Tuesday, November 24, 2009
New Shepherd – New Flock
(Zechariah 10:1-12)
Judah had followed false shepherds, worshipped false idols, and forsaken the Lord. God responded with the 70 year captivity in Babylon. But, when His wrath was expended, the exiles began to return to Judah. The land they returned to had been decimated by the invaders. The Lord, however, revealed plans for a glorious future.
In place of the false shepherds, the Lord would provide a new Shepherd from out of the midst of Judah. In rather enigmatic wording, the Bible calls this new Shepherd the “corner,” the “nail,” and the “battle bow” (4). The “corner” speaks of Christ as the cornerstone (Isa. 28:16, Ps. 118:22, 23, Acts 4:11, I Pet. 2:4, 5). The “nail” illustrates Christ’s strength and stability as the One upon whom we may hang our hope (Isa. 22:23), and the “battle bow” depicts Christ as the mighty warrior come out of Judah to conquer and subdue the world (Zech. 9:10-13).
How do we know these are symbols of Christ? Simple: the prophecy has not yet been completely fulfilled. You see, Judah returned from Babylon, but Israel (10 northern tribes called “Joseph” and “Ephraim”) have not yet returned as God promised. They shall return when the Lord Jesus defeats the armies of antichrist and gathers all the Jews back into their land (6-8 and 9:14-17). Christ Himself shall call them back (“hiss” in verse 8 literally means to “whistle!”) and Christ Himself shall lead His people, the Jews, back into their inheritance—their ancestral homeland (10-12). Will of all of this actually happen in the future? Yes! The corner, nail, and battle bow will bring it to pass.
