| |
10 Ask rain from the LORD
in the season of the spring rain,
from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,
and he will give them showers of rain,
to everyone the vegetation in the field.
For the household gods utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
they tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
“My anger is hot against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;
for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
From him shall come the cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler—all of them together.
They shall be like mighty men in battle,
trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the LORD is with them,
and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.
“I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.
Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD.
“I will whistle for them and gather them in,
for I have redeemed them,
and they shall be as many as they were before.
Though I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far countries they shall remember me,
and with their children they shall live and return.
I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
and gather them from Assyria,
and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
till there is no room for them.
He shall pass through the sea of troubles
and strike down the waves of the sea,
and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
I will make them strong in the LORD,
and they shall walk in his name,”
declares the LORD.
(ESV)
What happens when we don’t receive an answer from God as soon as we like? We turn to false gods and idols. We want to feel comfort, so instead of waiting on God we seek other ways to satisfy that desire. We take shortcuts to cheap imitations like sex, money, food, and addictions. But it should not be this way!
For the idols speak falsehood, and the diviners see illusions; they relate empty dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they suffer affliction because there is no shepherd.
Zechariah 10:2 HCSB
The people of Zechariah’s time went to fortune tellers. Probably the most memorable example of this in Scripture is King Saul.
When Saul saw the Philistine camp, he was afraid and trembled violently. 6 He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him in dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets. 7 Saul then said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” His servants replied, “There is a woman at En-dor who is a medium.”
1 Samuel 28:5-7 HCSB
The crazy thing is, the exile was still fairly fresh in the people’s minds at this point and idolatry was the exact reason they had been sent into exile to begin with!
There were apparently droughts in Judah after the exile (Zec 10:1), and some of the people were turning to diviners and false gods for help rather than the Lord (Zec 10:2). This was utterly foolish in light of the fact that Judah’s exile had been a judgment for exactly these kinds of practices (compare Jer 14:1-10).
Nelson’s Commentary
The interesting detail we can note at the end of verse 2 is that the people suffered because they had no shepherd. This could mean they didn’t have Godly leaders in places of authority, but it can also mean they hadn’t yet experienced the true Shepherd in Jesus Christ. The difference for us is that we have the Holy Spirit which points to Jesus in all areas of life. It is our responsibility to seek Him in times of need!