Zechariah 10

10:1–11:3 God will strengthen his people by his power and restore them because of his compassion (10:6, 12). With its references to shepherds (10:2-3; 11:3), the passage prepares for the following allegory of the good and evil shepherds (11:4-17).10:1-3 This is a rebuke of false shepherds, human leaders who do not have their people’s good at heart.10:1 Rain was a sign of divine blessing (see Joel 2:23)—the Lord was the source of the rain, but Israel’s leaders had led the people to trust in false gods instead.

10:2 Household gods might refer to ancestor statues used in rituals of necromancy (conjuring up the spirits of the dead); consultation with the dead was a widespread practice in the ancient world, but God’s law made it taboo for the Hebrews (see Lev 20:27; Deut 18:10-11).

10:3 My anger burns: Israel is often the object of this divine wrath, incited by disobedience to covenant stipulations or by lapses into idolatry (see Exod 22:22-24; Deut 6:14-15; Josh 7:1; Judg 2:20; Heb 10:31). • these leaders (or these male goats): This is a figure of speech for princes, since male goats typically lead goat herds.

10:4-12 A true shepherd is promised.10:4 A cornerstone is the first-laid foundation stone upon which a building’s superstructure rests (see Job 38:6; Ps 118:22; Isa 28:16; Eph 2:20). • Just as a tent peg anchors a tent to the ground, so Judah will provide the future leaders needed to stabilize the Hebrew nation. • Many understand cornerstone, tent peg, and bow for battle as titles for the Messiah (cp. Isa 22:20-23; Zech 9:13).

10:6 save: This Hebrew word is also used for the exodus from Egypt (see Exod 14:30). Salvation and victory come from God (Ps 3:8; Isa 63:1). • God saves and restores his people Israel because of his compassion (see Exod 33:19; Pss 103:13; 111:4; Lam 3:32).

10:8 When I whistle to them: Shepherds in biblical times herded their flocks by whistling or piping to them (see Judg 5:16). • Redeemed can also mean “ransomed”—buying slaves out of their servitude or indentured status (see Deut 15:15; 24:18). • numerous as . . . before: The proliferation of the Hebrew people was one of God’s covenant promises to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3; 22:17; 32:12).

10:10 The Lord had previously whistled for the armies of Egypt and Assyria to come against King Ahaz of Judah because of his unbelief (Isa 7:18). The two nations were especially symbolic of the slavery and exile endured by the Hebrews. • Gilead is a fertile region east of the Jordan River and south of the Sea of Galilee that is suitable for grain growing and pasturing; it was settled by the tribes of Manasseh and Gad. • Lebanon sometimes defined the northern edge of the Promised Land (see Deut 11:24; Josh 1:4). God’s restoration and resettlement of the Hebrews would be so complete that even the fringe areas of Israelite territory would teem with people.

10:11 When the Hebrews returned to the land of Israel from exile in Babylon, they had to ford the Euphrates River; this is likened to a second exodus from Egypt (see Isa 43:2-6, 16-17).

10:12 This verse repeats the earlier promise that God would strengthen his people (10:6; see Isa 41:8-10; cp. Pss 18:1; 22:19; 28:8; 29:11).