God, the Faithful Shepherd-King

God, the Faithful Shepherd-King
Zechariah 9:11-17
May 14, 2023

I suppose most people in most nations complain about their political leaders.  Ingrained in the fallenness of man is an inherent rebellion against authority.  So, we don’t like kings (or presidents, or dictators, or senators, or…).  We don’t want anyone ruling over us, dictating what we will do (or levying taxes against us).  That’s not just an American issue, that’s a common man issue. 

But Israel, in particular, seemed to have a problem with kings.  Much of Israel’s OT history is the story of a divided nation — the ten northern tribes, commonly called “Israel,” and the two southern tribes, Judah.  Like the north and the south in America in the 19^th century, these nations (and their respective kings) hated each other and warred against each other, even though they were under the one promise of God. 

Israel was not always divided; it became divided after Solomon died there was political infighting between Jeroboam (Israel) and Solomon’s son Rehoboam (Judah).  That was a dramatic change after 120 years of a unified monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon.  But even that unified monarchy was stained by rebellion.  In the period of the judges, the Israelites decided they wanted a king like all the other nations.  God had always been the King of Israel; but Israel wanted something else (1 Sam. 8:7).  And thus began her long struggle with kings — not a single king over the northern tribes was good, and the southern kings were a mixture of good and bad kings.  But the rule of all of them was rooted in rebellion against God.

Despite Israel’s rebellion, God had made a promise to rule His people as an eternal King on David’s throne (2 Sam. 7:8-16, esp. vv. 13, 15-16) — a conjoining of heavenly and earthly rule in the God-Man (Ps. 2:6; Is. 9:6-7).  That promise is what is anticipated in Zechariah 9:9-10.  And the promise of that returning King is expanded in Zechariah 9:11-17.  Last week we saw the character and conquest of the King; this week —

God’s coming King will defeat Israel’s enemies, and shepherd His people.

The coming King is going to be victorious over the nations (vv. 1-8) and will return as the fulfillment of God’s promise to David (vv. 9-10).  And God’s King (Christ Jesus) will also provide for His people Israel in three particular ways:

1. God Made a Promise to His People (vv. 11-12)
   • God promised to liberate His people (v. 11)
   • God will restore all loss to His people (v. 12)
2. God Will Fight as King for His People (v. 13-15)
   • God will fight through His people (vv. 13-14)
   • God will provide the victory for His people (v. 15)
3. God Will Shepherd His People (vv. 16-17)
   • There will be peace for His people (v. 16)
   • There will be blessing for His people (v. 17)

Download the rest of this sermon on Zechariah 9:11-17.

The audio will be posted on the GBC website by tomorrow.

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