Introduction

Good morning, everyone. Let's continue examining Chapter 11 of Zechariah. Did you find this chapter perplexing and confusing? Is God shepherding His flock or not? Does God intend for His flock to perish or to live?

Why do people become confused while reading? Because they lack a systematic understanding. Is God shepherding or not? What exactly is happening? In fact, if you grasp the essence of the Chinese Mingding Doctrine, you should not be confused when reading this chapter! The theme of this chapter is "The Foolish Shepherd and the Sheep for Slaughter."

Summary of the Previous Chapter

Connecting to the content of the previous chapter, it spoke of God's wrath against the shepherds, meaning that it is too difficult and rare to find a good shepherd in this world! But God will personally care for His flock. Therefore, the theme of the previous chapter was "The People Who Rely on God for Victory in Battle Shall Return."

The question then arises: some shepherds do not want to fight, only wanting to eat, drink, and be merry, and they will perish! Therefore, the Ten Commandments in the Bible are particularly well-stated: "I will show love to those who love me and keep my commandments, to a thousand generations, but I will punish the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me."

So, would you say God is shepherding or not? We must understand that God divides people into two groups in His eyes: to one group, God keeps His covenant and shows love, while the other group is left to perish, and God even gives them a push to hasten their destruction.

This is not difficult for us to understand. In Genesis, we find that God favored Jacob and disliked Esau; God blessed Jacob and cursed Esau. Were they not both grandsons of Abraham, descendants of Abraham? Yes! But it is not calculated that way! Only those who have the faith of Abraham in them belong to Abraham. Even if you are Jacob or Isaac, if you do not have this faith, then you are Esau or Ishmael.

So you must distinguish what kind of person you are, and then God will give you the appropriate "dish." Do not assume that God is full of love and grace. This is our summary of the previous chapter.

So, what kind of people were the Israelites who came out of Egypt and died in the wilderness? They were people destroyed by God! And some Israelites and Judahites who entered the Promised Land were destroyed by the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. That is the standard for Christians, so shocking!

The Chinese Mingding Doctrine teaches a very clear principle: what kind of person do you choose to be? Do you want to be a Christian who comes out of Egypt and dies in the wilderness, or an Israelite or Judahite who enters the Promised Land and is destroyed? You make your own choice. I find such Christians too miserable! Let's look at the verses in this chapter:

Open your doors, Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedars!
Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, you oaks of Bashan;
the dense forest has been cut down!
The sound of the wail of the shepherds!
Their rich pastures are destroyed!
The roaring of young lions!
The thickets of the Jordan are ruined!
(Zechariah 11:1-3)

Do you see how shocking this scene is? We must wake up. According to the logic of the Chinese Mingding Doctrine, those who rely on God for victory in battle will surely enter the Promised Land and will surely see God's abundant grace. How wonderful! Therefore, we must die as people who please God, and we must persevere in trusting God.

In fact, I tell you, it is truly a tragedy for a person not to trust God and not to know the abundance of God's grace! Why do people often become confused? Think about it and you will find that you become confused as soon as you love the world, and your mind becomes confused as soon as you love money.

My co-workers and I have had this experience: as soon as we think about making money, we become foolish! This is absolutely true. Some people say, "Teacher, do you also think about these things?" Oh, silly child, how can we not think about these things? After thinking about them, our minds become confused, but we quickly turn back to God, please God, and receive God's grace.

The Foolish Shepherd

Are there many foolish shepherds in this world? Yes, there are! In fact, I remind myself every day that I must not become foolish! It would be troublesome if I did. A characteristic of foolish shepherds is that they like to shepherd foolish sheep, which is very wicked!

I used to struggle a lot in spiritual warfare, and my mind was not very sharp. I put a lot of effort into shepherding everyone. I reflected on my shepherding in earlier years and found that there was a lot of ineffective shepherding!

Later, I gradually developed a new habit: I must become smart, I must become a smart shepherd. So I chose smart sheep and made the sheep smart. Foolish shepherds are quite interesting. Let's look at this passage:

This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter. Their buyers slaughter them without remorse, and their sellers say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.” (Zechariah 11:4-5)

When I read this passage, I wondered, what kind of logic is this? How foolish must these sheep be to act this way? I cannot be like this! Our church has a "golden rule": to shepherd away the foolish sheep, because foolish shepherds specialize in shepherding foolish sheep, but smart shepherds must shepherd smart sheep.

Foolishness is so detestable, because when you are good to them, they think you are harming them; but if you harm them and sell them, they think you are being very good to them. I am very surprised, and I still do not understand what kind of mind this is.

I once shepherded a sister who always wanted to find a wealthy husband. Our church is small, and there are even fewer brothers. There were almost no unmarried brothers who she liked. As a result, she said to me, "Teacher, I must marry a Christian." I said, "There is no one suitable for you among us. That church has ten thousand people. If there are a thousand or eight hundred who do not have girlfriends, you can go and choose."

Then she went, and she really got married and had several children, but she suffered from depression and saw the ghosts of hell. At this time, she remembered me. Why? Because the pastors of her church did not shepherd, and the group leaders and pastors did not take her problems seriously. They only cared about collecting offerings.

After this sister suffered from depression, they said to her, "Don't come to church anymore." What kind of mind is this? As a result, she came to me, and I cast out the demons from her and healed her! However, after she was healed, she returned to her original church. But this is not strange. Her problem was solved, so why would she stay with us?

The foolish shepherd sells the sheep, but he does not know how dangerous it is to offend God! Everyone must know that if you see a pastor experiencing calamity, do not have pity, but stay away. Do not ask God why; God will not make a mistake! You say, "Teacher, what if something happens to you in the future?" You do the same. I will definitely not have double standards.

The foolish shepherd sells the sheep because he simply does not want to put in the effort to shepherd the sheep well. He just wants to fatten the sheep, sell them, and make money. The shepherds who sell them even say, "Praise the Lord, I am rich!"

"Their own shepherds do not spare them." What kind of shepherd is this? "He does not care for the lost, or seek the scattered, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but devours the fat sheep, tearing off their hooves."

Once, a sister went to a church, and I said, "You have found a church that is suitable for you." Because a pastor who caters to the flesh shepherding a sheep who caters to the flesh is a perfect match. To use today's language, in the future, they may sell her as a fat sheep and eat fat sheep hot pot.

When I was a child, we had never eaten hot pot or mutton hot pot. Seeing mutton hot pot plastered all over the streets, I wondered: what kind of mutton are they brushing all over the streets? How do you brush mutton? My language skills were not good, so I asked them, "Why is everyone brushing mutton?" They said, "This is mutton hot pot."

You must know that it is very dangerous to offend God. I have seen too many such things. Why? Because people want to build their own reputation and do not want to put in the effort to shepherd the sheep. Then you force them to do it. Can this work?

But I must tell you, I dare to offend anyone, but I dare not offend God! So when God brings a sheep to me, oh my goodness, I shepherd them very seriously! Some people may not even know how to shepherd. It is not just about feeding them good food every day; you must deal with the evil in them every day.

The Calamity of the Foolish Shepherd

In one month I got rid of the three shepherds. The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them. (Zechariah 11:8)

God eliminated three shepherds in one month, and not only that, but let's continue reading:

“Woe to the worthless shepherd,
who abandons the flock!
May the sword strike his arm and his right eye!
May his arm be completely withered,
and his right eye totally blinded!”
(Zechariah 11:17)

I must remind everyone that if you want to build a church, you must know that this is a high-risk industry. If you want to build a church and make a living through the church, there is nothing wrong with that. God will surely provide for you; but if you build a church only to make a living, then it is troublesome.

The foolish shepherd will surely experience calamity, because people have no knowledge. I must tell everyone that pastors must have knowledge in their minds. You cannot shepherd without knowledge.

All those who are small shepherds, you really have to be careful, and those who use my materials to shepherd churches among us must also be careful, because foolishness and ignorance will lead to destruction!

Being a foolish shepherd will bring calamity. That is, "May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered, and his right eye totally blinded!" Having no knowledge is a tragedy!

Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the scattered, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves. (Zechariah 11:15-16)

In the Book of Exodus, there was a group of people led by a very capable leader with strong leadership skills, supported by his middle-level managers. Korah's rebellion, with 250 elders, resulted in God opening up a pit in the ground, burying him alive in Sheol. Because they were foolish shepherds, deliberately opposing God, which is very dangerous.

Before this Bible study, when I called to minister to a sister, she mentioned that her work often required her to care for believing sisters who had many ailments, which she found perplexing. After listening to this Bible study, is it still perplexing? No, it is not.

Brothers and sisters among us, you must be resolute in pleasing God and avoid foolishness. The key issue is ignorance, which is a very tragic thing. We must know the knowledge of God.

Sheep Destined for Slaughter Will Perish.

Where have these foolish shepherds led the sheep? They have led them to love the world! Because they do not know God's will, they have turned the church into a matchmaking agency, a cafeteria, a charity, and various other things. Yet, many sheep still follow.

I must tell you that few are willing to follow Moses, but many are willing to follow Korah. This is a strange thing! Few are willing to serve God, but many are willing to serve Baal.

So, in the days of Elijah, he could not find anyone with the same heart to serve God, but prophets of Baal were everywhere. Isn't that perverse?
Therefore, Elijah complained to God, "I am the only one left, God. Look how desolate this generation is!"

When you see God bringing disaster upon those pastors, be careful not to assume that is the church. You must develop spiritual eyes and know that you are not following people, but the Word of God!

I have a dream: I wish all the brothers and sisters in the church could know God and have the knowledge of God, instead of being sheep destined for slaughter, unaware of being sold and even counting the money for others!

There are two ways to build a church. The first is to make the sheep foolish, just lead them along, and then sell them off. The second is to make the sheep wise, able to know the knowledge of God and follow the Word of God.

Once, a sister asked many questions, and the person receiving her said, "Why do you ask so many questions?" She said, "I need to understand you before I can entrust myself to you." Have you ever heard me say to entrust yourself to your small group leader? No! Follow the Word of God and do not easily trust people.

If your small group leader is promoting health products, online loans, or P2P investments, be careful. These are extremely dangerous things. If you encounter these situations, ask me, and I will tell you that your pastor will not be coming the next day. Of course, you can tell me; it doesn't matter! Sheep destined for slaughter will perish because they are foolish. And what happens after they are foolish?

"For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land," declares the Lord. "I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and into the hands of their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands." (Zechariah 11:6)

Someone says, "God, why don't you save them?" Because you are foolish! Don't you like your kings? Don't you want to rely on people and relationships between people?

So, Zechariah pastured the sheep destined for slaughter, the most afflicted of the flock. How could they not be afflicted? They are foolish and do not know the Word of God. God said, "I will not pasture you. Let the dying die, let the perishing perish, and let those who are left devour one another." These are the sheep destined to perish.

I ask you, who followed Korah's rebellion more, or Moses? Of course, more people followed Korah's rebellion! And all those Israelites fell in the wilderness like that.

When God struck down Korah's rebellion, the Israelites said, "Moses, you have killed God's people." Moses said, "I didn't even lift a hand; they were killed by God." As a result, God struck down another large group of Israelites. Do you think God is letting them perish? No! God personally caused them to perish.

Then I broke my staff called Favor, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. (Zechariah 11:10)

The covenant God made with these people was revoked. Those Israelites who came out of Egypt and died in the wilderness, God revoked the covenant He had made with them; it was revoked that very day!

It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord. (Zechariah 11:11)

It was so miserable, these Christians who died in the wilderness. So, do you want to be such a Christian? If you want to be such a Christian, you will know that this is the word of the Lord, because God will make them like this. These sheep are very detestable, ignorant, and tragic! They still think they are looking to God.

I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price they put on me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the Lord’s temple. (Zechariah 11:12-13)

They actually gave it!

Then I broke my other staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. (Zechariah 11:14)

God's covenant was revoked, affection was revoked, everything was revoked. Then, do the afflicted sheep have any glory? No! Because they treat the shepherd as a hired hand. This was Zechariah's experience at the time. Zechariah came and said, "If you think it best, give me my pay," and they gathered thirty pieces of silver for him.

I ask you, is the shepherd hired? The shepherd is not a hired hand! If you treat the shepherd as a hired hand, then it is bad. Jesus was also betrayed by Judas because money was important to them.

You must know that "God will raise up a shepherd for them who will not care for the lost, or seek the scattered, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves." This is the flock destined for slaughter. What kind of mind can do such a thing? For such people, who will perish if not them?

From now on, everyone, by all means, avoid this. Do not say I will follow my pastor; you had better follow the Word of God. If you know nothing, then good luck! You will be deceived without knowing it! However, the flock destined for slaughter will surely perish and be sold to whom in the end? Sold to the devil! I want to remind everyone, are you a sheep waiting to be slaughtered?

A pastor brainwashed the brothers and sisters, saying that if the sheep do not know where to go, just follow the flock? This was shared with me by a sister. If you follow Korah's flock, won't you become part of Korah's rebellion? Is that the Word of God?

So, it is best for you to know which is the Word of God and which is not the Word of God? Which is God's church and which is not God's church? They still think they are loyal to the church, but is that the church? No!

So, I remind everyone that if you want to be a pastor, do it well, or don't do it at all, otherwise you will become a foolish shepherd. Foolish shepherds will surely encounter disaster. If you want to be a sheep, be a wise sheep, not a flock destined for slaughter.

A sister, who has traveled many places and seen many pastors, shared with me that she has seen many pastors who end up living miserably. On the contrary, those who do not care too much about this and that in the church live quite well. Isn't that strange? Because pastors cannot be foolish pastors, and sheep cannot be foolish sheep. So, Zechariah saw such a scene, and there was a sound of wailing everywhere.

A Sound of Wailing Everywhere

Open your gates, Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedars!
Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan;
the dense forest has been cut down!
The sound of the wail of the shepherds!
Their rich pastures are destroyed!
The sound of the roar of young lions!
The thickets of the Jordan are ruined!
(Zechariah 11:1-3)

What does this passage describe? It describes the group of people that God does not delight in, the shepherds that God abhors, and the flock destined for slaughter that God abhors. Everyone, do not think that God treats everyone the same; that is not the case! So, are we to be a sheep destined for slaughter, a foolish shepherd, or a sheep that trusts in God? It depends on your choice.

Is this chapter easier to understand now? It is! The previous chapter talked about "the people who rely on God to fight and overcome will return to God," but there are few such people! This chapter talks about "foolish shepherds and the flock destined for slaughter." Such a tragic scene, we must think carefully.

I must also tell you, "Those who love God, God will keep His covenant and show them love to a thousand generations; those who hate God, God will punish their sins, from father to son, to the third and fourth generations." Ponder slowly, are you a person who loves God or a person who hates God?

When you experience more, your feelings will be deeper. Someone says, "If I become a flock destined for slaughter, do I still have a chance to repent?" Of course! Return to love God and keep God's commandments, and God will show you love to a thousand generations!

This is why the Chinese Mingding Doctrine requires so much, and some people feel annoyed! Everyone, do not think that coming to meetings is for me to see, and do not think that serving God and serving those brothers and sisters is to put on a show for me. I don't need it, and God doesn't need it; you need it! Otherwise, you will become a foolish sheep, and you will become a foolish shepherd.

We will share this Bible study here. May God bless everyone!

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