Free group study handout
Zechariah 11: Group Study Handout
How to use: read Zechariah 11 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.
Overview
Lebanon is called to open its doors so that fire may devour its cedars (vv. 1-3). The trees are to wail, for the stately cedars and strong oaks have fallen.
Key verse
“Then I said, “I will not feed you. That which dies, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let those who are left eat each other’s flesh.”
Zechariah 11:9 (WEB)
Outline
- Zechariah 11:1–3 Lament over Destruction
- Zechariah 11:4–6 Call to Feed the Flock
- Zechariah 11:7–9 Rejection of the Shepherd
- Zechariah 11:10–11 Breaking the Covenant
- Zechariah 11:12–13 Wages for Betrayal
- Zechariah 11:14–16 The Foolish Shepherd
- Zechariah 11:17 Woe to the Worthless Shepherd
Discussion questions
- In v1, what is told to Lebanon regarding its doors?
- What happens to the 'glory' in v3, and what imagery is used?
- In vv. 12-13, what does the thirty pieces of silver symbolize in relation to Zechariah?
- In v16, what does it mean for the shepherd not to 'visit' those who are cut off?
- When has a situation made you feel like a 'flock of slaughter' similar to the one in v4?
Go deeper
Passages that echo Zechariah 11: Matthew 27, Ezekiel 34, Jeremiah 23.
Before next time: read Zechariah 12.