The Shepherd-King
Zechariah 9:9–10:12
Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation. Zechariah 9:9
Zechariah tells of four things the Shepherd-King does.
1. The Shepherd saves his people (9:14–17): “On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people” (v. 16).
2. The Shepherd provides for his people (10:1–2). In the past Israel had looked to idols for the blessings God stood ready to give the people if they had only asked him. In those days they were like sheep without a shepherd, lost and oppressed by their enemies. In the latter days, about which these verses speak, the people will ask God for blessings and will find them.
3. The Shepherd purifies his people (10:3–5). Israel’s lack of a true shepherd in verse 2 leads to the thought that the people were nevertheless afflicted by false shepherds, whom the true Shepherd now intends to punish. Who are these false shepherds? Probably all false prophets, kings, or other leaders, both Jew and Gentile, are meant. Ultimately, there is only one true leader: the Lord, the Shepherd of Israel. That is why verse 4 must refer to the Messiah. In one sense, it could refer to whatever good rulers God himself brings forth from Judah. But in the ultimate sense, only Jesus of Nazareth is the “cornerstone” (a sure foundation), the “tent peg” (intrinsic strength), and the “battle bow” (a conquering warrior).
4. The Shepherd gathers his people (10:6–12). The last section of Zechariah 10 tells how the Great Shepherd of Israel will restore the people by regathering them from the distant reaches of the earth. The prophecy must concern a yet future day. The regathering may have begun with the reestablishing of the modern state of Israel. This will be a great regathering in which the scattered flock of the Messiah is returned to its own land and to great material and spiritual blessing.
I argue here, as elsewhere, that verses like these refer to a literal future blessing upon a regathering and believing Israel. This is their meaning. Nevertheless, it is true that we who have been brought to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior can see ourselves in the points of this prophecy. Has the Lord not done each of these great things for us? He has saved us by his death. He has provided for us and encourages us to come to him in prayer, asking for anything we lack. He is purifying us. He is also gathering us—both Jew and Gentile—from the farthest reaches of this world.
The Lord is not merely the Shepherd-King of Israel. He is our Shepherd too. Praise God that we have such a Shepherd!
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.