Zechariah 11

And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock

(Zechariah 11:7)

 

Previous chapter revealed that the Lord (1) would bring his people, the true people of Israel, home, (2) would use his people to conquer their enemies and (3) would bless his people with prosperity. But the end of previous chapter made already clear that this would happen under the most difficult of circumstances. This message is continued in Chapter 11. It is a message of the turmoil, the world would be in while God executes his great rescue operation on behalf of his people. This turmoil is being described with the analogy of false shepherds that mistreat the flock that they are responsible for. Does this sound strange, looking at the behavior of world politicians in 2025?

 

Zechariah 11 will be fulfilled more than once. The first fulfillment was in the first age, at the first coming of Jesus and what happened afterward. The second fulfillment will be shortly before the second coming of Jesus.

 

First fulfillment

Verse 1-3 - In figurative language, the first verses describe the destruction of the temple, which would follow the rejection of Messiah by his people. The temple in Jerusalem was for a great part built of cedars of the Lebanon, both the first temple, built by Salomo and the second built by Zerubbabel and later renovated by Herod the Great. The Al-Aqsa Mosque very probably contains some of the beams of the first and second temple, made out of these cedars. From the year 30 AD, when Jesus was crucified, until 70 AD the doors of the temple mysteriously opened on their own accord, in which a Rabbi of those days saw the looming doom of the temple, knowing the prophecy of Zechariah. The fir tree (verse 2) stands for the ordinary houses and people. If the residence of the Lord would be destroyed how much more the people's residences. The forest of the vintage might be all neighborhoods of Jerusalem, which were also totally destroyed. The shepherds (verse 3) are a picture of the religious rulers, which profited from the temple service. The you lions are an image of the civil rulers. The temple was the most magnificent building in the complete Middle East and could be described as the 'pride of the Jordan', which usually stood for the thicket of bushes and trees along the Jordan river.

 

Verse 4 - 6 - 'Flock of the slaughter' relates to the Jewish people in the first century AD, which were indeed slain by the hundreds of thousands when  the Roman legions invaded Judea, besieged Jerusalem, took the city after heavy battles and laid it in ashes. However being 'flock of the slaughter', the Lord still wants to feed them, as can be seen in Jesus in the gospels, feeding the 5000 and the 4000. Besides, Jesus also fed them the Word of God, through his unwavering teaching to the people of Israel, till the very last days before his crucifixion. Jesus Himself was and is the Word of God. The people have no excuse for what they did and what became of them - flock of the slaughter.

(Verse 5) - The possessors (buyers) that slay them were the Roman legions, to which the people was 'sold' by the religious rulers, the Sanhedrin, which can be seen as the sellers of the sheep. The action of selling was in fact done before Pilate, when they said 'We have no king but Caesar'. From then on, the Romans could do with the people whatever they wanted - not feeling any guilt - for the wrath  that they brought upon the people had its origin in God Himself - the people having betrayed their own Messiah. 'The profits that the priestly class made from the temple service was a very important motive to have Jesus removed from the scene. 'and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord; for I am rich'. The priests said among themselves: 'If we let Him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation' (John 11:48).'The shepherds, those that led the people in a certain direction, both the rulers and the lower spiritual leaders, felt no pity and minded only their own selfish interests. 'And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.' (Luke 16:14).

(Verse 6) - The metaphoric language is dropped. Instead of flock and shepherds, this verse talks about inhabitants, neighbors and king. Neighbors: 'Zealots and other factious Jews expelled and slew one another by turns at the last invasion by Rome' ; king: the Roman king, Vespasian and later Titus became the king they had asked for: 'We have no king but Caesar' (John 19:15). 

 

Verse 7 - 11 - Even though the people are 'flock of the slaughter', still the Lord feeds them. Even though people wage war, our God and Father still upholds everything in his creation, necessary for human life. Any food shortage that would emerge, or lack of knowledge of God's word, is the guilt of the spiritual leaders. The poor of the flock are the Christians, that generally were poor and not in any ruling position because Christ was rejected. Jews that had repented and had accepted Jesus were 'the remnant' under the people, as taught by Paul: 'Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.' (Rom.11:5) The two staves 'Beauty' and 'Bands' stand for the way Jesus presented Himself as Shepherd to the nation of Israel. The stave 'Beauty' speaks of his Holy Person, the grace and love and truth with which He spoke, as accounted in many parts of the gospels and the rest of the New Testament. 'And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?' (Luke 4:22), 'And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.' (John 1:14), 'How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.' (Acts 10:38). 'The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.' (John 10:10,11).

The stave 'Bonds' speaks of the unity which he sought under his people: 'And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.' (John 10:16).

(Verse 8) - Three shepherds the Lord cut off in one month. Who are the three shepherds? There are multiple explanations. (1) Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians - Problem: these are no concrete shepherds but religious movements and they didn't disappear all three. The Pharisees remained for centuries. (2) prophet, priest and king - Problem: these are no concrete shepherds but functions or posts and at least the kings (rulers) remained. (3) The three oppressive and infamous leaders of the first and second Jewish revolts: Simon, John and Simon Bar-Kokhba - Problem: the last Simon was leader of the second uprising  (130-135 AD) while the first two led the first revolt (66-70 AD). (4) John, Simon, and Eleazar, three leaders of factions in the Jewish war

 

 

 

Verse 1-3 - The first verses show us how the land of Israel will be surrounded by destruction. Lebanon, the country to the North of Israel and Syria and Jordan in the North-East. The destruction is described in terms of the former vegetation and animal life. Fire will devour the cedars of Lebanon. Oaks of Bashan would howl, which was the region on the East side of the Jordan river, North of the lake of Galilee. Shepherds howl because their glory vanished, lions roar because Jordan's pride (the thicket on the sides of the Jordan) is spoiled. Connecting this with previous chapter - the affected area's are those or close to those where God would put his people: Lebanon and Gilead (Bashan is North of Gilead).

Looking at the situation since October of 2023 till summer 2025 (the time we write these lines), we indeed see destruction in the south of Lebanon as well as in Syria. This destruction is brought about by the power of the empire, which is executed by its vassal state Israel. Through zionist Israel, the empire wants to dominate the complete Middle East. This could be a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. However, those committing atrocities can never say: 'I was just fulfilling prophecy'. For the Lord said: 'Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence comes! (Math.18:7).

But the destruction has not yet reached the pride of Jordan and the exact location of Bashan, which is the Golan heights. That territory will come under attack once Israel is being targeted from the North, as seen in Daniel 11:40-45.

 

Verse 4 - The rest of the chapter uses the picture of humanity as a flock of sheep. They are called 'flock of the slaughter', pointing to the ultimate end that is being plotted for most of humanity, especially those who belong to the Lord, his holy people. It is as Paul says in Romans 8: 'As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' (Rom.8:36) But however desperate the situation of humanity, God still want to feed his flock. He is the heavenly Father, the great Maker and Upholder of all of creation that cannot but provide for his creatures - as Jesus said: 'Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are ye not much better than they?' (Math.6:26) And like the Father, the Son, as the good Shepherd, wants to feed his flock. 'But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.' (Math.14:16) - which ends in the feeding of the 5,000.The Lord Jesus is the good Shepherd, Who first came to the people of Israel. He was compassionate for them: 'But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.' (Math.10:36). He ordered his discipels: 'These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' (Math.10:5,6). And later He rebuked the Canaanite woman: 'I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'

But his people rejected Him. Therefore his mission widened toward all of humanity, as is seen in Jesus' teachings on 'the Good Shepherd': 'And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.' (John 10:16) That the whole earth would come to fall under the missionary reach of Jesus is also seen at the end of Mathew: 'And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats' (Math.25:32) Likewise the scope of Zechariah 11 is much wider than just Israel, as we shall explain further on in this chapter.

 

Verse 5 - Why is humanity compared to 'a flock of the slaughter'? The answer is in this verse: 'Their possessors slay them and hold themselves not guilty'. It is because of the interests, the character and the behavior of those who have maneuvered themselves in positions of power that the sheep are ore will be slaughtered. In order to understand this, we need information from Daniel and the book of Revelation, which can be seen as the great summery of all prophecy on the Endtime. Both the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation show the world empire, that tries to control affairs worldwide in order to consolidate its power. This world empire is under direct control of the dragon, the enemy of God, and has shifted from one culture to the next, seeking total domination. It went from Babylon, via Persia and Greece to Rome, where it went down under influence of Christianity. But with the corruption and weakening of Christianity the empire has reestablished itself in the modern USA, which can be see as the heir of the Roman empire. It even succeeded in dominating the old powers of Europe that came forth from the Roman empire. Those are seen as its extensions in ten horns, both in Daniel and in Revelation. The empire can be seen as the network of mighty men with its center in Washington DC. The pyramid structure gives them influence over all positions of power below them. Therefore every ruler takes orders from above in the interests of the empire and feels not accountable for the consequences of their actions, however gruesome. Earth's population is becoming poorer, sicker and weaker by the day. 'Their possessors slay them and hold themselves not guilty'.

The most evil is that it is done in the name of the Lord: 'and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord; for I am rich'. Does that sound familiar? The beast - the US empire - has been cloaking itself in the mantle of Christianity since the woman that rode it was thrown off and made powerless, the Catholic Church and her affiliates (Rev.17:16). It poses itself as a nation 'under God', acting 'in the name of God', ascribing its riches and successes to the 'blessing of the Lord', while it is all the result of the most criminal and evil behavior one can think of. And its most evil child, the zionist state of Israel, is doing the same, robbing, terrorizing, starving and murdering the indigenous Palestinian people as if it is a mission coming from God. The Palestinian people are treated as 'flock of the slaughter' more than any other people on earth - for they are the true people of the Lord that the satan wants to have totally wiped out before Jesus' return.

The text discerns between 'possessors', 'sellers' and 'shepherds' of the sheep. Sellers and shepherds work at the orders of the possessors. Standing closest to the sheep, on might expect some compassion for the sheep from them. But it is not there. In modern day, the possessors are the ruling elite, the worlds multi billionaires that have come to own the place through old and dark schemes, in which they sold their souls to the devil. The sellers are the companies that work on behalf of them - the Blackrock's of the world. The shepherds are the politicians, that have to lead the sheep in the desired direction through the so called democratic system.

The so called shepherds have been selected for their jobs by their superiors because of their unique psychological qualities. They are narcissists, psychopaths or even sociopaths, lacking the ability to look in the mirror at their own behavior and most of all lacking empathy - the ability to feel something of  the hurt of others. In short: 'their own shepherds pity them not'. How are these 'shepherds' selected in the satanic pyramid structure of the empire? There are selection methods that serve two ends at the same time: (1) ascertaining absence of empathy (2) having a stick for blackmailing in case of disobedience. This is not the place to dive into these methods.

 

Verse 6 - This verse starts with giving the reason for the situation of the flock, it being the flock of slaughter. It is not just the behavior of the flock's shepherds and their sellers and their owners. That is a necessary but not a sufficient condition. It is the Lord giving the sheep over to their fate. 'For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor's hand, and into the hand of his king'.  Here the text speaks no more of owners, sellers and shepherds but of 'neighbor' and 'king'. The text drops the picture of sheep and speaks directly of 'inhabitants' i.e. people that are subject to 'kings' (governments) and have to deal with neighbors. Important is the scope of this verse. Most expositors apply these texts to Israel and so do the translators, translating the Hebrew 'eres' with land, while its principle meaning is 'earth'. The 'each...into the hand of his king' seems to impy that multiple peoples are meant, each with 'his own king'. It could however start with the people of Israel before it becomes worldwide. We consider this verse to show the conditions being set for the arrival of the red horse of Revelation 6 - 'And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.' (Rev.6:3,4) People given over in the hand of neighbor and king means that peace is gone. In 'that they should kill one another', the hand of the neighbor is seen. In 'him was given a great sword', the hand of the king is seen. In 'take peace from the earth', the 'they shall smite the land (or earth)' is seen. The opening of the sixth seal by the Lamb' illustrates the sentence' and out of their hand I will not deliver them'. The parallels between Zechariah and Revelation are striking. In Zechariah 9, we saw the white horse in the deliverance and victory of God's people and here we have the red horse.

 

Verse 7 - Notwithstanding the evil that would befall humanity, the Lord would still feed his flock. The Father would 'make his sun to rise and send rain' (Math.5:45), even though humanity would become a 'flock of slaughter'. Here a distinction is made between the flock and 'the poor of the flock', which is directly addressed by the Lord and thus stand in a relationship with Him. Those are objects of his special care, as stated by Paul: '...because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe.' (Savior here in the sense of 'Preserver').  They are called 'the poor of the flock', because those who believe in Him are rarely rich, as also stated by Paul: 'For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.' (1 Cor.1:26). And by James: 'Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?' (James 2:5)

And then the verb tense changes - from future tense to past tense: 'And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock'. If this concerns the people of Israel, this has been the situation since the days of Zechariah - God's care for his creation worldwide.

The prophecy on the two staves - Beauty and Bands - goes