The prophet announced in vigorous poetic language that Lebanon"s famous cedars would perish. The Israelites referred to the royal palace in Jerusalem as Lebanon because it contained so much cedar from Lebanon ( Jeremiah 22:23; cf. 1 Kings 7:2). The Talmud spoke of the second temple as Lebanon for the same reason. [1] The "second temple" refers to the temple that Ezra rebuilt and that Herod the Great refurbished, which stood until A.D70. The cedar tree also became a symbol of the royal house of Judah ( Ezekiel 17:3-4; Ezekiel 17:12-13). [source][source][source]
Context Summary
Zechariah 11:1-17 - Beauty And Bands
The times were very dark when Zechariah felt called upon to act as shepherd to Jehovah's harried flock. Rulers and priests were actuated by selfish greed and mutual antagonism. Three shepherds had already failed. After a brief effort Zechariah renounced the attempt. He broke his staff of Beauty, or Grace, Zechariah 11:10, r.v. margin, as if God's tender love had withdrawn from its struggle with evil; and when he challenged the people to set a value on his services, they weighed him out thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. Thereupon he broke the other staff, disrupting the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. In the following paragraph, Zechariah 11:15-17, there is an evident reference to the terrible reign of Antiochus whose cruelties led to the heroic uprising of the Maccabees. Five centuries afterwards Jesus was sent to gather the flock with the same result, Matthew 27:9-10. [source]
Chapter Summary: Zechariah 11
1The destruction of Jerusalem 3The elect being cared for, the rest are rejected 10The staves of Beauty and Bands broken by the rejection of Christ 15The type and curse of a foolish shepherd
What do the individual words in Zechariah 11:1 mean?
OpenLebanonyour doorsthat may devourfireyour cedars