ZECHARIAH 11 (NOTES OF A READING)
[p. 535] ZECHARIAH 11 (NOTES OF A READING)
CAC I think we have observed in going through this book that there is a series of special subjects treated, almost a distinct subject in each chapter. We saw last week that God had visited His people for restoration and to make them overcomers — that is, the remnant — but in this chapter we see the solemn condition of the nation that would not be restored and that refused the service of the Shepherd. That was the state of Israel when the Lord came. It was such that they were not at all prepared to appreciate the service of the Shepherd, though He was there among them to render it; therefore there was nothing for the Shepherd in a state like that but judgment; the flock was a “flock of slaughter”. So the Lord when here had to discriminate between the nation generally and their shepherds, and the persons He speaks of as the poor of the flock, evidently a distinct class, distinct from the flock, which is a flock of slaughter.
Rem “Fear not, little flock, for it has been the good pleasure of your Father to give you the kingdom”. Are those they?
CAC They were evidently the poor of the flock. Our first hymn book said, ‘For the Poor of the Flock’. It was not a bad title. I suppose it was changed to ‘The Little Flock’ for some reason, but it is not a bad title if you read it in the light of this chapter. They were those not going on with the self-righteousness of the nation, but who appreciated the service of the Lord. Of the nation John the Baptist said, “The axe is applied to the root of the trees” (Luke 3: 9).
Rem The first three verses are a sort of summary of the preliminary action of judgment of the nation.
CAC Yes, I thought so. Judgment is imminent. So when John the Baptist began his service he saw many of the class referred to here and said, ‘Ye are a generation of vipers’. That was the state of the nation when the Lord visited it. But the poor of the flock submitted to John’s baptism. ‘It is all finished with us, we must go out of sight’, they say.
Rem The thought of the remnant goes through.
CAC The thought of the remnant is the golden thread running through. We have the same kind of thing now. The man in the street would say, ‘We are not heathen, not Mohammedans, we are Christians’. Well, it is a flock of slaughter; that is, judgment is imminent. The condition is such that people are not prepared to appreciate Christ, and He served the flock of slaughter. His service is there now for all christendom, but it is only sin-convicted souls who can appreciate the Shepherd. They are people who can sing, ‘We love to hear the Shepherd’s voice’.
There were those in the place of shepherds, the scribes and Pharisees and the doctors of the law. The Lord was vexed with them, and they loathed Him — a very strong expression. I have often thought that the Lord’s death-warrant was signed at the beginning of His ministry when He said, “Unless your righteousness surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter the kingdom of the heavens” (Matthew 5: 20). They did not see their righteousness was in Him, if they would accept it (verse 8). That is the Lord speaking prophetically. I believe if things were put to the test He would be found loathsome to the religious leaders of today. The best bit of flesh in me hates God and hates Christ. Many people would say it is not true, but it is divinely true. And that led to the Lord not being appreciated in His readiness to serve. All today is for the religious leaders, for those who loathe Him, but there is no appreciation of Christ; it is a very solemn thing. He asks, ‘What value do you put on My service, what do you think it is worth?’ He is the altogether lovely One.
CAC In the prophet it is put in a permanent form of application, so He says to everyone tonight, ‘What value do you put on My service, what is it worth?’ It is not simply singing [p. 537] a beautiful hymn, but the practical side is whether we are ready to be more devoted to Him today than yesterday.
All is measured in the assembly by our appreciation of Christ. We value one another on that basis, not for social position or lack of it. It is a searching question, so He says, “Give me my hire”. This is said to you. “And they weighed for my hire thirty silver-pieces”. It is the price of a common slave. We might walk in company with the brethren or the Lord for a number of years and yet be ready to sell Him for a few shillings. It was cast to the potter in the house of Jehovah. Judas took the money and forced his way into the precincts of the house where none but priests could go, and it was there as a witness of what value men put on the service of Christ.
Rem Things are estimated truly in the house. There the true value is the way in which they can speak of Him to God.
CAC Yes. As together in assembly there are certain organs of expression and they tell how they value Him, so that if it is in the Spirit every saint can say, ‘That is just exactly what I should like to say’.
Jehovah would not let Him take it, and said, “Cast it unto the potter”. Jehovah said that to Christ, ‘Do not take it, it is not worth it’. There may be some things said now to Christ like that. It is not worthy of Him.
Rem It is a question of whether we have counted Him preferable to other things during the week, otherwise it is only words.
CAC That would grow out of His service. How dear He became to those whom He had served and fed, and who had hearkened to His word. ‘He has a value far beyond anything that I could express’, every saint on earth would say.
Rem He brought us by His shepherd care to this week.
CAC Yes. So Christ is more precious this week than last, I am more prepared to suffer for Him this week than last — that is the normal progress of saints. The shepherds loathed Him, very strong language, but the poor of the flock value Him.
[p. 538] Rem They gave heed and knew it was the word of Jehovah.
CAC As we give heed, we become more and more convinced that what we hear is of God; we do not want books of Christian evidence.
Ques Why the thought of the potter?
CAC It was cast to the potter in a kind of derision, do you not think? It is God’s derision of man’s paltry estimate of the value of the service of Christ. But the assembly is a company where He is appreciated. The poor of the flock become the real flock, while Israel was His flock ostensibly. He became the centre and bond of communion, but then that is why a convert is drawn to the assembly, because he finds some who think much of Christ. Some think as much of Him as I do, and some think better of Christ than I do, he feels. That is the real way of coming into fellowship; you want to be with people who think well of Christ. Where there is want of appreciation of Christ, everything breaks down. He has to break both staves asunder; all fails in the connection with the non-appreciation of Christ.
Ques Why are the staves called Beauty and Bands, what is the signification of the names?
CAC Last week we were reminded of the beauty of God, and you suggested that beauty is graciousness; now the moral beauty of God came out in His desire that all nations should share with Israel in the blessedness of Christ. That was the covenant made to Abraham. “In thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed”. They were to be the first to appreciate Christ, and then all nations. If they did not, then all God’s design for the nations broke down. I know it was taken up in a new way after His resurrection, but it all broke down with them, and the leaders loathed Him.
Rem I thought the staff was connected with the care of the sheep.
CAC And His thought was the Lord serving Israel, and if all appreciated Him there, it would widen out to all nations. But instead Israel became a curse to all the nations,
[p. 539] and is so to this day. They carry the hatred of Christ to all the nations, the rod is broken asunder.
And then Bands, “And I cut asunder mine other staff, Bands, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel”, that is, the Lord had in mind that Judah and Israel should be united in the appreciation of Himself.
Rem Israel is what He had in mind, but it all broke down.
CAC These thoughts that broke down are taken up in a new way in the assembly. The thought of brotherhood is taken up in the assembly. It was to be founded on the appreciation of the Shepherd, and it was broken. God is working today to bring about brotherhood founded on the appreciation of Christ. The unity of the one flock is brought about by appreciation of the Shepherd. “There shall be one flock, one shepherd”. A public unity might have been even yet if the appreciation of Christ had not failed. All divisions show governmentally that the rod Bands is broken.
Rem “That he should also gather together into one the children of God who were scattered abroad” (John 11: 52).
CAC Non-appreciation of Christ is the cause of all divisions, whatever people may say about doctrine or personal grievance or differences of opinion.
Rem The potter is concerned with the clay, which is out of the earth, earthly.
CAC Yes, we have to come to the Shepherd — a new character of Christ. This book is rich with presentations of Christ, as Builder, as the Branch, as Priest and King, and now as Shepherd. There is power in the Shepherd to unify all the people of God in the world. There is no pleasure to God in a national religion, or in adopting the principles of a particular sect. What God delights in is appreciation of Christ and that saints should walk together on that ground and no other. We find the Spirit never deviates from that ground. “He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall announce it to you” (John 16: 14). There would be no difficulties then. These scriptures are the word of God to us here [p. 540] tonight. We must pray more in secret on this line. What is the good of coming to a meeting without having prayed beforehand? We should pray for more appreciation of Christ: ‘Lord, increase my appreciation of Christ in this meeting, may I appreciate Thee more than ever in my life before’. All phrases and expressions would then be cast to the potter. It is the fresh appreciation of Christ, I see more and more, that is the thing to be at.
The last verse refers to antichrist, and it is either Christ or antichrist, there is nothing between. The “foolish shepherd” is antichrist, and christendom is drifting very quickly towards the time when they will refuse Christ. The wolf scattereth the sheep. John says, “Even now there have come many antichrists”. They had distinguished the two influences at work. There is that which is of God leading us to value Christ more and more every week, and that tending to take us away from Christ. This is a very wholesome chapter.