Let us turn to God's Word. Our text is found in Zechariah
chapter 11, verse 7. Zechariah 11, 7. And I will feed
the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And
I took unto Me two slaves, the one I called Butan, and the other
I called bands, and I fed the flock. I want to speak then on the true
shepherd and his flock of slaughter. And I will feed the flock of
slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto Me
two staves, and one I called butyl, and the other I called
bands, and I fed the flock. I've said before that there is
much that is difficult for us to understand and interpret in
the writings that we have at the end of the Old Testament,
the Minor Prophets. And I remind you that they're
minor not because they were less inspired than the writings that
we find in the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel, those
lengthy books. Minor simply refers to the fact
that their writings are much shorter, that they are as much
or were as much the servants of God and the prophets of the
Lord as any of those other men. They were all holy men of God
who were moved by the Spirit of God. But Zechariah certainly
is a book that is mysterious full of strange visions and not
easy for us to understand but remember also that often the
key to what we have here in the Old Testament is found in the
New Testament as we've said many a time we have to read our Bibles
from the end back to the beginning It's that greater light that
we have in the New Testament, the fulfillment of so many prophecies,
that helps us to understand those things recorded in the Old Testament
Scriptures. And with regards to the words
that I've read for a text tonight, we certainly do have light in
the fact that the verse that we have is one that's referred
to also in the New Testament in the sense that we have mentioned
here of the flock of slaughter and the flock of slaughter is
surely the same as those who are referred to in Psalm 44 and
verse 22 those who are killed all the day long and there in
In Romans 8, at verse 36, and the following verses, the Apostle
Paul makes some reference to that flock, that flock of slaughter. As it is written, For thy sake
we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for
the slaughter. The same then as those that are
being spoken of here in the text, I will feed the flock of slaughter. And again at the end of the verse,
and I fed the flock of slaughter. And so we know who is being spoken
of. It's the Lord's flock. It's the
Lord's people. It's that church of the Lord
Jesus Christ, that one who is the good shepherd and cares for
his sheep. And so as we come to examine
what I've read for a text here in verse 7 I want to divide what
I'm saying tonight into two parts. First of all to say something
with regards to the true shepherd who is really being spoken of
throughout the whole chapter and being contrasted with those
who were the false shepherds speaking then of the true shepherd,
and then secondly to consider these instruments that are spoken
of, the instruments of the shepherd, the two staves. I will feed the
flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock, and I took
unto me two staves, the one I call beauty, and the other I call
bands, and I fed the flock. Well, first of all, let's say
something with regards to the true shepherd. isn't Zachariah,
in many ways, personating the Lord Jesus in what we have here.
In that sense, we might say that Zachariah is a typical character. In verses 12 and 13, we read
these words. 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. And the LORD said unto
me, Cast it unto the putter, a goodly price, that I was priced
at of them. And I took the thirty pieces
of silver, and cast them to the putter in the house of the LORD's. Well, this is the word of the
Prophet, speaking very much of himself, the personal pronoun.
I said unto them, if you think good, give me my price. It's
Zechariah who is challenging them to price him. But as I said,
here he is personating the Lord Jesus because these very words
are of course taken up in the New Testament with regards to
the betrayer of the Lord Jesus. with regards to Judas Iscariot
and remember what we're told concerning Judas and those 30
pieces of silver for which he sold his master there in Matthew
chapter 27 verse 6 well we'll read the passage from
verse 3 Judas which had betrayed the Lord When he saw that he
was condemned, repented himself and brought again the thirty
pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. And he said
to them, I have sinned, I have betrayed the innocent bloods.
And they said, What is that to us? He said, O to that. And he
cast down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and
went and hanged himself. And then we read this at verse
6. The chief priest took the silver pieces and said, It is
not lawful for to put them into the treasury because it is the
price of blood. And they took counsel and brought
with them the potter's field to bury strangers in. Wherefore
that field was called the field of blood unto this day. Then
was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet,
saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of
him that was valued, whom they, of the children of Israel, did
value, and gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed. Now what is the scripture that
is being referred to? They fulfilled that which was
spoken by Jeremy the prophet. And then the quotation is actually
from what we have here in Zechariah and this 13th verse in this 11th
chapter. You might say well why does it
say Jeremiah? Why is there a reference to Jeremiah? Well we're told that the books
of the prophets were sometimes referred to by the Jews simply
under the name of Jeremiah. They might refer to the whole of the prophetic writings under
the name of that particular prophet. It wasn't anything that was spoken
by Jeremiah. The scripture that's being referred
to there is clearly what we have here in Zechariah. And we see
then quite clearly the significance of this passage. Verses 12 and
13. It's Zachariah personating the
Lord Jesus Christ. And Zachariah is that one who
is the true servant of the Lord, the true prophet of the Lord.
He's that one who, as a prophet, was a shepherd amongst God's
ancient covenant people. And as I said here in this chapter,
this strange chapter that we read, there is a contrast being
drawn between the false shepherds and the true shepherds. In verse 8 we read of three shepherds
also I cut off in one month and my soul owes them and their soul
also abhorred me. Three shepherds. Now it's interesting
because when we come to the Old Testament there are three offices
three particular offices that God gave to his ancient people
whereby they were to be ministered to, whereby they were to be cared
for. And what were those offices? Well, there were prophets, and
there were priests, and there were the princes, the kings. The threefold office here in
the Old Testament. And of course, the Lord Jesus
Christ when we come to the New Testament, is the fulfillment
of all those offices, because he is the great prophet, the
fulfillment of the prophetic office, that preacher who has
been sent by God. There's no more any prophet after
the Lord Jesus. Muhammad is a false prophet.
No true prophet at all. No prophecy after Christ. God
has spoken in these last days by his Son. and there can be
no greater revelation from God than that that we have in and
through the ministry of Christ. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. Christ is
the prophet and Christ is the priest. Not a priest after the
order of Melchizedek, after the order of Aaron, but a priest
after the order of Melchizedek. a never-ending priesthood and
he has come as the priest and made the great sacrifice he's
not just a priest he is also the Lamb of God the sacrifice
to take away the sin of the world and then Christ is the Prince,
he's the Prince of Peace he's the King of Kings he's the fulfilment
of the of the kingly office we have these three offices then
here in the Old Testament. But God says three shepherds
also I cut off in one month. There were those of course who
were faithful men who did serve the nation of Israel in those
offices, but there were those who were evil men, wicked men.
and how those shepherds in Israel did so miserably fail to fulfill
their duties time and again we read that passage in the 34th
chapter of Ezekiel that speaks of those who were the false shepherds
how the Lord God reproves them the word of the Lord came unto
me says Ezekiel, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the
shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say unto them, Thus
saith the Lord God unto the shepherds, Well be to the shepherds of Israel
that do feed themselves, should not my shepherds feed the flocks,
he says. And what does the Lord God do?
What's the solution to this? He rebukes these men. But then
we have that great promise where we concluded our reading in Ezekiel. God says, verse 22, Therefore
will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey, and
I will judge between cattle and cattle, and I will set up one
shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David,
he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd, and I the
Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among
them, I the Lord have spoken it. David, of course, the king
but David had been that one who was a shepherd boy caring for
the sheep of his father Jesson and it's the promise of David
here David of course long since dead in the days of Ezekiel but
he's David's greatest son it's a prophecy of Christ who is that
one who is the true shepherd of the sheep and so here when We come to the
11th chapter in Zechariah, it's speaking of the days of the gospel,
it's speaking to us of Christ, the coming of Christ, the fulfillment
of all those offices, and this specific reference to his experience
in this 13th verse. Or there is a contrast here between
the false shepherds and him who is the true shepherd of the sheep. Now, what was the particular ministry
of this man Zachariah? Well, he's living, isn't he,
at the time of the rebuilding of the temple. He's contemporary
with Ezra. And together with Haggai, he's
a prophet who is encouraging those who have returned, encouraging
them in that great task of the rebuilding of the temple of the
Lord. And that's very much the content that we have in the previous
chapters, the first 10 chapters really. He addresses those who are undertaking
that great work. In chapter 2 for example, I lifted
up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring
lion in his hand." Here is someone who's engaged in measuring, working,
rebuilding. Again, when we turn to chapter
3, verse 9, we have this, "...behold, the stone that I have laid before
Joshua..." Joshua was the high priest in those days. "...upon
one stone shall be seven eyes, Behold, I will engrave the graving
thereof, saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity
of that land in one day. We come to chapter 4 and verse
9. The hands of Zerubbabel hath laid the foundation of this house.
His hands also shall finish it. And thou shalt know that the
Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto you. What is Zechariah doing
in these chapters? He's encouraging those who are
engaged in the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord. But then, when we come into this
chapter, chapter 11, his ministry changes somewhat
really, because now he begins to speak more particularly of
God's judgments. God's judgments. That's what
we see in the opening verses really. Open thy doors, O Lebanon,
that the fire may devour thy cedars. How, furtry, for the
cedar is fallen, because the mighty are spoiled. How, O ye
oaks of Bashan, for the forest of the vintage is come down."
When Israel in the Old Testament were being assailed and attacked
again and again, often the the assault would come from the northern
regions. Remember how the Assyrians came
and overthrew the northern kingdom of Israel and it was just little
Judah in the south that was preserved in the days of King Hezekiah. But where did the Assyrians come?
They often, well they came from the north. Although the Assyrians
were east of Israel and Judah there was a waste wilderness
between Assyria and that land of Palestine and they would follow
those attacking armies they would follow what was called the Fertile
Crescent they would move they would move to the north and across
and then they would fall upon Israel the northern kingdom first
from the north, from the north country. And of course Lebanon
lying to the northwest of Israel. It came from the north. And it
was so also later when the Babylonians came. The Babylonians, the Chaldeans
had overthrown the Assyrians. And then when the Babylonians
come under Nebuchadnezzar, Judah also falls. and they're taken
into exile. And they spend those 70 years
there in captivity. But again, the Babylonians, like
the Assyrians before them, follow that fertile crescent. And they
came from the north. Jeremiah speaks of them. There in Jeremiah 15, 12, shall
iron, he says, break the northern iron and the steel. or the Northern
Iron, the Northern Steel, that was the great might of the Assyrian
Empire, with all their chariots and all their swords coming and
falling now upon Judah. Judah is going to fall and they
won't be able to stand before that Northern Iron and Steel. And so here you see it speaking
of the way wherein the judgment comes. Open thy doors, O Lebanon,
that the fire may devour thy cedars. Howl, fir tree, for the
cedar is fallen, because the mighty are spoiled. Howl, Oaks
of Bashan, for the forest of the vintages come down. Now, all those things have taken place.
Because as I said, Zachariah is ministering after the Babylonian
captivity. when the Persians had come and
overthrown the Babylonians and the great Persian emperor Cyrus
had issued his decree in the days of Ezra that they were to
go back, the Jews were permitted to go back to rebuild the temple
of the Lord there in Jerusalem. And so what is the particular
judgment that is being spoken of? Well, remember that the chapter
does quite clearly refer to the Lord Jesus Himself. Here in verses
12 and 13. So what is the judgment that
is being spoken of now that He's going to befall this people?
It's that that came in the year 70. The year 70 of this era. AD, Anno Domini, the year of
our Lord. Nearly 40 years after the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ, we know, it's historic, how the
armies, the legions of Rome came under their
general Titus and fell upon Judah and Jerusalem and there was great
destruction. Had they not? The Jews had rejected
the Lord Jesus Christ. They had rejected the Lord Jesus
Christ. He came unto His own. His own received Him not. And what's the consequence? Well,
here in verse 9, He said, Is there not a prophecy of what
God would do with them? Then said I, I will not feed
you. That that dieth, let it die. That that is to be cut off,
let it be cut off. and let the rest eat every one
the flesh of another." It was a terrible judgment that came
upon them. Those Jews, what did they prefer?
They preferred the scribes and the Pharisees as their shepherds.
or what folly that was. God says in verse 16, Lo, I will
raise up the shepherd in the land which shall not visit those
that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal
that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still, but
he shall eat the flesh of the fat and tear their claws in pieces.
They preferred these men to be their shepherds, than him who
is the true shepherd, the great shepherd of the sheep, the Lord
Jesus Christ, himself that was the one that they they chose the end of verse five their own
shepherds it says pity them not in contrast we see the Lord Jesus
promised here as he's promised there in uh Ezekiel 34 and verses
23 and 24 so he's promised here As the prophet personates Christ,
I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock,
he says. And I took unto me two staves,
the one I called Bute, and the other I called Bands, and I fed
the flock. He's obedient. Isn't this the
command that the Lord God has given to him? Verse 3, Thus saith
the Lord my God, Feed the flock of the slaughter. or he comes
as that one who is ever the good shepherd of the sheep. I am the
good shepherd, he says. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. Amongst all those great I am
statements that we have in John, we have that remarkable 10th
chapter. I am the good shepherd. Or Christ
is the one that is being spoken of here. that one of whom David
speaks in the 23rd Psalm. And what gracious words! Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rods and thy staff, they
comfort me, he says. I will feed the flock of slaughter,
even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto Me two staves,
and the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands,
and I fed the flock." Oh, He comes, you see, to give
His life, a ransom for men and to save His people. I give unto
them eternal life, He says, they shall never perish, no man is
able to pluck them out of my hand my father which gave them
me is greater than all no man can pluck them out of my father's
hand the true shepherd the good shepherd
the Lord Jesus Christ in contrast to those evil men
those wicked men those scribes and those pharisees who so hated
him and despised him and yet how the Jews followed the teachings
of those men and rejected him who is the true servant of the
Lord. But let us turn to consider these
instruments and look more closely at these two staves that are
being spoken of. It says in the text, And I took unto me two staves, Staves being the plural, of course,
of staff. The one I called beauty, the
other I called bands, and I fed the flock. That's what we're
told here. Now, in a sense, in this passage,
we see that these are the instruments of a foolish shepherd. The verse 15, take unto thee yet the instruments
of a foolish shepherd. Take unto thee yet or take unto
thee again. These had been broken previously.
As we see verse 10, I took my staff even beauty and cut it
asunder that I might break my covenant which I had made with
all the people. And it was broken in that day.
And so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that
it was the word of the Lord. And then at verse 14 then, I
could asunder mine other staff, even bands, that I might break
the brotherhood between Judah and Israel, and then take unto
thee yet, or take unto thee again instruments of a foolish shepherd. Here in verse verse 15 now as I've said it's not an
easy book and well you'll be aware I'm sure you've read through
this book at some stage chapters 5 & 6 for example we have a whole
series of strange visions that Zechariah sees and speaks of
It is a book that's so symbolic. How are we to understand these
things? How are we to interpret these things? They obviously
are to be interpreted in some way, those things that we read
in chapters 5 and 6, but even when we come to this chapter,
what are we to make of these staves? Beauty and bands. Well, let us just for a little
while try to examine them and what they stand for. Beauty.
What does this one represent? Does it not in a sense represent
to us a fleshly beauty? We might say
a fleshly holiness, a creature religion. The false prophets
in the days of Jeremiah were always speaking comfortable words
to the people. God was judging His people. And
Jeremiah, the faithful servant of the Lord, would speak to the
people quite plain of all that was about to befall them. that they
were going to be removed they were going to be taken away into
exile there could be no remedy but those false prophets were
ever preaching peace and peace when there was no peace and there are ever false prophets
it's interesting isn't it when we think of the true servants
of the Lord think of the ministry of the Holy Spirit for example
when he has come how the Lord speaks of his ministry there
in in John 16. In the opening part of that chapter
he speaks of the coming of the Spirit, the Comforter. But what
does he do first of all? The first thing we read of there
is how he comes to reprove or to convince the world of sin,
of righteousness, of judgment. And then after that we read how
he comes as that one who will reveal the things of Jesus Christ. And he comes with all the consolations
of the Gospel. He doesn't speak of himself,
he takes of the things of Christ, he reveals them unto men. But first of all, there must
always be, where there is a faithful ministry, that negative aspect. It was true with Jeremiah, wasn't
it? He's told at the beginning of
the book that he's got to break down and destroy. He's got to tell the people the
truth. He's got to come with all those
convincing and convicting words before ever there can be any
real comfort. And when we think of the language
of the Psalm, Psalm 39 and verse 11, We read these words, when
thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest
his beauty to consume away like a moth. Surely every man is vanity. All men must be brought to see
that there is nothing beautiful in themselves, nothing beautiful
in any natural religion that they can manufacture for themselves.
We cannot in any way make ourselves to be Christians. Only he that
made the world can make a Christian says Joseph Hart in that little
golden preface to his hymn book. Only he that made the world.
It's a mighty work of God making a Christian. God does it. And how does God do it? Well
he comes first of all with that great work of conviction. He
turns the man to destruction. As we read there in Psalm 90,
Thou turnest man to destruction and sayest, Return, ye children
of men. There's that work of conviction.
All man's beauty must be consumed. It must pass away. Every man must learn what he
is. We're all as an unclean thing. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. We do all fade like a leaf. Our
iniquities like the wind, they carry us away. as fundamental
this is there must be first of all ruin and there is ruin, ruin
by the fall but then there's that great redemption that is
only found in the Lord Jesus Christ It is Christ who has accomplished
the great work of redemption and how Paul was brought to realize
the importance of it, his desire to be found in Christ, he says,
not having his own righteousness which is of the law but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness of
God which is by faith. And how he brings it out time
and time and time and time again in the epistle to the Romans. Oh, that is the saving righteousness. No beauty of self. The one I
called beauty. And what is to be done with beauty? I took my staff, even beauty,
and cut it asunder that I might break my covenant which I had
made with all the people. And it was broken in that day.
What is that covenant? That's the old covenant. that
is no more, that's a covenant of works and so the poor of the flock
that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord ruined by the fall and then redemption and restoration
by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and then that great work
of regeneration and new birth by the Holy Spirit where there's
a blessed application of all that Christ has accomplished.
There's the staff called beauty and then there's the staff called
bands. Verse 14, I cut asunder mine
other staff, even bands, that I might break the brotherhood
between Judah and Israel. the division, the division of
the nation after the death of King Solomon when his son Rehoboam
becomes the king and acts foolishly and there's a breach and the
ten tribes rebound and they choose Jeroboam son of Nebat to be their
king and he establishes his kingdom in the north with Samaria as
his capital and what does he do? well he doesn't want the
people to go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord so we are
told aren't we there in 1st Kings 12 and verses 28 and 29 how he
makes the golden calves and he places one at Bethel and another
at Dan and he tells the people this is how they are to worship
they are to worship the true God by going to these places
to Bethel and to Dan and before the golden calves they are to
worship Jehovah And that's the beginning of the
end really for Israel. What does it represent to us?
Apostasy, profanity, insincere worship, a mongrel religion. Ephraim is joined to idols. Let him alone. Let him alone
says the Lord God through his servant Hosea. Ephraim compasseth
me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit." How God
rejects all this syncretism, this mixing of idolatry with
His own worship. That's what they did. They thought
they were worshipping the Lord God, the true God, but worshipping
Him in a way that was like the heathen nations round about them,
and God rejects it. And this is what we have here,
a rejection of all false religion. I cut asunder my other staff,
even bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah
and Israel, the folly sometimes of the kings of Judah when they
were in league with the kings of Israel. And have they suffered
as a consequence? Or say you're not a confederacy,
a confederacy to all them who say a confederacy. There has to be a separation. That's the ministry of the true
shepherd. He separates. He judges between cattle and
cattle. We read it three times there
in Ezekiel. In that 34th chapter, verse 17,
Verse 20, verse 22. The stockman, he judges between
cattle and cattle. The shepherd will judge between
sheep and sheep. If thou take forth the precious
from the vial, thou shalt be as my mouth, says the Lord God
to His servant Jeremiah. So different to the false prophets,
the false shepherds. What does Jeremiah do? he discriminates,
he separates the precious from the vile and is like him who
is the great shepherd of the sheep and the true prophet of
the Lord. Now we read repeatedly there
in John's Gospel concerning Christ and his ministry a division.
There was a division among the people because of him. There
was a division among the people because of his words. This is
the work then of the true shepherds. All man's supposed beauty is
to be consumed away. We cannot save ourselves, we
cannot make ourselves presentable, acceptable to God. Even our righteousness
is our filthy rags. Are we not to enter into confederation with those whose profession is
apostasy really and those whose worship is really insincere they're
not worshipping the Lord God in accordance with what God says
here in his holy word but now it's a very little remnant really
and what is the description that we have of this little remnant
here in the text which is really the Lord's flock it's a flock
of slaughter And the Lord is mindful of them.
Verse 4, Thus saith the Lord, My God, feed the flock of the
slaughter. Always the same, a very little
remnant there in the midst of Israel. How we see it in the
ministry of the Prophet Isaiah. In the very first chapter of
the book, He recognizes that the Lord has
left but a very little remnant. There in verse 9 of chapter 1,
except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant,
we should have been a sodden, and we should have been like
unto Gomorrah. not just a remnant or a small
remnant a very small remnant or do we
not feel it at times how discouraging it is to us we seem to reduce
and reduce and reduce again a very little remnant a day of small
things and we won't to despise the day of small things we don't
like it I'm not advocating that we shouldn't desire of the Lord,
that he would grant a gracious in-gathering of souls. I hope
we pray for that, we look for that, we yearn for that. We want
Christ to be glorified. All we want is that Christ should
be glorified as he sees of the travail of his soul. But what
is the Lord's remnant? What a remnant it is, it's a
flock of slaughter. You feel that, that's what you
are really. The sheep of Christ you trust,
but you're like a lamb for the slaughter. Poor souls. Isn't that what we
have here in the text? I will feed the flock of slaughter,
even you, O poor of the flock. Remember the words of the Lord
Jesus in that gospel words, all that gospel words, there in his
sermon on the Mount, blessed, are the poor in spirit, for theirs
is the kingdom of God." Poor in spirit, and yet theirs is
God's kingdom. And what of this flock of slaughter?
Well, they feel themselves to be a prey, and they're a prey
to so many things. Those words that we've referred
to in Romans 8.36, as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all
the day long. We are accounted as sheep for
the slaughter. Oh, what a pride God's people
are. They're a beast of pride. There's
that great adversary of souls, the devil. that a roaring lion,
he walketh about seeking whom he may devour, he'll devour who
will devour us if he can, he can't of course even we looked at it recently
there in the book of Job he he had no right to lay a finger upon Job he it's a mystery and it is a
great mystery but he he's not a free agent God is sovereign
and God is not the author of sin but how the devil is lurking
about seeking whom he may devour and how he comes as a tempter
and he he entraps us and we fall into sin and we fall into sin
again and we feel so ashamed and we cannot make our confessions
because how can we keep coming and confessing the same sins
over and over and over again and he's the accuser of the brethren
and he accuses us day and night he accuses us in our own consciences
and he shuts our mouths and we don't pray he's a subtle fellow
or this is the flock of slaughter what is their last crisis in
the world's tribulation in the world's tribulation how they
feel it that great adversary of souls
and they look within and they find what Paul found
in me that is in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing all wretched
man that I am Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Why we slaughter ourselves really? The old nature, the conflict,
the warfare between the flesh and the spirit. Life, a prayer, and that's the
way the Lord has appointed things. Those words at the end of that
little chapter of Jeremiah 45, words addressed to Barak, who
it seems was sort of secretary, amanuensis to the prophet Jeremiah,
and the prophet is given a message to the man. Seekest thou great
things for thyself, seek them not. I will bring evil upon all
flesh, but thy life will I give unto thee for a price in all
places whither thou goest. And I was thinking, oh, it's
so apt for the day. I will bring evil upon all flesh. And it's there, you see, it's
happening now, not only in this nation, amongst all the nations
of the earth, what political confusion there is. And great
evil, liberty is taken away from people. It's all about us. I will bring evil upon all flesh,
the Lord says to his faithful servant Barak, and thy life I
will give unto thee for a prey." Oh, but the Lord is watching
over that life, you see. All places whither thou goest,
God's eye is upon that man, and God will preserve his own. He's
a flock of slaughter, but the Lord will preserve his own. In
the world, tribulation says, Christ, be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. But we cannot escape it, friends.
I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people.
Is that, is that me, a poor afflicted soul? Is that you? I will leave in the midst an
afflicted and poor people. But these are the ones who are
trusting in the name of the Lord. That's the flock of slaughter.
And Christ, All Christ cares for this flock. And He cares,
as you know, for each and every individual sheep in that flock,
and He feeds them. And how does He feed them? Well,
He feeds them with Himself, doesn't He? He feeds them with His flesh,
He feeds them with His blood. We're told that there in John
6, verse 53 following, That's their union. They feed upon Christ. They feed upon His great sin-atoning
sacrifice. Do we feed upon the doctrine
of Christ? It's a precious truth, isn't
it? Christ, His person, who He is. Christ, His work, all that
He has done. This is how He feeds the flock
of slaughter. And He says it Himself, I will
feed the flock of slaughter. Even you. O poor of the flock! Or do we believe that He is that
One who never leaves us nor forsakes us? There in Isaiah 40 verse 10,
Behold, we are told, the Lord God will come. O the Lord God will come with
strong hand his arm shall rule for him behold his reward is
with him and his work before him he shall feed his flock like
a shepherd he shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry
them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young
oh he is the good shepherd he is the good shepherd of the sheep
even this flock of slaughter and he has given himself and
he will ever give himself and it's for us of course simply to look to him and trust
in him remarkable isn't it the life of faith we don't like easy
believism that's false religion there's nothing easy nothing
easy to believe in But let us not confuse easy with simple. There is a blessed simplicity
here. Except ye be converted and become
as little children. That's how simple it is, the
way of salvation. A child can understand. Except
ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not
see the kingdom of God. Or that we might know that simplicity
then of saving faith, to be looking to this One, even our Lord Jesus
Christ. And He promises, I will feed
the flock. I'll slaughter even you, O poor
of the flock. And I took to Me two staves,
one I called Beauty, the other I called Bands. And I fed the
flock. May the Lord bless His Word to
us. Amen.