"This is what I got out of this"

There is this brother who comes into the store on his break and talks with me. He came in the other night while I was counting cigarettes and couldn’t talk. He asked for a piece of paper and wrote on it “Zec 11:1-3.” And then proceeded to talk about having recently read it and what he got out of it. And he got a lot! I was counting away so he didn’t have my full attention, but I confess, I did not understand what he was talking about. When I got through counting, I read the passage, using – you guessed it – my Nook. I understood it even less! Here is the passage:

1  Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
2  Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.
3  There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

First, I want to commend this brother. He views the Bible as a living book, one that is ready to speak to him every time he opens it. And he expects God to speak to him and reveal things. I appreciate this lively faith. But, and I have spoken to him about this, I am concerned about how he approaches the Bible. I know he is fairly well established in the truth, but the Bible seems to him to be a collection of almost disconnected oracles that speak different things to different people at different times. His favorite introductory expression is, “This is what I got out of this…”

I have to confess, this troubles me and is a completely different approach to the Bible than I have. I believe, if we wish to properly understand a passage, we must try to understand what the writer was attempting to say and how the original readers would have understood him. In other words, this is first of all an objective matter, not a subjective one. A “What did he mean?” thing and not a “What can I get out of it?” thing. Oh, there is a place for “What can I get out of it?” but that should come after I attempt to ascertain what the author said. This is of course, hermeneutics, the science of interpretation.

So, what does Zechariah 11:1-3 mean? I am not ashamed to admit, I have no idea! The prophets often use trees in their prophecies and it would be helpful to be more familiar with this. But, he gives a clue – he mentions shepherds. So, and this is always helpful, let’s read on. Perhaps there will be something I do understand. I am comforted by this: I may not understand these verses but I am sure I will get the big picture.

In v 4-6 He mentions the flock. Thus far he has mentioned shepherds and the flock. So, this is something about the people and their leaders. Zechariah seems to be speaking and acting as the chief shepherd, and he disciplines some shepherds under him. He had taken two sticks and named them Beauty and Bands. Then,

10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.

Here is something significant. The covenant is broken! Wow, significant and somber.

12  And I said unto them, If ye think good, give [me] my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty [pieces] of silver.
13  And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
And prophetic. Zechariah is payed but God says He is (ultimately being) rejected for 30 pieces of silver. And this brings us to Jesus. How in the world can I find Jesus in Zechariah 11? Because we know from Ezekiel that a Good Shepherd is coming and in John 10 Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. And we are also told that Judah betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Jesus and the cross.

And speaking of Jesus in Zechariah – He is to be found a lot in the remaining chapters! (And quite often in the preceding ones as well.) Just a few:

12:10  …and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced…
Jesus crucified. For me. Now, here is something I understand and can dwell on!

14:1  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh…
2  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle…
3  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations…
4  And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives…
5  …and the LORD my God shall come, [and] all the saints with thee.
This is totally amazing! The LORD (Yahweh) shall go forth and His feet shall stand upon the mount of Olives. This is Jesus. And who is Jesus? Jesus is Jehovah!! Amen!

14:9  And the LORD shall be king over all the earth…
Maranatha!

I confess again, I don’t understand the trees of 11:1-3. But there is so much that is clear that follows and surrounds this that I can meditate on – Jesus.

Is this brother wrong in his hyper-spiritual approach? I think I will refrain from such a final word like wrong. But I believe he is being incautious and opening himself to error. The Bible means something when it speaks. You can’t approach the Scriptures with such a subjective view, because if it means something different to every person each time they read it, then it means nothing at all. Well then, what about the trees? When you don’t understand one part read on to the parts you do understand. And it didn’t take us long to get to Jesus. And the cross. And His coming. Hallelujah!

In other words, you don’t need a hyper-spiritual approach to get something out of Zechariah. Just let the Word of God say what it says and you will get blessed and rebuked and blessed and chastised and blessed and warned and blessed. I still don’t know about them trees, but I have been so blessed reading about Jesus in chapters 11-14 and my joy has been renewed.

and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee

JESUS!!!!!!!!