While commenting on Zech. 11,
in the year 1906, S. R. Driver said “this prophecy is the most enigmatic in
the Old Testament.” In some sense Driver’s evaluation is correct. It is not
just the date and the historical context of this second part of Zechariah that
is in question but the content, language, symbols and images used here are also
perplexing. Verses 4 to 17 of Chapter 11 are the prime example of such enigma.
Zech 11:4-17, as a unit, is a
commissioning narrative. Yahweh commands the prophet to assume the role of
the shepherd in v 4’.
It is also called an
autobiographical narrative, the prophet is charged with the task of being a
shepherd over a doomed flock. According to verses 7-8, the prophet being a
shepherd tried to execute his role diligently, but because the flock rejected
the appointed shepherd, the prophet could not continue his job.
It is a woe oracle. The
tone of this chapter is unquestionably negative Chapter 11 itself goes against the
overall message of the book of Zechariah. Zechariah being the late
sixth-century prophet prophesied about restoration of the people of Israel in
the land of Yehud (Judah) and pictured God as the one who has compassion for
his people. God also promises to appoint good leaders over Israel in the first
8 chapters of this book. But chapter 11 shows the same wickedness of people and
their leaders that they have shown before they were exiled in Babylon. Prophet
Jeremiah criticized the disobedience and evils of the people and the religious
and political leaders of Judah. Here, Zechariah is addressing a different
generation than the prophet Jeremiah. But interestingly, the attitude of the
people and their leaders, the evils they do, and the punishment God declares
are the same.
There are various
interpretations given for this passage. Some considered it as a pre-exilic
prophecy may be by Jeremiah, but placed it here in the second part of
Zechariah. Others consider prophet Zechariah envisioning the same punishment
that Israel received during their exile in Babylon but now the agency is
different, now the Greek from Macedonia are coming to overpower Judah.
Most Christian interpretations and, interestingly, Messianic Jewish
interpretation take this text in a futuristic sense, prophesying about the
Romans overpowering the land and destruction of the Jewish rule and the temple
in AD 70. This messianic interpretation prefigures the shepherd in the text as
Jesus – the Good Shepherd, who was rejected by Jewish people and authority and
sold out for thirty pieces of silver (Zech 11:12-13).
Instead of going into the
debate of right interpretation, I would like to concentrate on the read text.
Mark Boda in his commentary on Zachariah considers Chapter 11 as a Prophetic
Sign-act. Such Sign-acts are common in prophetic writings. Each Sign-act
has three sections: exhortation (God commands an action), execution (the
prophet describes his obedience), explanation (God interprets the significance of the Sign-act).
Although the exhortation is always the first element, the order and presence of
the other two can vary. The read text has two sections of the Sign-act: first,
an exhortation in vv. 4-5 – God commands the prophet to be a shepherd,
then in verse 6 – an explanation by God or significance of the Sign-act.
The prophet’s execution of the Sign-act and the result are given in
verse 7–14.
I am
concentrating only on the first two sections of the Sing-act. Here in verse 4,
the prophet is claiming an intimate relationship with Yahweh, “Yahweh my
God.” Through this close relationship, like Moses and any of his
predecessors, the prophet is claiming legitimacy of his prophecy, which is
important as we have to notice that this prophecy is against the overall tone
of the book.
The prophet
has given a task of being a ‘Shepherd’ to the flock. It is interesting to note
that prophets are seldom called ‘shepherd.’ In the Ancient Near East
texts, especially in the Hebrew Bible, as well as in the New Testament the task
of shepherding is given to the religious and political leaders. We, the
Christian leaders, are also called to be the shepherds of God’s church. 1
Peter 5:1-4 echoes the language of Zechariah 11 and asks us to be
‘overseers’ and to be ‘examples’ to the flock.
Here, in
verse 4-6, the shepherding task of the prophet is a challenging one.
Those masters under whom he is appointed are cruel and their sole focus is
their economic gain. The prophet uses the language of business transactions,
‘buyers’ and ‘seller’ and becoming ‘rich’. This shows the flaw of the leaders
of Judah. There is an economic oppression and injustice happening in that
society. Instead of giving ‘care’ and ‘protection’ the shepherds are using the
flock for their own economic gains.
Another
challenge was his
flock. The flock is ‘marked for slaughter.’ A reason is not clearly given why
God has already allotted the people to be slaughtered. We get the glimpse of
this flock when the prophet executes his Sign-act from verse 7 onwards. The
translation in NIV which is close to the Masoretic Text (MT) shows that this
people had two groups, one is mentioned as ‘the oppressed/afflicted of the
flock’ in verses 7 and 11. Particularly this group the prophet pastured
during his execution of the Sign-act. Among this flock those who are of higher
status and oppressing the others ‘detested’ the prophet and his activities.
This prophetic text gives a picture that oppression, injustice, and
disobedience are also prevalent among the flock.
In verse 6
God gives an explanation of such Sign-act. Both their leaders and the flock
are under God’s punishment. The inhabitants and the land will suffer because of
this punishment. God is pictured as the one who is against unjust economic
gain, the one who counters injustice and oppression. He is
hostile to any marginalizing activities either by the leader or even
among the people. Though God has passed judgment to all those who are doing
such activities, he has not totally abandoned them. God appointing the prophet
to tend the sheep which are disobedient and divided shows God’s ongoing work of
grace. The shepherds or the leaders who are already appointed are not doing
their religious or political duties faithfully. The prophet is called to be an
exemplary shepherd in such a situation.
As I
mentioned earlier, we Christian leaders are also called to be shepherds,
our task is also the same as the prophet is asked to perform in this Sign-act.
In verse 8, the prophet, who is called by Yahweh to pasture the sheep in
this Prophetic Sign-act, “goes weary” and became ‘impatient,’ because
of the people’s rejection and he decided not to serve as their shepherd. We
have to remember that this text is a prophetic Sign-act. The function of the
Prophetic Sign-act is to pass a message in a specific historical context to a
specific group. But the task of shepherding given to us is to be ‘overseers’
and ‘example’ to the flock. Though the people we serve are also divided on
the basis of color, caste, class, religious or traditional backgrounds. Many
moral and societal evils are prevailing in the church. We as shepherds are called to tend such sheep without being
impatient or going weary. We have to remember that we are accountable to ‘the
chief Shepherd’ (1 Peter 5:4).
The prophet in Zech 11 was
called to do his job of shepherding under the unjust and cruel masters. They
were acting like merchants doing business for their personal gain. Our context
is not much different. The church I belong to, and in that case most of the
churches in India, many of the church leaders are only after their personal
economic gain. They sell the church properties; they close down the schools and
hospitals or convert it to money making businesses for them and their
generations to come; they unjustly use the money given for the growth of the
church. They create or use the existing divisions of the church for their
personal power-gain mission.
We as shepherds have two
options: we can join the existing
leadership and focus on our personal economic and power gain and for our
generations to come. Or we can be a shepherd of those who are oppressed and
afflicted among the flock. The first option is easy, we can escape the
struggles from the unjust leadership and we can also control the people under
us. Thus we can maintain the status quo. The second option is a challenging
one; we have to have the inner transformation and conviction to be on the side
of the marginalized. Though they are doomed for punishment because of their
disobedience, this is the group that receives the message of liberation
readily. Jesus our Good Shepherd was on the side of such people. His life and
teaching had liberative aspects, both spiritual liberation from the bondage of
sin and liberation from structural oppressions framed by religious, social or
political institutions. Lord Jesus is the good example for us to follow.
Our task of shepherding does
not end here (because the world does not end with the Church). We are not just
called for the flock those who are in the church. We have to remind ourselves
that our mission is to reach to the ends of the earth, it includes the people
of every nation, tribe, gender and language. Jesus said “I have other sheep
that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also…” (Jn 10:16). Our
solidarity with the ‘Others’ in the society matters in the task of shepherding:
those who are marginalized socially and economically in India and outside,
those who experience brutality on the basis of gender, race and religion in our
society as well as society at large. We the shepherds are called to be the
voice of the victims of sexual abuse; the voice of the victims of the power
struggle between Israel and Palestine; the voice of the minority who are
unjustly suffering under the so-called majority.
The question remains to us, as
shepherds: Are we going to maintain the status quo within the church and
outside in the society, focusing only on personal gain and power, giving a
deaf ear to the injustice and suffering of those who are in the margins. Or: Are
we, the shepherds, boldly standing on the side of those who are considered
‘destined for slaughter’ and ready to work from the margin for the
transformation of the church and the society?
May God help us to discern our
role as shepherd in the church and society at large, and make us a
channel of transformation, justice and peace in this world.
Ankit Harry
MTh II
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