13:7 Zechariah now returned in a poem to the subject of the Shepherd that he had mentioned in chapter 11. He also returned to the time when Israel would be scattered among the nations because of her rejection of the Good Shepherd.
Almighty Yahweh personified a sword, the instrument of violent death, which he commanded to execute His Shepherd, the royal Good Shepherd of 11:4-14.272Yahweh further described this Shepherd as the man who was very close to Him, even His Associate.
"The expression who stands next to me' is used elsewhere only in Leviticus (e.g.6:2; 18:12) to mean near neighbour'; similarly the shepherd is one who dwells side by side with the Lord, His equal."273
In 11:17 it was the worthless shepherd whom the Lord would strike, but here it is the Good Shepherd. The one doing the striking is evidently God Himself since "strike"is masculine in the Hebrew text and agrees with "the LORD of hosts."If so, Zechariah presented Messiah's death as God's activity (cf. Isa. 53:10; Acts 2:23) as well as Israel's (12:10-14).
The striking (death) of the Shepherd would result in the scattering of the Shepherd's sheep (i.e., Israel, 11:4-14). The Lord Jesus quoted this part of the verse, claiming the role of the Shepherd, when he anticipated the scattering of His disciples following His death (cf. Matt. 26:31, 56; Mark 14:27, 50).
The last line of the verse is capable of two different interpretations both of which came to pass. Perhaps a double entendre was intended. God Himself would scatter even the young sheep and would show mercy to them (cf. Mark 13:19, 24; Luke 2:35; Rev. 11:3-10).274
"The divine witness to the death and deity of the prophesied Messiah makes this verse one of the most significant in the entire Old Testament."275
13:8-9 The scattering of the sheep would result in two-thirds of the flock dying and one-third remaining alive. The Lord would refine the surviving one-third in the fires of affliction (cf. 3:2; Ezek. 5:1-12). This remnant must be the same group of Israelites, described in 12:10-13:1, who would turn to God in repentance. Evidently two-thirds of the Jews will perish during the Tribulation and one-third will live through it and enter the Millennium. This surviving remnant then must include the 144,000 of Revelation 7:1-8 and 14:1-5. The one-third will call on the Lord's name in supplication for forgiveness (12:10). The Lord will respond to their cry by reaffirming His new covenant relationship with them, and they will agree to it (cf. Ezek. 20:37).
