"And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver. And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of Jehovah."

Having played the role of the Shepherd, the prophet then turned to the leaders of the nation and said: "If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear." His asking for his hire indicated that the dramatization was brought to a close. Speaking in modern terms, one would say that Zechariah played the dramatic performance voluntarily without solicitation or consent on the part of the leaders of the people; hence they were under no obligation to give him anything. On the contrary, realizing the significance of his performance and being enraged by the revelation which he made, they weighed thirty pieces of silver--the price of a dead slave. By selecting this price they showed their contempt, not simply for the prophet himself, but especially for the One whom he had been impersonating. In calm moments, of course, when they realized the full significance of what had gone on before their eyes, they would not show such great contempt for God their Shepherd as is here set forth; but, as has been noted before, men whose hearts are not right with God, in the heat of passion and under the excitement and stimulus of the moment, commit irrational acts; yes, unbelievable things.

"Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel."

When the authorities of the temple showed their utter contempt for the real Shepherd of Israel and flung such insolence into His face, the prophet broke his second staff, namely, Bands, which act symbolized the breaking of the brotherhood among Judah and Israel. In the original text the word which is translated "between" has that as its primary meaning, but it is also used to signify "among," as is seen in Isaiah 44:4. It undoubtedly has this secondary signification here. The prophet's holding his staff Bands and not destroying it when he broke the staff Beauty seemed to indicate God's unwillingness to bring about the complete destruction of the nation. His love held on to His people just as long as possible. He broke the second staff only when it was morally impossible for him to desist.

What is meant by the breaking of the brotherhood among Judah and Israel? Does it signify another rent similar to that which occurred in the days of Rehoboam and Jeroboam, and which divided the twelve tribes into the two rival kingdoms of Judah and Israel?

It is hardly probable in this connection, for, according to the prediction presented in the vision, verses 1-3, the nation is swept away in the flames of a destructive judgment. One writer has interpreted it as the "terrible calamity of civil strife and destructive feuds among themselves, which is symbolized by the breaking of the staff called Bands." This interpretation, I think, is probably correct.

It is immaterial whether we conceive of the prophet's dramatization as occurring only in a vision or as actually enacted by him in the temple and in the presence of the authorities. The lesson is the same. As suggested above, I am inclined to believe that he actually went to the temple and in the presence of the leaders and the congregation performed this dramatic action. Dr. C. H. H. Wright, interpreting the prediction, forcefully and graphically presented the case in the following words which are quoted by Baron:

"The Temple was the place where the people of the covenant were wont to assemble to present themselves before the Lord. In that holy place the awful repudiation on the part of the nation of Him, who was the Shepherd of Israel, was to be publicly made known. The base transaction (however done in a corner) was to be proclaimed upon the housetops. In the place where the solemn covenant between Jehovah and His people had so often been ratified by sacrifices, the fearful separation between the people of Israel and Himself was to be declared. What was done in the Temple was done in the presence of both parties to the covenant: in the presence of Jehovah, in whose honour the Temple had been erected, and in the presence of the nation, who, by its erection of that Temple, had accepted Jehovah as their Lord and God. In the presence of both parties the rejection of the Lord as the Shepherd of Israel was to be announced, and the dissolution of the covenant made by Jehovah to be publicly proclaimed by the act of His representative."

From this whole discussion we gather several salient facts which are beyond dispute in this prediction. Another has summarized its outstanding features as follows :

"(1) That before the destruction of Jerusalem, Jehovah, in the person of the Messiah, would appear as the Shepherd of Israel.
"(2) That only 'the poor of the flock' would attend to His word; but the rest, both leaders and people, would reject and abhor Him.
"(3) That the Good Shepherd should be valued at the price of a common slave.
"(4) That the people would in consequence be given over to be the prey of the Gentile powers from without, and to civil feuds within."--Baron.

Without question, this prediction shows that the Lord who promised to come and to perform the functions of a shepherd would appear in that role before the national life became extinct. Since He permitted the Romans to destroy every vestige of the Jewish state and to scatter the nation to the four corners of the earth, the inevitable conclusion is that He, the Messiah, according to this schedule, appeared before that event.

Another conclusion that forces itself upon the mind of the earnest truth-seeker is that the destruction of the Jewish state by the Romans, which occurred in 70 C.E., was the immediate consequence of the rejection of the Lord as Israel's Shepherd when He came. Not until after the leaders rejected the prophet as shepherd in this dramatic performance, did the latter break both staves. By their action and attitude he was driven to do this. Then he interpreted the symbolic significance of this act of breaking them.

The entire dramatic action of Zechariah, therefore, was to portray vividly to the leaders and people of his time that God would appear in person as Israel's Shepherd and Messiah, that the leaders of the race would reject Him and hurl contempt at Him, considering Him nothing more than a dead slave, and that the consequences of their attitude and action would be the destruction of the nation. As has been noted, since the destruction here foretold occurred in the year 70 C.E., we know absolutely and positively that Messiah made His appearance prior to that event.

Israel, therefore, is making a serious mistake to expect Messiah's first appearance to be yet in the future. He has already come one time--in fulfilment of those many predictions which show that He was to come, entering the world by miraculous conception and virgin birth. Since we know positively that He made His appearance before 70 C.E., it is now for the earnest truth-seeker in Israel to scan the pages of Jewish history to see when He appeared, under what human name He lived, and what He accomplished for Israel and the world. Then it is for each one to accept Him with a whole heart, not only as Shepherd and Messiah of Israel, but as the Saviour of the soul.

"And Jehovah said unto me Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For, lo I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those that are cut off neither will seek those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound: but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces."

When Israel rejected the prophet who was impersonating the true Shepherd of Israel, then the Lord called upon him to get the instruments of the false shepherd, a desperado, and to impersonate another character, namely, a false shepherd.

According to the prophet Daniel there will be a wilful king who will come in the end time, will gain the confidence of the people and then will prove to be a tyrant, subjecting Israel and the nations to the greatest indignities possible and controlling the nations with a rod of iron without any mercy or consideration whatsoever (Dan. 11:36-45). This same false shepherd or wilful king is mentioned in other passages of the prophets.

In verse 17 his doom is foretold.

Under the galling yoke and the severe bondage of this false shepherd, which Israel as a nation will yet accept, she will learn as never before the serious blunder that she made in rejecting her true Shepherd when He came prior to the year 70 C.E. The condition of the Chosen People continues to grow worse and worse under the reign of this false king until the whole nation will turn to God and will cry out in the language of Psalm 80 for the true Shepherd, the Messiah, who is now seated on high or enthroned above the praises of Israel, to shine forth, to come, and to deliver her. Never until she thus prays will this faithful Shepherd have mercy upon His straying sheep and come for their deliverance. Eventually however, they will cry out as the psalmist declares:

"Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel. Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest above the cherubim, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manassah, stir up thy might, And come to save us.

"Turn us again, O God; and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved" (Ps. 80:1-3).

When they turn to their Shepherd and cry for Him He will return. May that day of glorious deliverance speedily come is my cry.

End Of Chapter XV.