Chapter Note Matthew Henry Commentary (Complete)
Z E C H A R I A H.
CHAP. XI.
God's prophet, who, in the chapters before, was an ambassador sent to promise peace, is here a herald sent to declare war. The Jewish nation shall recover its prosperity, and shall flourish for some time and become considerable; it shall be very happy, at length, in the coming of the long-expected Messiah, in the preaching of his gospel, and in the setting up of his standard there. But, when thereby the chosen remnant among them are effectually called in and united to Christ, the body of the nation, persisting in unbelief, shall be utterly abandoned and given up to ruin, for rejecting Christ; and it is this that is foretold here in this chapter--the Jews rejecting Christ, which was their measure-filling sin, and the wrath which for that sin came upon them to the uttermost. Here is, I. A prediction of the destruction itself that should come upon the Jewish nation, Zechariah 11:1 - 3 . II. The putting of it into the hands of the Messiah. 1. He is charged with the custody of that flock, Zechariah 11:4 - 6 . 2. He undertakes it, and bears rule in it, Zechariah 11:7 ; Zechariah 11:8 . 3. Finding it perverse, he gives it up Zechariah 11:9 ), breaks his shepherd's staff Zechariah 11:10 ; Zechariah 11:11 ), resents the indignities done him and the contempt put upon him Zechariah 11:12 ; Zechariah 11:13 ), and then breaks his other staff, Zechariah 11:14 . 4. He turns them over into the hands of foolish shepherds, who, instead of preventing, shall complete their ruin, and both the blind leaders and the blind followers shall fall together into the ditch, Zechariah 11:15 - 17 . This is foretold to the poor of the flock before it comes to pass, that, when it does come to pass, they may not be offended.
Book Note Matthew Henry Commentary (Complete)
AN
EXPOSITION,
W I T H P R A C T I C A L O B S E R V A T I O N S,
OF THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
Z E C H A R I A H.
T HIS prophet was colleague with the prophet Haggai, and a worker together with him in forwarding the building of the second temple Ezra 5:1 ); for two are better than one. Christ sent forth his disciples two and two. Zechariah began to prophesy some time after Haggai. But he continued longer, soared higher in visions and revelations, wrote more, and prophesied more particularly concerning Christ, than Haggai had done; so the last shall be first: the last in time sometimes proves first in dignity. He begins with a plain practical sermon, expressive of that which was the scope of his prophesying, in the Zechariah 1:1 - 5 ; but afterwards, to the end of Zechariah 6:1 - 15Zechariah 6:1 - 15 , he relates the visions he saw, and the instructions he received immediately from heaven by them. At Zechariah 7:1 - 14Zechariah 7:1 - 14 , from an enquiry made by the Jews concerning fasting, he takes occasion to show them the duty of their present day, and to encourage them to hope for God's favour, to the end of Zechariah 8:1 - 23Zechariah 8:1 - 23 , after which there are two sermons, which are both called burdens of the word of the Lord (one begins with Zechariah 9:1 - 17Zechariah 9:1 - 17 , the other with Zechariah 12:1 - 14Zechariah 12:1 - 14 ), which probably were preached some time after; the scope of them is to reprove for sin, and threaten God's judgments against the impenitent, and to encourage those that feared God with assurances of the mercy God had in store for his church, and especially of the coming of the Messiah and the setting up of his kingdom in the world.
