Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 7 · minor prophets · Zechariah · Chapter 11
CHAP. XI.
OPen thy doores, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy Cedars. After joyfull V. 1.things prophesied of to Judah and Israel for Christ to come, and the multiplication of the children of the Church and their great safety, here because the Prophet foresaw by the Spirit that the wicked Jews would reject and crucifie Christ coming unto them, for which Gods judgments should follow to the destruction of their City and Temple, and of all the principall men amongst them by the Romans, he prophesieth of this. And in calling upon Lebanon to open that the fire might enter, he foretelleth what should be done in way of revenge for their malicious persecuting and murthering of the Lord of life, viz. that the Temple built of Cedars out of Lebanon should lye open to destruction by fire, and in way of prodigious foreshewing this a little before the Romans coming and besieging the City, the east brazen gates of the Temple, which were so heavy that 20 men were few enough to open them, opened of themselves at the 6. hour of the night, as Josephus saith, and Rabbi Johanan thereupon said, Now is the prophesie of Zechariah fulfilled, the Lord hath taken R. Johanan.away his protection from the Temple, that the fire may come in and destroy it, as indeed it fell out soon after. For although Titus having taken the City, would have spared the Temple, and gave a charge to his Souldiers to let it stand, yet the desperate Jews themselves who fled thither and made of it a strong hold, fired it so that it could not be quenched, although endevoured by the very enemie, till that it was all burnt down and demolished. Now for the Temples being set forth by Lebanon, see something that may give light hereinto, Jer. 22. 20. Where the Prophet challenging Jechoniah for his wickednesse, and having told him that he closed himself with Cedar, bids him goe up to Lebanon, and to Bashan, and cry for all his lovers being destroyed, in saying which he giveth this name of Lebanon to the fair and strong house which he had built of Cedars of Lebanon, and Oakes out of Bashan, whereby he thought to be safe from all violence. Some indeed hold that by Lebanon the passage to Jerusalem and the Temple is meant, which was so thick with trees, as Cornelius Tacitus saith, that it seemed impossible for an enemy to enter that way, and this seemeth to be favoured by the word passages, there added, cry from the passages: but v. 23. O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the Cedars, sheweth plainly that the Kings house built of Cedars out of Lebanon is called Lebanon, and so may it best be conceived that the Temple is called here, and that the gates of Lebanon are the gates of the Temple, which according to this prophesie opened miraculously, as hath been said, and after that the vail between the Temple and the Sanctum Sanctorum was rent from the top to the bottom at the time of Christs passion, portending not only the abolition of the legall service, but Gods laying open of that most Holy place to destruction by the same judgment of fire. Thus Gualter, who also by the firre trees next spoken of understandeth Gualter.the Princes, by bidding whom to houl he foretelleth the miseries that should at that time come upon them, and by the oaks all rich men in Jerusalem, who for their wealth thought themselves strong enough to stand against all violence of enemies. And it is not unusuall in Scripture by these trees to set forth such men as being most eminent amongst men as these trees are a mongst the trees; and for such set forth by the Oaks of Bashan, see Esay 2. 13. and that by the firre trees the Princes are meant, the next words here declare, for the mighty are spoiled, the Cedar, as he otherwise calleth the Temple, is faln, implying by thus saying their ruine together with it. But herein Gualter differeth, by thus firre trees understanding common people who in all reason should not have been named first, and the Oaks after, which were greater, and the very height of the firre tree argueth, that the lower and meaner sort cannot be meant hereby. From this Exposition others differ not, but generally acknowledge this to be a prophesie of the destruction of the second Temple, as Lyra saith, by the Romans.Lyra.
There is a voice of the howling of Shepherds, for their glory, a voice of the roaring of V. 3.young Lions, for the pride of Jordan is spoiled. The Temple being destroyed the Priests that served there and were thereby maintained, had great cause to howle as Shepherds doe when their sheep are destroyed by Wolves, for the Temple was their glory, by reason whereof and their high office about it, they thought themselves very glorious. By the Lions said to roar, they were the Princes of Judah, who as Lions made a prey of the poor people, but now coming into misery, they roar and cry as hunger-sterved Lions: for the glory of Jordan is spoiled, herein he continues the allegory taken from Lions, which kept about Jordan, and when it was dryed were in an evill case for want of water. By Jordan the whole land with the fruitfulnesse thereof is meant, which being consumed by the enemie, these Lions who before by ample possessions therein were made glorious and great, had cause to roar and cry out for sorrow.
Feed the flock of the slaughter; whose possessours slay them. Here the Prophet proceedeth V. 4.to shew wherefore the Lord brought so great judgments upon the Jews, the cause of all this was, for that Christ coming by his Fathers appointment as the most faithfull shepherd to feed them by his most heavenly instructions out of his meer grace and mercy, they rejected him, and were led and sed rather by the corrupt teaching of the Pharisees. For these words, thus Joh. 10.saith the Lord, Feed the flock of the slaughter, are the words of Christ, here brought in speaking thus. For he affirmed himself to be the true shepherd, and that others pretending themselves to be shepherds, were theeves and robbers, but that the sheep which heard his voice and followed him, should find pasture. And he often professed that the divine doctrine wherewith he sed them, was his Fathers that sent him. This then is as much as if the Prophet had said, Would ye know why I threaten you so terribly in the name of the Lord? Hear the Messiah himself by me thus complaining, God my Father hath sent me into the world to feed the flock of his people, who were not formerly sed but slaughtered by cruell tyrants reigning over them, but their possessours, that is, they to whom they had betaken themselves as guides, lead them in a way to death and destruction, by hardening them against my teaching, and making them with open ears to hearken to them in their superstitions and wicked traditions, whereby they were prevented in respect of receiving any light or grace to salvation, and were indangered touching everlasting death, and not only so, but of horrible destructions also in this world, for which he saith, their possessours slay them, and the more graphically to point out the Scribes and Pharisees, who turned this to their own advantage in respect of worldly gain, he saith that they blessed God for their being made rich, when they had devoured widows houses, and for a colour made long prayers, as our Lord Mat. 23.chargeth them. And being authors of so great a destruction to them, he saith that they pityed them not, wherefore neither would he pity them, but deliver them every man into the hand of his neighbour, and of his King, that is, to kill up V. 6.and destroy one another, and to be destroyed by the King whom they should preferre, that is, the Roman Emperour, of whom they said, when they would have Jesus crucified, and Pilate asked, shall I crucifie your King, we have no King but Caesar.
And this was notably fulfilled when the Romans besieging Jerusalem, they within the City were divided amongst themselves under severall Captains fighting and killing up one another, and at length those that remained being partly slain at the Romans breaking into the City, and partly falling into their hands, from which their greatest destruction of all others God never delivered them again, for which he saith here, I will pity them no more, nor deliver them, and although they shall finally be converted, yet this judgment, as we may hence gather, shall never have an end, which is laid upon their City, it shall never more be built or inhabited by them, but what is said by the Prophets touching this, is all to be understood of the spirituall Jerusalem to be built and made so glorious by grace abounding therein more then ever in former times since they were a people. Gualter goeth higher in speaking upon Gualter.their being delivered into the hands of one another, viz. to the time when Alexander being King of the Jews many battles were fought betwixt him and the Pharisaicall faction, and many thousands of them were slain, as I have shewed in my Continuation of the History from Nehemiah, at what time indeed it cannot be denyed but that this prophesie began to take effect, for then they came into their Kings hands and Jews killed up Jewes, but the full accomplishment of the prophesie was not, till the time before spoken of, as Gualter also and other Expositours agree.
And I took unto me two staves, the one called Beauty and the other Bands: what is V. 7.meant by these two staves is hard to conjecture, Jerome will have by the one the state of the world in the time of Noah understood, when all were under Hieron.one King, Almighty God, for this put a decorum upon the world, as Jerome reads it, vocavi unum decorem, for so much as a multitude of Subjects is the glory and beauty of the King, and for brethren to dwell together in unity is good and comely, but dissension miscoming and disgracing them. The second staffe was called Bands, according to Jerome, funiculus, a line setting forth the state of the people of Israel, of which David saith, the lines are fallen to me in a good place, I have a goodly heritage: and of Israel as Gods line, it is spoken Psal. 16.Deut. 32. and Bands or Line this state is called, because to Israel God bound himself by Covenant to be his God, and the land of Canaan which he gave to them for an inheritance, was measured by lines and so divided by lot. Now the first of these staves God brake when leaving other Nations in their ignorance and idolatry he called Abraham out of Ʋr of the Caldees, and bound himself to him and his posterity, to be their God throughout all generations; and the other staffe he brake when Israel was divided from Judah, that is, ten tribes from two in the dayes of Jeroboam, and this was most fulfilled after that the Jews for 30 pieces of silver had Christ delivered unto them by Judas, and crucified him. For then that took effect, which the Lord spake before, I came not to send peace but a sword, the father shall be divided from the son, the mother from the daughter, &c. the Jews that were all of one religion before were so divided that some persecuted other some to the death, and these divided themselves from them going and preaching to the Gentiles. For the three Shepherds cut off in one month, he referreth to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, who were in one month cut off, because one of them was taken away by death, and the Numb. 20.other two had the sentence of death passed against them at the same time, the first month when Miriam dyed. Thus Jerome, but Gualter by the two staves Gualter.Beauty and Bands, understandeth two shepherds staves which Christ took unto him, of whom it is here prophesied, whereas another shepherd hath but one, intimating intimating hereby his exceeding great care over his people the Jews, to govern them well, the first being the Statutes, Laws, and Ordinances, whereby they were made more glorious then any other Nation in the World as is said Deut. 4. and therefore worthily called Beauty; the second his knitting of them together as in one way of worship, so in one fore-father Israel, of whom they all came, whereas the people of any other Nation are mingled, some springing from one country, some from another, and so are not by so strong a tye bound to one another as the Israelites were. For the three Shepherds, by them three orders of men are meant, whom he placed over them to govern and feed them as shepherds, Kings, Priests, and Prophets; the last mentioned of which, ceased after Haggai, Zechary, and Malachi, for they had after them no Prophets more, Kings ceased in part at the time of the Captivity, because after Zedekiah there was no King of their brethren any more, and although after this they had Princes a long time, yet they ceased in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, when the principality removed to the Priests; lastly, Priest ceased when Herod found means to drown Aristobulus the high Priest and sought to extinguish this order, by making the high Priest-hood venall, and setting up for Priests, any, as in Jeroboams time, that would, for then the Priests that were, were no true Priests of the seed of Aaron, but a miscellanie company of intruders. And for their cutting off in one month, hereby is meant not precisely a month, but a short time, as the word month is used Hos. 5 7. and although the time in which these three orders were going down was long with men, viz. 500 years, yet with God it was but as a month, with whom 1000 years are but as a day. For the breaking of the first staffe called beauty, that was done, when in stead of an orderly Common-wealth all came to confusion, the orders before said ceasing, and the Jews being under Hathen rulers had lost all both Kingly and Priestly power and holinesse. And the other staffe was broken, when in the time of Titus and Vespasian, Jerusalem being destroyed, they were scattered into all parts of the world, and in the dayes of Aelianus the Emperour that built the City Jerusalem again upon another foundation, and having finished it prohibited the Jews coming thither any more for ever, all means of unity being thus taken away, neither could they ever since be joined together again, as by Bands, as formerly they had been. Lyra Lyra.differing from both these understandeth the two staves of the two Kings set over Israel, and Judah, Jeroboam and Rehoboam, the one speaking fairly to the people, and the other roughly, and therefore well thus named Beauty and Bands. And by the 3 shepherds cut off in a month, Jehoram, Ahaziah, and Jezabel, who by Jehu were all cut off in a few dayes; and the staffe called 2 King. 9:Beauty was broken when the King of Israel was destroyed, 2 King. 1. and the other staffe, when the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed by the Romans after Christs selling for 30 pieces of silver, and his crucifying, which therefore in the prophesie cometh between the breaking of the one staffe and of the other. Junius by these staves or shepherds crooks will have the preaching of the Gospell Junius.meant, viz. the forgivenesse of sins and sanctification by the bloud of Christ, making beautifull and fair without spot or wrinkle by the one, and the offering of this grace to all those that were of the posterity of Israel, which were in the land now united together as one again and no more divided by the other. For what greater beauty can there be then that of the soul, all blemishes of sin being done away? and how could their being bound together in one, who had been so much and long divided, be better set forth, then by bands, whereby the Lord at the first, yea even till after his passion sought to bind them and them only, commanding his Apostles not to goe amongst the Gentiles yet, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel? But when they would not be governed by this beautifull crook of his, nor be gathered, but excommunicated such as were, and finally he was bought and sold amongst them, he brake both the one staffe and the other in respect of them going from amongst them sometimes with indignation at their hardnesse of heart and maliciousnesse against him, and sometime into desert places, and not teaching them any more, but by way of denouncing woes and judgements: for thus he brake the first staffe, and when they had crucified him, he brake the second by sending his Disciples forth to teach all Nations, leaving the Jews and the gathering of any more of them, whom hee found to bee unreclaimable.
For the three shepherds cut off in a month, they were three sorts of teachers, which they had gotten them, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essees, for at the destruction of Jerusalem all these Sects ceased together, and were never heard of any more. And this, that I may not adde to the number of Expositions brought, any more, or any other new, I embrace as the best and most genuine, because it agreeth best with the Prophets order of proceeding, who before brought in Christ speaking of his feeding the sheep of slaughter, whom their possessours destroyed.
And v. 7. having again repeated his care of feeding this poor and afflicted flock, he now tels what he did for the whole Nation of the Jews, and how unworthily they dealt by him, for which he at length gave them over. If we should here bring in what the Lord did of old to all Nations or the Jews, or touching the Kings of Israel and Judah, or the fair estate of the Church of Israel at the first, we should plainly goe against and not follow the order of the Prophet, which is to relate things done by our Lord Jesus at his coming amongst the Jewes, to convince them of their great ingratitude, and that Gods judgements came therefore most justly upon them, when they were besieged and destroyed by the Romans, and to comfort and confirme the poore of the flock, that is, such of them as beleeved, and all the faithfull every where, when they saw those judgements brought upon them, that it was the Lords doing, being hereby approved to be the true Messiah against all the Jews, that oppose this truth most pertinaciously to this day, according to vers. 11. So the poore that waited upon me, kn…w that it was the word of the Lord. The staffe then called Beauty, which this great shepheard took, was plainly his gracious teaching accompanyed with many miracles, which made his staffe or arm most glorious, and that called Band, his going according to Gods Covenant made with Israel in seeking their good, all other Nations being for the time neglected. For the word rendered bands, it is foreign signifying bands or cords, but by the alteration of some pricks proditores, betrayers, which is followed by some, and then by the Tossarius.first staffe the faithfull amongst the Jews are understood by them, and by the other the wicked, who were the destroyers of their countrey by their sinnes. How this can be made to agree I see not, forsomuch as that the staffe called Beauty in this sense is never broken, but by their deformation through errours and absurdities to which they were left, the staffe Beauty was manifestly broken, and the other called Bands by their dispersion.
For the three shepheards cut off in a monethmonth, whom he saith, his soule V: 8.abhorred, it cannot without blasphemy be applyed to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, who were in so great favour with God, and of whom Mich. 6. 4. saith, I lead you by Moses, Aaron and Miriam. They were therefore shepheards of another sort, even their possessours, that destroyed, them before spoken of, most probably the Scribes, Pharises and Sadduces, for amongst the Essees John the Baptist was brought up, an austere sect, and it is not to be thought, but that many of them were converted; to be sure they are not by name mentioned in holy Writ or reproved. Vers. 9. that that dyeth let it dye, and that which is to be cut off, &c. in these words the state of the Jews, when the Romans besieged V. 9.them, is exactly set forth, as it was. For then many dyed by pestilence, many by the sword, and many by a sore famin, making them even to eat the flesh of another, yea mothers their own children, to which extremity they were brought by three captains filling all things with rapine and confusion in the City, Eleazarus, Jonathan and Simon. But they were finally all destroyed by the Romans in taking the City, when they united their forces against them, and this was done in a short time indeed, for which I commit it to the readers consideration, whether they might not be the three shepheards before spoken of, that were cut off in one monethmonth, and the same the possessours of the people, that destroyed them; for if we shall so hold, I see nothing, that can bee objected against it, sith Princes, as well as Priests and Teachers, have the name of Shepheards ost given them in holy Scripture.
And I said, If yee thinke good give me my price: and they weighed for my price V. 12.30 pieces of silver. This makes it plaine, that the prophesie speaketh of Christ in the words before going, as hath been said, because this is noted to have Matth. 27.been fulfilled, when they gave Judas 30 pieces of silver to betray him unto them, and he afterwards being stricken for it brought the money againe to the Priests, who bought therewith a Potters field for a burying place for strangers. Whereas he bringeth in Christ speaking, give me, if you think good, Matth. 21. 37.my price, this is to be referred to his requiring of the husbandmen the fruits of his Fathers Vineyard, but he compelled them not to give them, for he left this to the liberty of their own will, saying, if it seemeth good unto you. But they in stead of rendring him such a price for all his labours and good deeds done unto them, gave for the price of his betraying 30 pieces of silver to Judas. Vers. 13. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it to the Potter, and I cast it to the Potter in the house of the Lord. Matthew relating Judas his fact, saith, that he brought it to the chief Priests and cast it down in the house of the Lord, and they upon consultation bought the Potters field, which is the same in effect, that is here said. The Lord secretly moved Judas being inwardly terryfied for that which he had done to return his money to the Priests againe, and for so much as it went to the buying of a field of a potter, it was in effect cast to the Potter, but to shew, that it came not to him immediately, but first to the house of the Lord, it is said, I cast it to the Potter in the house of the Lord; neither needs the reader to be troubled for that the Lord is brought in saying, I east it, when as the Priests did it, and Judas did first bring it into this house: for nothing else is meant hereby, but that the Lord by his providence had an hand in all this. And in saying, Give me my price, if yee will, he meaneth not, saith Gualter, that man hath any free will, but Gualter.speaks thus indignabunde, as if a faithfull shepheard should say to them, whose sheep he hath kept with all good care, but findes all his care and pains but ill accepted of, I will keep these sheep no longer, give me therefore my hire, if ye will, that I may be gone, if ye will not, I will goe away without it, for it is not a price, that I stand upon for mine one benefit. And to the same effect he saith by way of Irony, a goodly price that I was valued at, and therefore in contempt he saith, cast it to the Potter. For any thing further touching this text see my Exposition upon Matth. 27.
Take yet unto thee the instruments of a foolish shepheard. Here the Lord proceedeth to shew further, what other judgements he would lay upon the V. 15.Jewes for their malicious persecuting and vilipending of Christ, and these are judgements, that should come upon them in respect of their souls, which should be infinitely exposed to danger by foolish shepheards, that is, impostours, who should pretend themselves to be that Shepheard, the Messiah, who came from heaven out of a tender care of his sheep to guide and feed them, that they might be saved. The chief of whom was one notorious man calling himself Barchobab, that is, the son of a star, making the credulous Jews to beleeve that he was the star prophesied of by Balaam, saying, a star shall rise out of Jacob. This deceiver arose in the dayes of Aelianus the Emperour, and drew innumerable companies of Jews unto him, and with them took many Cities and Towns: but Iulius Severus being sent for by the Emperour against him, many thousands of them were slain and he fled away. Now Zechariah must as well personate this man by taking the instruments of a foolish shepheard, as the true Messiah before by taking two staves. And then he sheweth what mischiefe should insue to the poore seduced sheep, he shall not visit those that be cut off, nor seek the young one, nor heal that V. 16.which is broken, nor feed that which standeth still, but he shall eat the flesh of the fat and tear their clawes in peices; where by the sheep cut off, such as goe astray are understood, and not to visit them is not to seek to reduce them to the fold; by the young one the ignorant, and not to seek him is not to seek by instruction in the truth to bring him to saving knowledge; by that which is broken the disconsolate, and not to heal such is not to preach remission of sinnes and salvation by Christ unto them; and by them that stand still, such as continue in the faith, whom not to feed is not diligently to preach unto them for their confirmation against the corruption of nature, the subtlety of Satan, or other temptations which are incident unto them. So that from hence we may gather, what the duties of a good and wise shepheard are, viz. to doe all these things. But they are foolish and wicked shepheards, that doe them not, but contrariwise are intent to their own gain, that they may live plentifully eating and drinking of the best, out of the fat gotten from the flock, and to rule with tyranny over them, exercising all manner of oppression and cruelty towards them, that make any resistance; to this effect Gualter. And such shepheards through Gods just judgement had the Jewes Gualter.ever since their rejecting of Christ, not onelyonly the foresaid Barchobab, otherwise by themselves called Benchozbah, the son of a lyer, but also others like him, that rose up afterwards, as one Desiderius, that seduced thousands, and another, that pretended himself to be a man sent of God to lead them through the Sea, as Moses, to their own land, perswading them to plunge themselves into the water after him, and that so the waters should be so divided by which means many of them perished. And by this foolish shepheard also all the rabble of their Rabbins was meant, who pretending themselves to be the only men of knowledge in the laws and Prophets, have from time to time in stead of solid matter led them with foolish and vain inventions to hinder them from coming to Christ. Lastly, the Antichrist, as Jerome and Rupertus have Hieron.it, are here prophesied of, who, although for wordly wisdome he be most cunning to deceive of all others, yet indeed he is the most foolish, that is, wicked of them all. And if by him we understand the Roman Hierarchy, one egge Note. is not more like another, then the Pope, Cardinals and Bishops of Rome to this shepheard for his feeding or seeking the poore flock of Christ and the good thereof by doing the Offices before said, but by tyranny and cruelty most ambitiously seeking himselfe in respect of Dominion and wordly wealth. Lyra by this foolish shepheard understandeth only Antichrist to come, Lyra.whom, he saith, the Jews should follow, being by him deceived, as our Lord saith, when another comes in his own name, him yee will receive. Hee shall eat the Joh. 5.flesh of the fat ones, by covetously exacting upon them for their wealth, and break their claws, by violent dealing with some, putting them to death. But V. 17. 2 Thes. 2. 8.to this idol shepheard a woe is threatened, and he is thus called, because hee fitteth in the Temple of God, and will be worshipped as God, which also notably agreeth to the Pope, whom his flatterers intitle Vicedeus, and Dominus deus papa. The sword shall be upon his arm and upon his eye, upon his arme to cut it off, the sword shall be to bring his power and might at length to nothing, and upon his right eye to darken it, by bringing all his counsell and cunning, whereby he formerly prevailed, to nothing, so that he shall neither have strength to resist, nor providence to foresee and prevent his own ruine. And to this effect the Apostle speaketh, when he saith, he shall be revealed, and the Lord shall consume him with the breath of his mouth and abolish him with the brightnesse of his coming. And the same is the case of every wicked Note. and negligent pastour, hee is an abominable idoll, and shall bee punished both in body set forth by the arme, and in soule, set forth by the eye, so Calvin.Calvin.