Zechariah 11:4-17

We, those of us who call ourselves God's children, we are our brothers keeper! We are without excuse.

4 Thus says the Lord my God, "Feed the flock for slaughter, 5 whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt; those who sell them say, 'Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich'; and their shepherds do not pity them. 6 For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land," says the Lord. "But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor's hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand."

7 So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds; and I fed the flock. 8 I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9 Then I said, "I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other's flesh." 10 And I took my staff, Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day. Thus the poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, "If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain." So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter"—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter. 14 Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the Lord said to me, n"Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd. 16 For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces.

17 "Woe to the worthless shepherd,

Who leaves the flock!

A sword shall be against his arm

And against his right eye;

His arm shall completely wither,

And his right eye shall be totally blinded."

The NKJV Study Bible says this: The shepherds will wail because the grazing lands will be ruined. The lions will roar because of the destruction of the pride of the Jordan, the jungle thicket that was their shelter. Zechariah was commanded to feed or pasture the flock of God's people Israel, knowing it was destined for slaughter. The petty tyrants and oppressors will fall victim to foreign kings who attack the land. It is appropriate that God's messenger Zechariah is given shepherd's staffs to guide the people, instead of clubs for fighting. The breaking of the staff Beauty symbolizes the end of God's protection of His people. God's unconditional promise to Abraham or to David would never be broken. Like Ezekiel's covenant of peace, the covenant here may refer to an agreement with the Gentile nation on Israel's behalf. Zechariah, taking the role of the messianic shepherd, requested his wages for service rendered. His wage was calculated as thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. This was the price paid to Judas for betraying Jesus. The rejection of the messianic shepherd, represented by Zechariah, meant that the national unity the Israelites hoped for would not be achieved at this time. The worthless shepherd will be judged. His arm, which should have been used to protect the sheep, will wither. His right eye, which should have watched over the sheep, will be blinded.