A Lament Over The Condition Of Israel (Zechariah 11:1-3).
‘Open your doors, Oh Lebanon,
That the fire may devour your cedars.
Howl, Oh fir tree,
For the cedar is fallen,
Because the glorious ones are spoiled.
Howl, Oh you oaks of Bashan,
For the thick forest is come down.
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.'
Again Lebanon is seen as part of the land of promise. But as the prophet sees what is to come he depicts catastrophe in terms of those things which were the pride of the land. The cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan were proverbial for their glory and strength. But now as far as Israel is concerned the cedars are burned and the oaks are cut down. The pride of Jordan contains the same idea, referring to the jungle thickets which provided a home for the lions. They too are spoiled. Thus even the young lions will have cause for complaint.
The picture is one of invasion and the destroying of that of which the people are most proud. The unfaithfulness of God's people as a result of the teaching of false shepherds will have the reverse effect to what Zechariah has previously described. Prior to the coming of the Messianic king there will be devastation in the land. The history of the Jews illustrates how this happened again and again.
It should be noted that usually invaders spared the trees. They recognised that they were for future generations. A land despoiled of trees was truly a land despoiled.
‘A voice of the howling of the shepherds.' The catastrophe is directly related to the activities of false shepherds. They have proclaimed falsehood and will now see it bring ruin to the land. Even the lions will roar because their homes are destroyed.
So while the prophet has been filled with hope he now recognises that coming adversity will precede the fulfilment of his hopes. The future is not all one of triumph, it must rise out of disaster. How quickly the revival of hope has to bow to realities and be delayed. It is ever thus and will be until God directly intervenes.