Bible Commentaries
Zechariah 11

Verses 1-3

Zec 11:1-3

A PARABLE OF SHEPHERDS

RUIN OF HOSTILE POWERS . . . Zechariah 11:1-3

It has been suggested that these verses alluding to Bashan and Lebanon describe an invasion of Israel. Bearing in mind the context (uninterrupted in the original text by a chapter heading or number) this seems very unlikely. It is more likely a threat of destruction against the enemies of Judah, particularly since great forests are used occasionally to symbolize military power (cp. Isaiah 10:34). The shepherds of Zechariah 11:3 are the leaders of these hostile powers. Devouring fire (Zechariah 11:1), symbol of irremediable destruction, is to come swiftly upon those powers whose rulers would then howl in despair like the lions driven out of the jungle along the Jordan.

The entire passage (Zechariah 10:3 to Zechariah 11:3) is designed to point up the difference between the Jewish nation and its Gentile neighbors, especially those who have historically oppressed the Jews. It looks forward to the day when the shoe will be on the other foot. This could only happen when the Jews, both northern and southern, were returned to their homelands and established as an independent state.

Zerr: This chapter as a whole is a prediction of the overthrow of Judaism as the religion of God’s people. The self-righteous Jews had become proud and scornful by the time Christ came into the world and they were destined to be brought down by the institution of the new covenant under Him. The cedar is a lofty tree and is used in figurative language to represent that which is proud and self-exalted. Lebanon was the territory where this tree grew in greatest abundance, hence its mention in the present connection (Zechariah 11:1). Open thy doors, etc. is a prediction that the haughty Jews (here represented as the cedars of Lebanon) were to be subdued and humiliated by the king of the new regime. The fir and oak trees (Zechariah 11:2) were more common than the cedar, but they are represented as howling over the falling of the lofty tree. If such an important plant as the cedar was doomed to humiliation, there was no prospect of the survival of these ordinary ones, hence they were induced to howl in dismay. Zechariah 11:3 predicts that the leaders among the Jews were to be humiliated and they were to complain of their lot. All of this was fulfilled when Jesus came into the world and introduced the Gospel.

Questions

A Parable of Shepherds

1. Discuss the symbolism of the forests in Zechariah 11:1-3.

2. Of what is fire symbolic in verse one?

3. The entire passage (Zechariah 10:3 to Zechariah 11:3) is designed to point up the difference between ___________________ and _________________.

4. Between the time of Zechariah and the establishment of the Jewish people as described in chapter ten, there was to be _________________.

5. Zechariah 11:12-13 is applied literally to _________________ in Matthew 26:5; Matthew 27:9-10.

6. Explain the allegory of the flock and the shepherd in this passage.

7. Why does God promise to sever His covenant relationship to the Jews?

8. What is meant by “flock of slaughter?”

9. What is described in verse six?

10. Review the events leading to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and 135 A.C.

11. Who was Bar Cocheba?

12. What is the symbolism of the two staffs?

13. Who fulfills the picture of the good shepherd in this passage? (Compare John 10:11)

14. Why, in verse nine, does the shepherd decide to let the flock die rather than feed it?

15. What was symbolized in the breaking of the two staffs?

16. God’s patience was mistaken by the Jews as _________________.

17. In the intervening years between the Babylonian exile and the coming of Jesus, the concern of the Jews turned completely from _________________ to _________________.

18. A covenant is always _________________.

19. The final act of unfaithfulness came when _________________.

20. Instead of paying him his due, the people _________________ him and sold him.

21. What is the significance of the thirty pieces of silver?

22. How does the disposal of the blood money by Judas demonstrate the accuracy of Zechariah’s prediction?

23. What happened to the Jewish people immediately following the destruction of Jerusalem in 135 A.D.?

Verses 1-17

Zec 11:1-17

Zechariah called upon to be a type of the good shepherd to Come

(Zechariah 11:1-14)

“Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Wail, O fir tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down. A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! For their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! For the pride of the Jordan is laid waste” (Zechariah 11:1-3).

There is a variety of interpretations given for this text. Some believe that the judgment is pronounced against Judea in the form of the Assyrians and still yet others believe it looks to the future when the Romans would invade Palestine at 70 AD utterly destroying it. The context of the chapter suggests a spiritual battle between the Lord and the nations who oppose His will.

“Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter; whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not” (Zechariah 11:4-5).

Micah had touched upon the unjust behavior of Judah’s shepherds before Babylon had taken them for their sins. These shepherds would “pervert all equity” and the prophet along with the priest performed works for money alone. They believed that as long as they received money and riches that God was with them (cf. Micah 3:9-11). Amos said that these shepherds of the people “oppress the poor and crush the needy” (Amos 4:1). Their wickedness had caused God to withhold the blessings of rain and harvest yet God’s people would not return unto Him (cf. Amos 4:6-12). These facts cause me to think that Zechariah has in mind here the rulers of the people who have slipped back into the same old practices of cheating their brethren (cf. Amos 2:6; Amos 8:4-6). The rulers of God’s people continued to perform acts of injustice upon the lesser people of the land. As they received riches for this cheating approach they considered their ways acceptable. God calls upon Zechariah to feed the flock of His people who have been mistreated much like Christ would feed the ungrateful in the coming years only to be rejected of those he helped.

“For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah; but. Lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor’s hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock” (Zechariah 11:6-7).

Zechariah fulfills God’s request to feed these “flock of slaughter” (i.e., the poor and cheated among the people of God that the richer shepherds were taking advantage of). Due to the wickedness of the shepherds God determined to smite the land.

“And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me. Then said I, I will not feed you: that which dieth, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them that are left eat every one the flesh of another” (Zechariah 11:8-9).

While feeding the “flock of slaughter” as God commanded over the space of four weeks the prophet grew weary with the treatment of three of the shepherds and “cut them off.” Zechariah was disgusted with them and they loathed him for his words. Weary with the wickedness of all classes of people the prophet turns them over to fill up the measure of their wickedness by eating each other’s flesh in a cannibalistic fashion.

“And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. And it was broken in that day; and thus the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew that it was the word of Jehovah. And I said unto them, if ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear. So they weighted for my hire thirty pieces of silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of Jehovah. Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel” (Zechariah 11:10-14).

When Zechariah saw that the wicked shepherds continued their onslaught of wicked and un-just acts against the poor he withdrew his covenant to care for them. He broke the staff of Beauty and Bands to signify the end of the covenant agreement for him to feed them. Zechariah asks to be paid for the work of feeding the people and they agreed. The people weigh out 30 pieces of silver for his work. The people as a whole had rejected the true and caring shepherd; i.e., Zechariah. They agreed to let him go and gave him money in silver to depart. There are strong ties to the Matthew 27:9 passage where Judas received 30 pieces of silver as he sold out the Christ (though Matthew refers to this passage as belonging to Jeremiah it most assuredly and equally belongs to this one in Zechariah). Jesus was the true and caring shepherd for God’s people yet he was rejected. Likewise Zechariah has been rejected. The people have illustrated a spirit of ungratefulness.

The Wicked Shepherd (Zechariah 11:15-17)

“And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces” (Zechariah 11:15-16).

The rejection of a caring and loving shepherd gives way to uncaring and unloving shepherds. Shepherds that care nothing but getting gain for self. Said shepherds could care less if some suffer or do well because all their actions are centered around gaining self benefit and glory. The identity of the “foolish shepherd” is likely those like Herod who ruled over Palestine without true care for the kingdom of God. To reject God’s care is to get for one’s self misery.

“Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock! The sword shall be his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened” (Zechariah 11:17).

The shepherd’s responsibility is to watch over the flock. To have a spirit of indifference over the welfare one is entrusted with will by no means go unpunished. The sword shall come to this man and the eye that should be watchful will be darkened or gouged out (like Zedekiah’s eyes). Let this be a solemn warning to all elders of the body of Christ today. Said men are entrusted with the flock of God’s people. To ignore the fallen, scattered, and week with a spirit of indifference is to bring condemnation upon one’s self.

Verses 4-17

Zec 11:4-17

FAITHFUL & FOOLISH SHEPHERDS . . . Zechariah 11:4-17

Between the time Zechariah and the establishment of the Jewish people as described in the last section, there was to be another period during which they will feel the wrath of Jehovah. The time of the fulfillment of this prediction is fixed beyond question by the verses twelve and thirteen. The verses are applied very literally to the betrayal of Jesus in Matthew 26:5; Matthew 27:9-10. Therefore, the prediction of the passage must have to do with the “hardening in part” (Romans 11:25) which caused Him to take the kingdom from the Jews and give it to the church, “A nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” (Matthew 21:33-43)

The prediction is presented allegorically. The nation is the flock, the Messiah is the faithful Shepherd. Because of their stubbornness, the Shepherd turns from them as they sell Him for thirty pieces of silver. The key is verse ten in which Jehovah severs His covenant relationship with the nation.

(Zechariah 11:4-5) As we turn to a detailed examination of the passage, we are immediately confronted with a strange command given by Jehovah to the prophet, “Feed the flock of slaughter.” The term “flock of slaughter” is what gives the command a strange ring. We will find it again in verse seven.

Zerr: Zechariah 11:4 is a prediction that the Lord would feed the flock that had been slaughtered (mistreated) by the cruel and self-righteous princes among the Jews. The possessors and shepherds of Zechariah 11:5 means the wicked rulers and princes among the Jewish people who imposed on the common population.

The Jews, during the Roman period, were like sheep, bought and sold by their shepherds, i.e., rulers who not only used the people for their own aggrandizement, but actually thanked God for their evilly procured riches and power. They felt no guilt for using the people to accomplish their own ends.

It would be difficult to imagine a more vivid description of the Herods, and the temple priests who served in their puppet government of the Jews.

With the people at the mercy of such leadership, the prophet is called upon to feed the flock as one exposed for slaughter.

(Zechariah 11:6) The consequence of the leadership of the Herods and the self-seeking priests of his day was that described here. It became a time for riots, for the guerilla warfare of the Zealots, for false Messiahs and finally anarchy which brought the legions of Rome down upon them in a fury. God delivered them into the hand of the king (emperor) who did indeed smite the land. And, as He warns here, God did not intervene.

Zerr: Zechariah 11:6 predicts that God would plunge the entire Jewish nation into confusion and revolution. The common people were to suffer along with the leaders because they did not resist the corrupt prophets and priests. (See Jeremiah 5:31.)

When the armies of Titus marched against Jerusalem in a campaign which ended on September 7, 70 A.D., it was the last of a chain of events which included a call by the Sanhedrin to the Roman procurator, Florus, and the puppet king, Herod Agrippa II, for military aid. The tumult in Judea grew into anarchy as a result of the Jews’ refusal to accept Roman occupation. Conditions worsened, despite frequent changes of procurators by emperial appointment. The Jews broke up into factions at all social, religious and economic levels. Even the appointment of high priests brought riot. Rome’s answer to such conditions in occupied lands was unchanging . . . the swift decisive use of the Makaira . . . the short sword.

The death of Festus in 62 A.D. left the power of Judean government in the hands of Annas the high priest. His calling of a clandestine session of the Sanhedrin at which James, the just, and other leading Christians were condemned, alienated whatever Gentile sympathy may have survived to this point. At the same time, Herod’s temple, which had been under construction for decades was completed, throwing hundreds of workers into unemployment. Shortly thereafter, Albinus arrived to succeed Festus as procurator. Unable to control the Zealots, he was replaced in 64 A.D. by Gessius Florus. Gessius was a true Roman, relying on brute force. He was greeted by riots in Caesarea of such proportion that hundreds of Jews fled the land never to return.

In 66 A.D. Gessius raided the temple treasury to make up a 40 talent deficit in the tribute demanded annually by Rome. The result was near revolution, averted only by a speech in which Agrippa convinced the Jews that such action would bring about the final utter destruction of the Jewish nation by Rome. (Acts 12:21-23) Shortly thereafter, Agrippa left Jerusalem. During his absence the revolutionary forces again threatened war. Realizing the inevitable consequences of this threatened action, the Sanhedrin sent for military assistance.

In late summer of 66 A.D. Galles left Antioch for Jerusalem with 44,000 battle-hardened legioneers. He arrived in September, having been delayed by a revolt in Galilee, long a breeding ground for the Zealot Sicari. By this time, the revolutionaries controlled Jerusalem and Galilee and was unable to breach the walls. The rebels not only stood firm, but routed the Romans, killing 6,000 of them as they retreated to Caesarea. In response to this defeat of Roman force, Nero reacted by sending his greatest general Titus Flavius Vespasian to restore order in Palestine. Titus arrived in Galilee, re-establishing Roman control there, and went into winter quarters with fifty thousand troops. Meanwhile, the Jews who had succeeded in holding Jerusalem against Galles, began to fight among themselves and anarchy again gripped the city. Such was the state of affairs when Titus lay siege from Mount Scopus in the summer of 68 A.D.

A brief respite came to the Jews upon the death of Nero in June of 68 A.D. and the period of turmoil in which three emperors in quick succession were overthrown in Rome. This led the army of Hitus Vespasian to decide to place their general on the emperial throne. To accomplish this it was necessary to settle matters quickly in Jerusalem. Titus gave Jerusalem a chance to surrender. When his offer was refused, the bloodbath began. By July 5 the tower of Antonia, in the northwest corner of the temple area, was occupied by Legioneers. The carnage in the temple itself, where the revolutionaries fought to the last man, was the worst to that time in Jewish history. Over a million Jews died in the siege by the time the last Sicari committed suicide at Massada.

As emperor, Titus Vespasian, issued a decree that the Jewish religion should be ended for all time. The priesthood and Sanhedrin were abolished, the temple tax was now paid to the shrine of Jupiter. A colony of Roman veterans was settled near the ruins of the demolished capital of Judaism. But it was not finally over. In 131 A.D., one Bar Cocheba, with the endorsement of the leading rabbi, Akiba, was accepted by the Jews as Messiah. The result was a desperate religious war which ended when Vespasian’s successor, Hadrian, utterly flattened the city of Jerusalem and caused it to be ploughed as a field. Upon the sight Hadrian erected Colonia Aelia Capitolina, a colony dedicated to Jupiter capitolinus. It was the end of the Jewish state until 1948. It was the last time the Jews would control the temple site until June, 1967.

(Zechariah 11:7) In response to Jehovah’s command, the prophet fed the flock destined for slaughter. “The poor of the flock” here is more accurately “the most miserable of sheep.” (Re: marginal rendering in the Standard Edition) In Zechariah 11:7 the prophet’s role blends forward into that of the Messiah. As was done by real shepherds, he took two staffs. They are named grace and binders, or unity. (Beauty here in the English version expresses graciousness rather than physical beauty. Bands is an attempt to render for smooth reading a word which means binders.) The first of the staffs, grace, represents the divine favor of Jehovah in guaranteeing to protect the Jews against outside forces. The second symbolizes the unity which was to prevail between the tribes of Joseph and Judah following the return from exile.

Zerr: God decided to take over the feeding of the flock that had been so neglected by the shepherds (Zechariah 11:7). And in order to make the proper progress it was necessary to make a change in the whole system of the feeding by disposing of the unfaithful feeders, or at least by taking charge of their work and directing it according to the new program (the system under Christ). The things the Lord was going to dispose of are termed Beauty and Bands. The first means "agreeableness” and the second is defined "a district or inheritance.” The first stands for the Sinaite covenant as a document or constitution as a basis for some form of government. The second stands for the religious nationalism that resulted from the aforesaid constitution.

(Zechariah 11:8-9) The response to the shepherding of the post-exilic prophets on the part of the Jews was such that “their soul loathed me.” It was seen ultimately in the rejection of Him Who presented Himself to them as “the Good Shepherd.” (cp. John 10:11) There can be little doubt that Jesus had these verses in mind when He called Himself the Good Shepherd. Zechariah 11:9, in which the prophet states his intention not to feed the flock, but rather to let it die, brings to mind two key New Testament passages. One in which Jesus wept over Jerusalem because of her historic failure to heed the prophets (Luke 13:33-35) and the other one in which He predicted the destruction of the city (Luke 21:5-6). The cannibalism described here was fulfilled literally when, during the final days of the siege of Titus, those who held out in the temple area ate the bodies of their fallen comrades.

Zerr: This paragraph (Zechariah 11:8-9) should be regarded as a parenthetic statement inserted to indicate God’s abhorrence of his unfaithful feeders. Some of them were so objectionable that He disposed of three of them in one month. The prophet will then resume the general prophecy to show what the new Shepherd was going to do about it.

(Zechariah 11:10-11) The symbolic breaking of the staff of grace (beauty) has significance which cannot be overstated. It is cut asunder “That I might break my covenant.” The Jews came into being as a people because of the covenant. Their national identity was established in the Law given upon their agreement to keep the covenant. (cf. Exodus 19:5-9) Generation after generation, century upon century, they had failed to do so.

Zerr: The first thing he did was to break the staff called Beauty (Zechariah 11:10) which means that the Sinaite covenant was to be canceled. After the old law was canceled, the common Jews finally learned that they would no longer be dependent on the self-righteous leaders (Zechariah 11:11) for spiritual guidance.

God’s patience was mistaken as slackness by this stiff-necked people. We saw how they refused to believe the warnings of the pre-exilic prophets on the ground that Jehovah would not so treat His people. Punished by the destruction of the northern kingdom and the captivity of the southern, they refused to rebuild His temple after their release.

In the intervening years, between the return from Babylon and the ‘coming of Jesus, their concern turned completely from the covenant intended to bless all races of people to fanatic nationalism. The promised Seed of Abraham became, to them, a warrior . . . a revolutionist who would make them masters of the world. When He refused such a kingdom, they convicted Him of trumped-up charges and nailed Him, by the hands of lawless men. (Acts 2:23) to a cross. From this time forward the fulfillment of the covenant and the fate of the Jew per se are two entirely separate matters.

A covenant is always conditional. The failure of one party frees the other from the terms of the covenant. In all justice, God could have terminated His relationship to the Jews many times in the Old Testament period. When the time finally came that He did take the kingdom from them, only the remnant saw the justice of it. The poor of the flock, the remnant that gave heed to the prophets knew the termination of the covenant with the Jews was according to the word of Jehovah.

(Zechariah 11:12-14) The final act of unfaithfulness came when the Good Shepherd appealed to the Jews for His hire, i.e. for that which was rightly His in payment for all He had done for them. Even without the covenant, indeed if it had never existed in the first place, His care, protection and even His chastisement of the Jewish people above the other races of the world should have entitled. Him to their immediate acceptance and undying allegiance.

Zerr: In order for the old law (here called Beauty) to be broken, it was necessary for Christ to nail it to the cross (Zechariah 11:12-13). And in order for that to happen it was necessary for Him to be betrayed and sold for silver. Hence the prophet Interrupts his story long enough to go back a few hours before the crucifixion to show how it was done, even as it had been predicted according to Matthew 27:9-10. Hence this paragraph should be regarded as another parenthetic passage on that particular item of the whole transaction, to connect up all the vital parts of God’s great plan. Having nailed the old law to the cross. Christ put an end to the Jewish covenant as a religious rule for the Jews (Zechariah 11:14). In other words, the religious brotherhood for the whole 12 tribes (Judah and Israel) was broken up by the crucifixion which cleared the way for a new religion. (See Romans 10:4.)

Instead they betrayed Him, and sold Him for the price of an injured slave. Thirty pieces of silver (about $25) was the amount fixed by the law in compensation for the injury of another’s slave. (cf. Exodus 21:32)

It is no coincidence that this prophecy was fulfilled by one whose chief concern was the establishment of Israel as the ruling world empire. Judas had followed Jesus for three years in the full expectation that He would indeed prove to be another Judas Maccabee, that He would not only free the Jews from Roman rule but establish them as the greatest and final world power. When he saw Jesus riding into Jerusalem on an ass instead of a war horse to the shouts of children instead of the cheers of an army, when he heard Jesus foretell the destruction of the city which, in Jewish ambition, was to become the capital of the Messianic world, it was too much. He bartered his revenge for the price of an injured slave. (cf. Matthew 26:5; Matthew 27:9-10)

The accuracy of Zechariah’s prophecy is seen in the minute fulfillment of it in the detailed disposal of the money paid Judas. Zechariah 11:13 says it was “cast unto the potter.” Matthew 27:9 quotes the prophecy of Jeremiah 18:2; Jeremiah 19:2; Jeremiah 19:11; Jeremiah 32:6-9 in recording that the money returned by Judas prior to his suicide was used to purchase a potters field. Acts 1:18-19 mentions this fact also.

Following the crucifixion, and the consequent destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and Hadrian. (see above on verse six), the Jews were scattered throughout the world. The unity which had prevailed following their return from exile was thus broken, an historic event predicted symbolically in verse fourteen by the breaking of the second staff called Bands or unity, The result was a nearly nineteen century postponement of the fulfillment of the promises made in Zechariah, chapter ten.

(Zechariah 11:15-17) G. A. Smith is quoted by Professor J. E. McFadyen as saying, concerning the crucifixion of Jesus, “The guilty sacrifice the innocent, but in this execute their own doom. That is the summary of the history of Israel.” The message of Zechariah 11:15-17 could scarcely be better paraphrased.

Zerr: Having annulled the Jewish religious law, the Lord was ready to give the world a new one (Zechariah 11:15). This was to be the Gospel of Christ, and it was to be taken to the people of the world by preachers. In 1 Corinthians 1:21 this Gospel is termed ‘‘the foolishness of preaching” and that is the meaning of our present verse that predicts it with the words instruments of a foolish shepherd. The terms of Zechariah 11:16 are those that would describe the treatment of an unfaithful shepherd by his displeased master. The meaning is a prediction that Christ would not seek to restore Judaism, but would condemn the corrupt Jewish leaders (i.e. “..ye generation of vipers,” etc.) Matthew 23 gives an extended treatment of this attitude of Christ toward them. Please note that Zechariah 11:17 is a summing up of the entire chapter. The unfaithful Jewish leaders are condemned to complete rejection.

Following the crucifixion, as we have seen (see above on Zechariah 11:6) the nation of the Jews became a political football in the hands of the Herods and a series of inept Roman procurators. These, personified here as the foolish shepherd, presided over the final dissolution of the nation into anarchy and final obliteration.

The foolish shepherd may well have been personified in Bar Cocheba and his ill-fared attempt at revolt against Hadrian. The futility of his military activity is well described here in Zechariah 11:17.

Questions

A Parable of Shepherds

1. Discuss the symbolism of the forests in Zechariah 11:1-3.

2. Of what is fire symbolic in verse one?

3. The entire passage (Zechariah 10:3 to Zechariah 11:3) is designed to point up the difference between ___________________ and _________________.

4. Between the time of Zechariah and the establishment of the Jewish people as described in chapter ten, there was to be _________________.

5. Zechariah 11:12-13 is applied literally to _________________ in Matthew 26:5; Matthew 27:9-10.

6. Explain the allegory of the flock and the shepherd in this passage.

7. Why does God promise to sever His covenant relationship to the Jews?

8. What is meant by “flock of slaughter?”

9. What is described in verse six?

10. Review the events leading to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and 135 A.D.

11. Who was Bar Cocheba?

12. What is the symbolism of the two staffs?

13. Who fulfills the picture of the good shepherd in this passage? (Compare John 10:11)

14. Why, in Zechariah 11:9, does the shepherd decide to let the flock die rather than feed it?

15. What was symbolized in the breaking of the two staffs?

16. God’s patience was mistaken by the Jews as _________________.

17. In the intervening years between the Babylonian exile and the coming of Jesus, the concern of the Jews turned completely from _________________ to _________________.

18. A covenant is always _________________.

19. The final act of unfaithfulness came when _________________.

20. Instead of paying him his due, the people _________________ him and sold him.

21. What is the significance of the thirty pieces of silver?

22. How does the disposal of the blood money by Judas demonstrate the accuracy of Zechariah’s prediction?

23. What happened to the Jewish people immediately following the destruction of Jerusalem in 135 A.D.?