Gaining an insight into God’s sovereign plan (Zech 13:7-9)

The pastor of a large and successful church was invited by a smallish congregation to preach. Wanting to emulate the incredible growth of the invited preacher’s church, his listeners kept asking him for the secret of revival. The pastor sadly shook his head over their starry-eyed enthusiasm saying that these people did not know what they were asking for. Experiencing what God is doing sounds exhilarating, but when His Spirit starts shaping us, it hurts. Transformation comes at a cost, often of suffering and pain. Our passage describes such a process, and it is hard not to feel the shock reverberating through the prophecy. After the hopeful aspects of restoration, we are plunged back into darkness. Typical of prophecies about the last days is this moving back and forth in time, sometimes with a recapitulation of the same event from a different perspective. This compares to modern-day sports television, where key moments (a goal, a tackle) are replayed from various angles and those unfamiliar with the convention might think that these are all separate incidents.[1]

God’s perspective on His Shepherd

In our reading, we return to the shepherd theme, a leader who is struck down with the sword (Zech 13:7). Given that this is a metaphor for judgement, some interpreters argue that it is the worthless shepherd who is punished by God (Zech 11:17). However, Petterson points out that the possessive ‘my’ (i.e. God’s shepherd) argue for a close connection with God and ‘my associate’ (Hebrew ‘amit) is also a positive term that otherwise only occurs in Leviticus and means neighbour, friend (e.g. Lev 19:15; 25:14).[2] If this is the same shepherd figure role-played by the prophet and contemptuously paid off with thirty shekels of silver (Zech 11:12-13), as well as the pierced one killed by the people he was sent to (Zech 12:10), then we get here an astounding new ‘camera angle’. What looked like a tragedy of human rejection and evil was sovereignly ordained by God all along!

The path of suffering

The scattering of the flock (the people) and the process of sifting and refining (vv.8-9) is reminiscent of Ezekiel’s earlier prophecy about the siege of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile (Ezek 5:1-4). There the prophet was to shave off and divide his hair into thirds symbolically enacting on them God’s judgment (by sword, scattering, and fire) with only a small remnant saved. In Zechariah, the process is similar: two-thirds die and a third is left but refined again by fire (Zech 13:8). Thus, the events described could be another angle on the battle of the nations against Jerusalem (Zech 12:1-9), but this time emphasising the effect of the fight on God’s people rather than on the nations. The metaphor of refining precious metal in the fire is a well-known one for suffering and purification and the result of such testing is the restoration of the covenant relationship with God (Zech 13:9). This once again echoes the previous description of repentance, cleansing from sin and renewal (Zech 12:10-14; 13:1-6).

Trusting God in suffering

With Christian hindsight, we recognise the Shepherd as Jesus, killed because of human hatred yet so ordained by God to take our judgment. Jesus applies this verse to Himself and the disciples, who will scatter immediately after His arrest (Matt 26:31), but the pattern also holds for longer-term events. Thus, the striking down of Jesus is later followed by persecution and scattering of His followers (Acts 11:19). Suffering will both test and bring fruit (1 Pet 4:12; Heb 12:11). If the flock is Israel, then the suffering may refer to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the scattering of the Jewish people. What this prophecy may envisage if there is still a future aspect to it, we cannot know for sure, but it teaches us important principles. God’s ways are mysterious and even what looks like human tragedy or evil are no surprise for Him. In His wisdom, the Lord knows what He is doing. Suffering may look like our worst enemy because it destroys our happiness, but it is often the only way to shift something in our hearts, so that we come back to the Lord as our centre. May we learn to trust God’s sovereign will that works good in our lives even through suffering.

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[1] Laurie Guy gives this helpful illustration in connection to Revelation. Making Sense of the Book of Revelation, Regent’s Study Guides 15 (Oxford: Regent’s Park College/Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2009), 30.

[2] Anthony R. Petterson, Haggai, Zechariah & Malachi, AOTC 25 (Nottingham: Apollos, 2015), 276.

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