. He says, I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. Verse 16. and I have other sheep that are not of this fold, I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice." Notice, they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd gathered together under one head, newly empowered, provided the temple will be there as well, the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. What is this a description of? It's not a description of God's people isolated all over the place as islands, each tending to his own. No, he has gathered us together. You think of a flock of sheep gathered us together as a people. This is the church. Now, yes, We still have difficult times in this world. And yes, we are, including me, often stubborn at times. We still have a tendency to wander. But together as a flock, what did he say, they will listen to my voice and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Are you a part of the church? Not just outwardly, but also inwardly. Do you hear his voice? Do you seek after him? Is that where your heart is drawn? You know, you think about sheep. You can have a whole huge group of sheep together. And the shepherd can call out. I've never seen this in person, but I hear it's true. The shepherd can call out, and his sheep will come out of that group of sheep and become his flock together. Why? Because they know his voice. all mixed together, and yet they're constantly listening. They recognize His voice, and they respond. Why? Because together they trust Him, and they know that He has what they need, and they know that He will provide for them exactly what they need. And they can't listen to another, truly, maybe for a time period, but they will come back because He cares for them. And they know that he will never let them alone. He will never leave them nor forsake them. He is their shepherd and they are his sheep together as one flock. I want to take you back to that question that I asked right at the very beginning. Do you have a knowledge inside that you are cared for, that you are truly cared for, that you are eternally cared for, that you have your deepest need taken care of? your need for forgiveness of sin, your need for reconciliation with the Lord, and then the true needs of peace and joy and the other needs that come along with this, all flowing from coming and trusting the Savior, the chief shepherd of the sheep. That's what we need to ask ourselves. Do I know this shepherd? Do I walk with this shepherd? Do I listen to this shepherd? Or am I following another path, a wrong path? We need to be the church together, seeking that one another, that we would walk with the Lord as his sheep. and that as those who are part of his flock that we would care for one another and care whether or not one another are walking with him together, one shepherd, one flock. That's our heart's desire, should be our heart's desire, and that is God's desire and plan for his church. Please join me in prayer. Father, we thank you this morning. When we look at our own hearts and we recognize that our own hearts are wayward, that the metaphor is true, because we are like sheep, we are constantly tempted to go astray, and we do go astray. Lord, we pray that you would bring this word to our mind and to our hearts. Help us to recognize where we are in our relationship with you. Help us to desire to walk with you day in, day out. Bring to our mind and our hearts the the brokenness, the worthlessness of all other paths in the world, all the paths that we are tempted to follow. And help us, we pray, Lord, day in and day out, to set your path before us, to listen for your voice, and to follow as those sheep who are with their shepherd. We pray for your help. We know that we need it. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.