Neville Goddard on Zechariah 11:1-17 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Zechariah 11 in context

Scripture Focus

1Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.

2Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.

3There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

4Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;

5Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.

6For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.

7And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

8Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

9Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.

10And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.

11And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

12And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.

13And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

14Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

16For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

17Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Zechariah 11:1-17

Biblical Context

Zechariah 11:1-17 depicts God speaking to feed the flock of the slaughter and condemning leaders who prey on the people; covenants are broken, a false shepherd rises, and judgment falls on those who ignore the inner truth.

Neville's Inner Vision

Viewed through the I AM, Zechariah’s scene is an inner drama. The fire devouring the cedars is the purifying flame that reveals what I have hidden in my heart; the cries of the trees are the effects of living by self-made powers rather than Divine awareness. The two staffs named Beauty and Bands are the two dominant states of consciousness I consciously hold: Beauty, the perception of order and truth; Bands, the bond of my shared life with God and with my inner brothers. When I feed the flock of the slaughter, I’m feeding the recurrent thoughts that keep me enslaved to fear, pride, and greed. The possession that slays them is my belief in external control; the thirty pieces of silver become a symbol of my previous valuation of status over soul. Cast them to the potter—release those values into the subsoil of the subconscious, where they can be transmuted. Then I cut asunder Bands to restore the unity once intended between the divided parts—Judah and Israel—inside me. The idol shepherd warns me that ego may pretend to guard the flock, but the sword will reveal its emptiness. In truth, the one shepherd I follow is the I AM, and the flock he tends is my true inner life in covenant.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes and assume the role of the good shepherd within. Visualize Beauty and Bands as your two staffs, and with felt certainty cast the price of external approval to the potter, then sense the inner unity and restored covenant taking hold.