Foolish Shepherd

Last week I posted about the idea that God appoints to all nations their leaders, and how he uses that as a instrument of judgement as well as blessing. Today, I’m going to go over a specific instance where God explained how he intended to bring judgement on Israel in the form of a bad leader.

A Nation in Judgement

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. 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 11:5-6

“Shepherds”, in the context of a people, refers to their cultural leaders (kings, magistrates, priests, etc…). We see God talking about a people being bought for slaughter, sold by those making wealth off of them and their leaders don’t care at all. Rather than this being exclusively a judgement leveled only against cruel leaders, God says he will “no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land” because this is a judgement against the whole nation.

We see that, not only are the leaders betraying the people, but the people are betraying each other when he says “I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor”. This is a people led by the wicked and wicked themselves. They have turned on their neighbors, who they ought to be caring for.

The Good Shepherd

God is a God of judgement, but also mercy. In the middle of Zechariah, God speaks about how he stepped in and gave the people a reprieve from the wicked rulers.

So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me.

Zechariah 11:7-8

He came with favor and union, blessing the people with peace between Israel and Judah and prosperity for a time. He even removed the wicked rulers who had been persecuting them.

While people tend to excuse their bad behavior on the grounds that life first did them wrong and therefore they are just acting in kind, we see the true nature of man in this story. Though God stepped in and gave them a time of blessing, they continued obstinately to sin, trying God’s patience. People set to sin will sin regardless of their environment.

It’s not an easy thing to try God’s patience! God is longsuffering but he doesn’t ignore iniquity (Numbers 14:18). These people kept right on detesting God through his blessing. Therefore, he broke the “staff” of his favor and union.

The Bad Shepherd

Having given the people every excuse to repent and honor him, God is now bringing judgement in the form of bad leadership again.

For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.

Zechariah 11:16

Most people think of bad shepherds only in terms of their lack of care for “those being destroyed” and their inaction in healing the maimed. It is certainly terrible for leaders to have no care for the plight of those who are suffering. However, there’s another side to this verse that is often ignored, especially in our culture of victimhood.

A bad shepherd also refuses to seek the young (lead those who need guidance back to union with the flock). They don’t nourish the healthy (preserve those doing well). In the end, a bad shepherd “devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs”. A good leader, then, is not one who claims to be helping the the poor by tearing down everyone else. It’s a wicked ruler “who eats the rich” all the way down to their hoofs!

A good ruler is one who seeks the welfare of all of his subjects and opposes all of the wicked (no matter their excuse for bad behavior). A shepherd doesn’t ignore the flock and care only for the injured. Rather, he seeks to restore those wandering or injured to the flock so that they can all grow healthy and fat together. Rather than seeking to bring the wealthy down, they seek to raise everyone up to that level.

Recognize Your Shepherd

Jesus, many years later, would claim to be the good shepherd (John 10:11). He cares for the wounded but not by tearing down the healthy. He restores those who wander to the flock but not by scattering the rest. Whether you are hurting, wandering, healthy, or faithfully following, Jesus’s commands are the best way.

He’s calling to his sheep and if you hear that call it is time to respond by following him. He’ll lead his flock to the pleasant pastures, seeking out the lost and mending the injured. Anyone who comes to you promising to do good to you at the cost of your neighbor is a thief, intent on snatching the sheep from flock of the Lord!

Thankfully, Jesus defends his flock. Those who listen for his voice only will never fall for the schemes of those promising care to the hurting at the expense of the healthy, only to turn and devour both.