Zec 10:2-3 | KingComments | STEP | Prayer brings blessing ( ), relying on idols ( ) brings disappointment and sorrow. What stands in the way of blessing must be removed. The idols, such as the teraphim, the house gods ( ; ), and also the gods of other nations, such as the Baal, have caused for example, that God had to withheld the rain to the people in the days of Ahab ( ). The people resorted to these idols. They were disappointed. Instead of giving, these took from them and made them rudderless. This is the condition of the people when the Lord Jesus comes to them. The people are like a flock that has no shepherd ( ; ; ). In the following verse the LORD promises that He will deliver His flock from the oppression of false shepherds. “Diviners” are consulted to predict the future. They can be placed among the false prophets, who use “iniquity”, “lie” and “false dreams” ( ). Resorting to diviners for information and guidance is specifically forbidden ( ). God has given His prophets to make His will and the future known through them. He will also ultimately give the true Prophet, the Messiah ( ; ; ). Zechariah again uses words from Jeremiah and Ezekiel ( ; ). That they ‘comfort in vain’ is something like ‘giving vapor as comfort’. It means that nothing at all of their comforting promises will come true ( ). It is hot air, their words evaporate, they dissolve into the void and nothing remains of them.

‏ Zechariah 10:2-3

Teraphim Speak Iniquity

Prayer brings blessing (Zec 10:1), relying on idols (Zec 10:2) brings disappointment and sorrow. What stands in the way of blessing must be removed. The idols, such as the teraphim, the house gods (Gen 31:19; Jdg 17:5 ; Jdg 18:5), and also the gods of other nations, such as the Baal, have caused for example, that God had to withheld the rain to the people in the days of Ahab (1Kgs 16:30-32 ; 1Kgs 17:1).

The people resorted to these idols. They were disappointed. Instead of giving, these took from them and made them rudderless. This is the condition of the people when the Lord Jesus comes to them. The people are like a flock that has no shepherd (Mt 9:36; Mk 6:34; Eze 34:5-6). In the following verse the LORD promises that He will deliver His flock from the oppression of false shepherds.

“Diviners” are consulted to predict the future. They can be placed among the false prophets, who use “iniquity”, “lie” and “false dreams” (Jer 23:30-32 ; Jer 27:9-10). Resorting to diviners for information and guidance is specifically forbidden (Deu 18:9-14). God has given His prophets to make His will and the future known through them. He will also ultimately give the true Prophet, the Messiah (Deu 18:15-22; Jn 4:25 ; Jn 6:14; Acts 3:22-23). Zechariah again uses words from Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Jer 27:9 ; Jer 29:8; Eze 21:29 ; Eze 22:28).

That they ‘comfort in vain’ is something like ‘giving vapor as comfort’. It means that nothing at all of their comforting promises will come true (Job 21:34). It is hot air, their words evaporate, they dissolve into the void and nothing remains of them.

God’s Anger Against the False Shepherds

“The shepherds”, the religious leaders of God’s people, are deceivers. “The male goats” are the civil leaders and also the people who follow the false shepherds. All these leaders are mercenaries who have no real love for the sheep, but only want to benefit from them (Jn 10:12; Eze 34:1-10). God will judge them.

God, “the LORD of hosts,” stands up for His defenseless, exploited people. He turns the people that belong to Him, the sheep, into horses (cf. Song 1:9). Thus He makes them an instrument in His hand to carry out the judgment on the surrounding people (cf. Zec 9:13). It also shows that the power of Judah does not lie within them, but that they are powerful through God. He Who Himself is fearless makes them fearless. He Who Himself has all the power, gives them of His power to fight.

God’s concern for Judah will not be limited to the liberation from the oppression of the evil shepherds. He will also turn Judah into victorious people. This is the meaning of the picture of “His majestic horse in battle”. It is the picture of a beautiful and richly decorated warhorse, like a king is used to ride on. This picture is as characteristic as the description of Judah and Ephraim as a bow and arrow (Zec 9:13).