October 7, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves. Woe to the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye totally blinded!‘” (Zechariah 11.15-17)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

As you read verses 11.15-17, do you ask yourself “What are the tools of a foolish shepherd?” Maybe we should start with a list of the tools of a good shepherd. In the shepherd’s bag we would find food (bread, cheese and cooked grain), perhaps a small flask of oil (for anointing or creating a salve), a device for calling the sheep (a flute or a reed), a knife (or a sling and some stones for the more skilled) and a first aid kit to set and bind the broken legs of the flock (especially those who had to be broken because they would not stop wandering away.) This was a fanny pack but a rucksack. They carried this bag along with the two staffs for rescue and defense. As I consider the tools found in the good shepherd’s bag, I can’t imagine what would be in a bad shepherd’s bag. Would he have similar tools but use them for other purposes? Would it be filled with items that merely provided for himself as some sort of leisure? Would it merely be empty because the bad shepherd had no intent to shepherd at all? We get a sense of what was in the bag by the verses which followed which indicate the only real interaction with the sheep is to remove their hooves and then consume the cooked meat. So, there would be a knife (for carving), a flint (for making a fire) and perhaps a blanket upon which to rest. It becomes obvious that there is no intent to provide, care for, nurture and protect the sheep. The sheep were seen for personal consumption and not as a valued responsibility. A good shepherd knows they work for their master whose flock they tend. A bad shepherd is merely punching a clock and looking for the next job because they won’t last long being a bad shepherd. Now we can see the value of a good shepherd whose purpose is greatly focused on “to seek and to save that which is lost.”

It is at this point we might see the seriousness of the threat which is spoken against the bad shepherd. A shepherd would take an oath to protect their assigned flock even to the point of “laying down their life” for the flock. They would raise their right hand to the master and to God to swear their allegiance and fealty to the master of the flock. There may be many shepherds depending on the number of sheep which the master owned. Each flock may have as many as 100 sheep (thus we get the context for Jesus’ Parable of the Lost Sheep.) The duty of the shepherd is to be responsible for the integrity of the flock. Even if one of the flock goes missing, the shepherd is responsible for 100 sheep. The master assigns one hundred sheep and one hundred sheep must be returned. It would not be unusual for a shepherd to bring the evidence of a “lost” sheep back to master. Failing to do so would result in dire consequences tantamount to being labeled a thief and a charlatan. We may shudder to think of the Muslim law which stipulates that a caught thief may had their hand removed but the consequence seems to be equal in what was told to Zechariah. The hand which gave the oath would become the evidence required for a lost sheep. In some fashion, we can see the correlation between the loss of a hand or arm and the hooves which were removed by the bad shepherd who feasted upon the choicest lamb.

Still, there is more in the dire consequences delineated in these verses. It is not only the arm or hand which is struck and made useless but the eye as well. The Lex Talonis, the call of justice as “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” may be alluded to hear. The bad shepherd was disfigured to be easily spotted by others and identified as a thief, charlatan and rogue. Their abilities for work were severely hindered. In this we may well visualize key characteristics being alluded to. The “right arm and hand” were often thought of as one who had power and authority. It is from this we get “the right hand man.” Further, the “eye” was a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. Look on the dollar bill and you will see the capstone of the pyramid as being the “all-seeing eye.” From Proverbs 15.3 we read “The eyes of the Lord are always upon the righteous.” God is omniscient and sees everything. God is able to reveal everything as well which is sometimes symbolized by the “double-edged sword” which speaks to the knowledge of the inmost being as well as to the visible exterior. When Jesus speaks to the question of adultery posed by the Pharisees, He replies “Even to have lust in your heart is the equivalent of being an adulterer.” So, not only the actions but the intent of the actions are held accountable as well. But, here we are given the prophetic vision of one who has lost a person of power and a person of “insight.” They become vulnerable to the truth of God and are revealed fully in the presence of God. They are undone and defeated. The ultimate expression in the Messianic Age will be the disposal of the Anti-Christ and its Chief High Priest and Commander. The day of true peace and restoration will be experienced when these are revealed and cast out.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit in order that others be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind so we would know we are Your people and You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.