16. Feed the Flock!

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Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church

Adult Sunday School

27 May 2018

FEED THE FLOCK!

Zechariah 11:1-9 (KJV)

1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down. 3 There isa voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled. 4 Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; 5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed bethe LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not. 6 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 neighbour’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. 7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, evenyou, O 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. 8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another. 

  • DISTRESS FROM GOD’S JUDGMENT 

1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down. 3 There isa voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

Ezekiel 34:1-10 (KJV) 1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,2  Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe beto the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: butye feed not the flock. 4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which wasbroken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 5 And they were scattered, because there isno shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seekafter them. 7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 8 AsI live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there wasno shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; 9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 10Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I amagainst the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. 

The message of repentance reverberated in stirring language of poetic imagery. It described devastation and desolation to wake Israel to the fear of God by the severity of judgment visited upon the land. It is heartening to see God’s blessing so beautifully painted in Zechariah chapter 10. Now, the judgment! Lebanon was on the northern border of Israel. It was a source of fine wood for Israel. It was made up of two mountain chains separated by a valley. Bashan was on the north-eastern portion of Israel which is modern-day Syria. Then there was the pride of Jordan which is a poetic reference to the thick impregnable jungle-like growth that adorned the narrow Jordan valley south of the Sea of Galilee that is modern Jordan. Even the young lion roared because their habitation was destroyed. Fire shall consume the land. 

Judgment came upon the rulers and aristocracy (v 1), the common people of the land (v 2), and the self-serving, false shepherds of Israel (v 3). Blessings from God came with it a responsibility to live holy lives. Israel was a testimony of God’s goodness. It was not a license to sin and self- indulgence. When God prospers the Christian, he might be tempted to think that his success is because of himself. He is lifted with pride. He is then brought down by God Himself. 

Cedars, fir trees and oaks are used in the Old Testament to depict human self-exaltation (Isa 2:13), symbolizing strength, power, glory, wealth and honour – the very qualities that are easily abused by rebellious humanity. The false shepherds wail with a deep mourning of despair and distress because their pasture lands have been destroyed as a result of God’s judgment. 

If money be not your servant, it will be your master. Lord, help me to serve You with clean hands and a pure heart. 

  • FEED THE FLOCK! 

4 Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; 5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed bethe LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not. 6 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 neighbour’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.

John 10:10-18 (KJV) 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have itmore abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13  The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 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, andone shepherd. 17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Why the destruction? The flock of Israel was slaughtered by the false shepherd. Therefore the Lord commanded the true shepherd to feed the flock of Israel through His servant Zechariah. The true Shepherd of Israel is none other than Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. All who are called by Him as shepherds are to faithfully feed His flock. The religious leaders were false shepherds who “slaughtered the flock.” Jesus Himself predicted the distress that will come to His flock when He spoke of the persecution that will come in John 16:2, “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” The false shepherds through covetousness shall with feigned words make merchandise of God’s flock (2 Pet 2:3). They had no compassion for God’s flock (v 4-5). Our Lord aptly shows to us the true colours of the false prophet when he said, “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep” (John 10:12-13). 

The Jews, who rejected the Christ, “did it ignorantly in unbelief.” And they paid a terrible penalty for their crime. The punishment for Israel in rejecting their Messiah was at the sword of the Romans. There is civil war and internal discord in each man being given into “the hand of his neighbour.” The Roman oppression may be described as “the hand of the king.” There was a single objective in their common hate for their rightful King, and their vicious cry was “we have no king but Caesar.” Jesus was crucified to fulfil God’s plan for our redemption. May there not be pockets of unbelief in our heart. May we embrace the Lord Jesus with our whole heart. He is worthy of our devotion as He testified, “… I lay down my life for the sheep.” 

Jesus said unto Peter the third time, “Feed my sheep.” Lord, may Your shepherds be faithful to their calling. 

  • RESOLUTION OF A TRUE SHEPHERD 

7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, evenyou, O 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. 8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.

Psalm 23:1-6 (KJV) 1 The LORD ismy shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou artwith me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Zechariah spoke in the first person resolving to feed God’s flock as he has been commissioned in verse 4. The “poor” of the flock were the afflicted and the weak – the diseased and the sick, the scattered, the wondering, the preyed. The afflicted were oftentimes unlovable, bitter, resentful, sensitive, aggressive, yet the most vulnerable. A most difficult task yet it is the mission of our Lord! He did not go to the religious leaders except to rebuke their hypocrisy. He went to seek the sinners to provide a way out for them. 

To assist him in feeding the flock, Zechariah had two rods. The one he called “Beauty” which means “graciousness or favour,” depicted the care of the shepherd for the sheep. “Bands” means “unity,” binding together the scattered flock. The flock was worthy of condemnation. Although the flock was doomed to be slaughtered, there was a righteous remnant. The effect of these rods is well described by the psalmist David, “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Ps 23:4b), therefore the sheep is able to say, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” The true shepherd protects and nourishes the sheep. 

The three shepherds perhaps alluded to the priests, scribes and elders of Israel during the short period of Jesus’ public ministry. The month can be understood as referring to the period of culminating unbelief just before the Jewish Sanhedrin crucified our Lord and thus sealed the fate of Israel to God’s judgment! During this period, the nation rejected our Lord and He rejected the nation by disowning its leaders. Our Lord greatly abhorred them for their wickedness. They were consigned to self-destruction. The rod of favour was withdrawn. The word “lothe” means “to be cut off or shortened.” Therefore, translated as “I lost all patience” with them and “abhorred” them.

Abandon me not to my sins. May the Lord raise up faithful pastors who are true to their calling.