1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
Lebanon was known for beautiful cedar trees and one of their main exports was this wood. War is not good for forests, since fire is a frequent weapon.
2 Howl, 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.
3 There 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.
Those who will lead Judah in the future, in the time of Christ, will be distressed to see the trade of neighboring nations so devastated when the Romans come through the land. Since Israel and Judah were in the middle of the major trade routes, bad trade anywhere was bad for them.
4 Thus says the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
5 Whose 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.
These leaders not only profited from the trade with their neighbors, they were cheating and abusing the people. They were fleecing their own flock.
6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, says the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor’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.
7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock.
God will provide what the common Jew needs so he doesn’t need to depend on corrupt leaders anymore.
… And I took unto Me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred Me.
The time came when God disposed of the rulers (kings), religious leaders (Pharisees, Sadducees), and the priests. He did it in one fell swoop followed by the destruction of the Temple. These all hated the true God and worshiped power and wealth instead.
9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dies, 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.
This describes the condition in Jerusalem at Titus’ conquest quite well; starvation, disease, death, captivity…
10 And I took My staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break My covenant which I had made with all the people.
The time of the Jews being God’s chosen people came to an end. He ended this covenant and began a new one.
11 And 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.
Those that served God and especially those that believed Jesus saw plainly that this destruction was of God.
12 And 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.
This is the price the Pharisees, one of the evil shepherds, paid for Christ.
13 And 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.
Judas’ money he received for betraying Jesus was used to buy a potter’s field.
14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
The connection between the true Israel (the people of God) and the physical descendants of Jacob (Judah) is broken. From this time forward, all those- and ONLY those- who believe in Jesus are part of Israel. Judah is just another nationality.
15 And the LORD said unto Me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
16 For, 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 stands still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
This “shepherd” would be Titus and his army that totally destroyed all of Judah.
“Claws” would be the cloven hooves of sheep that, when cleaned and cooked, contained good stuff to eat. Jerusalem would be devoured down to the last little shred.
17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaves 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.
Religious leaders are held to a higher standard by God. They will be punished more harshly for their selfishness and greed because everything they do affects so many others so much more than when a non-leader sins.