“The idols speak deceitfully ... they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd” (10:2). Israel’s leaders – kings, priests, and prophets – had failed God’s flock. The Lord told Zechariah to demonstrate Israel’s story by acting as a shepherd for sheep “marked for slaughter”. Zechariah started out with two shepherd staffs named Favor and Union, but these symbols of God’s blessing were broken (11:10-14), just as Israel had broken God’s covenant. 

Israel’s sin, like all human sin, caused disaster and provoked judgment. Yet God’s love and His plan of redemption endured. “For the Lord Almighty will care for his flock ... I will restore them because I have compassion on them” (10:3,6).