How long can someone put God off? This chapter can be divided into three sections. What ties this whole chapter together is its theme on the shepherds in each of the three sections (vv. 3, 4, 15). Shepherds wail (vv. 1-3); they reject God as their shepherd (vv. 4-14); God will send them worthless shepherds (vv. 15-17). What does it mean to us? Of course it applies in particular to the Jewish people in terms of God's redemptive purpose. But in all of Scripture, we always learn something about God, something about what we are to believe and what we are to do in response and obedience. When did this happen? Since some of these things prophesied had in view Alexander the Great's attack in chapter nine and other parts refer to the Maccabean revolt, and since vv. 12, 13 clearly refer to Christ's betrayal (as in Mt. 26:15; 27:3, 9) — a good many conservative evangelical and Reformed interpreters take this to be a reference to the rejection of Christ when He came and what happened to Israel in 70AD. Because of the clear reference to Jesus' betrayal, the judgment must be related to that timeline. So, their leadership came to nothing under the siege (v. 8). These shepherds were worthless. The internal strife spoken of in vv. 15-17 might be the chaos that ensued inside of Jerusalem when it was being sieged by the Romans. What does it mean to us? 1. Notice how easily mankind can turn on one another. 2. We see how greatly grievous and wicked it is to detest and reject God. 3. May the Lord keep us from "worthless" shepherds (vv. 15-17). 4. Let us thank God for the Good Shepherd our God has sent us, the Lord Jesus (Jn. 10:14).
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Dr. Mark Herzer has been the pastor of Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church (P.C.A.) in Warminster, PA since 1997. Before this, he was ordained to labor as an Assistant Pastor of Korean United Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia (1992-1995). He received his M.A.R. and Ph. D....