GRACE – UNITY THROUGH
MESSIAH vs. THE FOOLISH SHEPHERD
By Doug Krieger
There is a pernicious tendency—due to the insipid quest for
control within fallen man—which incessantly raises its ugly head among the shepherds
of the sheep of His flock. I’d like to
address this ubiquitous malady in its immediate and prophetic commentary as it
pertains to the prophet Zechariah’s amazing address of the same—this may surprise
you.
I don’t expect “commentary agreement” on my exegesis but I’ll
be more than satisfied if you get the drift of what I feel the Holy Spirit’s
bearing witness in my spirit that we’re on to something here that has major
consequence at the “end of time” for the people of God—both Judah (the Jewish
Nation) and Ephraim (those among the nations who have entered into Covenant
through Yeshua’s Person and Work).
Today’s Judah/Jewish people are seemingly more divided than
ever before due to a host of issues—primarily, today, centered on the current
distress, wars, hostages, etc., let alone how to address the flagrant rise of
anti-Semitism throughout the globe.
Simultaneously, these issues of “domestic division” afflict all the “people
of the Book”—namely, those who claim membership in the Commonwealth of Israel
who were once non-citizens but who through Messiah have been joined
teleologically[i] to
the “Israel of God” becoming joint-heirs through the Jewish Carpenter.
Dr. John Walvoord (past president of Dallas Theological Seminary)
once said that the book of Zechariah presented the most stereoscopic eschatology
of virtually any book in the entire Bible; rivaling the Revelation extracted
from the Isle called Patmos.
Specifically, Zechariah 11-14 speaks in immediate and futuristic implications
regarding the Almighty’s dealings with His people—and does so in no uncertain terms.
Our focus resides within the peculiar and rather open-ended reflections
concerning shepherding the flock of God either with the “Two Staffs” of the
Great Shepherd of the Sheep or via the Foolish Shepherd’s “three shepherds” who
await their fate—cutting off!
Inserted within these interpretive ambiguities is the
redemptive price of Messiah’s sacrifice and ultimate, I affirm, judgment upon
these three shepherds and their ring leader, if you would, the Worthless
Shepherd (Zech.11:17).
On the one hand, Zechariah 11:4-17, speaks regarding the differences between the "two staffs" and the dismissal of the "three shepherds" during a 30-day time frame (one month). This is a profound prophecy indeed!
