Daily Devotions
Zechariah
"I dismissed the three shepherds"
Text: Zechariah 11:8
DIFFICULT BUT NECESSARY TASKS
The work of the Good Shepherd was a difficult one. The flock had been poorly looked after. He had to feed them properly. This was the first task.
There was another task that the Good Shepherd had to do. He had to battle the false shepherds. This was the second task.
“I dismissed the three shepherds in one month.
My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.”
Zechariah 11:8
1. “I dismissed the three shepherds in one month”
a) There were essentially three major categories of shepherds.
i) Political (kings and other personages of authority)
ii) Judicial (Judges and Lawyers/scribes)
iii) Religious (Chief priests)
b) They were “dismissed”
i) The Good Shepherd would have nothing to do with them.
ii) He was dismissive of their so-called areas of work.
iii) They had failed to feed the flock of God.
c) “One month”
i) This need not be taken literally.
ii) It means “a very short time”.
iii) In a short time, the Lord Jesus knew He could not work with these “shepherds”.
2. “My soul loathed them”
a) For their avarice.
b) For their hypocrisy (Cf. Matthew 24 described how Jesus pointed out their sins).
3. “And their soul also abhorred me”
a) The religious leaders really hated Jesus.
b) They were blind leaders of the blind but refused to admit wrongdoing.
The Gospels detailed times when the Lord Jesus was in conflict with the religious leaders.