1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
that the fire may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forest has been felled!
3 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!
4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 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 his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” – Zechariah 11:1-6 ESV
In these verses, Yahweh seems to be warning His people that they are doomed to repeat the sins of their forefathers. Despite their recent return to the land and their ongoing efforts to rebuild the Temple, they will continue to display the same proclivity for apostasy and idolatry. Yahweh wants to bless them and fully intends to restore their fortunes but He knows that their long-term future is bleak because of their hearts are far from Him.
All of the future hope He has outlined for them will come with the arrival of the Messiah at the end of the age. Until then, Israel's prospects will include continued apostasy, no king, constant oppression from outside forces, and a longing for a return to their former days of glory. Under Zechariah’s leadership, the people of Judah would complete the construction of the new Temple, but its presence would do little to transform their hearts or alter their behavior.
The Temple was finished in 516 B.C. and then refurbished and expanded by Herod the Great about 18 B.C. This “second” Temple was still standing when Jesus began His earthly ministry. But the Romans destroyed that beautiful structure nearly 90 years later. Jesus predicted this devastating event when discussing the beauty of Herod’s renovated Temple with His disciples.
As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, look at these magnificent buildings! Look at the impressive stones in the walls.”
Jesus replied, “Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!” – Mark 13:1-2 NLT
The disciples were obviously disturbed by what Jesus said but He had far more to say about the matter that would leave them disheartened and confused. First, He warned them not to be fooled by the appearance of false Messiahs, offering deliverance from the wars, famines, and earthquakes that would come. But His premonitions concerning their own fate must have hit the hardest.
“You will be handed over to the local councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. For the Good News must first be preached to all nations.” – Mark 13:9-10 NLT
The future would be difficult and feature a disintegration of the social fabric.
“A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” – Mark 13:12-13 NLT
Jesus’ next words must have left His disciples staggering in disbelief. He described a period of great tribulation and turmoil – like nothing the world has ever seen.
“For there will be greater anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a single person will survive. But for the sake of his chosen ones he has shortened those days.” – Mark 13:19-20 NLT
However, the disciples failed to understand that many of these things would not occur until long after they were gone. After His ascension, they would suffer persecution, being arrested, tried, beaten, and even martyred for their proclamation of the Good News. But they would not live to see the full extent of the prophecy He outlined.
Jesus was speaking of His second coming, the future day when He would return to complete God’s plan for the redemption of Israel and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth.
“Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.” – Mark 13:26-27 NLT
But what does all this have to do with Zechariah 10:1-4? Everything. In these verses, the prophet delivers Yahweh’s message concerning the destruction of the Temple. Zechariah must have found these words difficult to write down because He was still trying to finish the construction of the Temple. It would have been highly demotivating and demoralizing to hear that their work would be in vain. He had no idea that 576 years would pass before the Romans destroyed the Temple.
While Yahweh used poetic language to describe the future fate of the Temple, His message would have been clear to Zechariah. Verse one describes the Temple in a rather strange way but one that Zechariah and the people of Judah would have understood.
Open your doors, O Lebanon,
that the fire may devour your cedars! – Zechariah 11:1 ESV
When Solomon prepared to build the original Temple, he procured wood for its construction from the forests of Lebanon. He sent a message to the King of Tyre requesting all the lumber necessary to complete his plans for God’s house.
“Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.” – 1 Kings 5:6 ESV
The text goes on to reveal that Hiram honored Solomon’s request and provided all the timber necessary for the Temple project.
So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired. – 1 Kings 5:10 ESV
Wood featured prominently in the design of the Temple.
So Solomon built the house and finished it. He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place. The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long. The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen. – 1 Kings 6:14-18 ESV
Because of the sheer quantity of lumber from Lebanon used in the Temple’s construction, According to the Talmud, God’s house was affectionately nicknamed, “Lebanon.” When Solomon finished his palace, he called it “the House of the Forest of Lebanon” (1 Kings 7:2 ESV).
So, verse 1 contains a thinly veiled reference to the destruction of the Temple. But Yahweh describes other “glorious trees” like cypress and oak that will also face destruction.
Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forest has been felled! – Zechariah 11:2 ESV
Some scholars believe these are references to the people of Israel but, given the context, it makes more sense to see this as a further description of the Temple’s ultimate destruction. All the wood used to frame and decorate the Temple would be burned in the fire started by the Roman soldiers. For the second time, the glorious House of God was destroyed by the enemies of Israel. As a result of this devastation, the priests (shepherds) wail as they witness the destruction of their place of the LORD’s house and their place of employment.
The sound of the wail of the shepherds,
for their glory is ruined! – Zechariah 11:3 ESV
But it would seem that these verses foreshadow something far greater than the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. In the rest of the chapter, Yahweh expands the scope of His prophecy, describing a much greater devastation than that which took place in the 1st Century A.D. Once again, He provides a stark vision of the future that must have disturbed Zechariah but came without explanation or interpretation. Like Jesus’ disciples, the prophet had no way of knowing when these things might occur. But Yahweh gives a command that provides a vital clue to understanding what He is talking about.
“Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.” – Zechariah 11:4 ESV
This can be taken as a reference to Zechariah but it also has future implications. In chapter 10, Yahweh described the arrival of a new shepherd who would care for His forsaken flock.
“…the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has arrived
to look after Judah, his flock.
He will make them strong and glorious,
like a proud warhorse in battle.” – Zechariah 10:3 ESV
That shepherd would be the Good Shepherd, Jesus, who came to lay down His life for the sheep (John 10:11). God intended to send His Son as the ultimate Shepherd who would lovingly care for His neglected and mistreated flock.
“So I will rescue my flock, and they will no longer be abused. I will judge between one animal of the flock and another. And I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them.” – Ezekiel 34:23-24 NLT
Matthew records that when Jesus came He saw the people of Israel with the eyes of a shepherd.
He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. – Matthew 9:36 BSB
But John records, “He came to his own people, and even they rejected him” (John 1:11 NLT). Jesus came to be the Great Shepherd, but the sheep of Israel refused to hear His voice. In fact, according to the apostle Peter, they played a significant role in His death.
“This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!” – Acts3:13-15 NLT
In some sense, verses 4-6 of Zechariah 11 refer to God’s prophet. He was the “shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter” (Zechariah 11:4 ESV). But, in this, he served as a type of foreshadowing of the greater shepherd to come. The author of Hebrews describes Jesus as “the great Shepherd of the sheep” (Hebrews 13:20 NLT). Jesus came to serve as the one true Shepherd, but His own flock refused to listen to His voice or accept His offer of care and compassion. But one day, Jesus will return again to gather up the scattered flock of God and restore them to His Father’s fold.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.” – John 10:14-16 NLT
But long before that event takes place, there will be a period of prolonged suffering and separation for the unfaithful flock of God. That is what God describes for His prophet Zechariah.
“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 his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” – Zechariah 11:6 ESV
For Zechariah, those events lay in the distant future and he would not live to see them. But God was revealing the details of Israel’s destiny and assuring His prophet that there was a complete and fully reliable plan in place for their future well-being.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
