Verse 14
Zechariah then symbolically broke his second staff, "Union," indicating the end of the unity that bound the Jews together. Just before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 the Jews broke up into parties that were very hostile to one another. This condition accelerated their destruction by the Romans. [Note: Chambers, p. 86, in Lange’s commentary.] Evidently fighting among the Jews will also be common in the Tribulation. The order of events is significant, and it was historical: the breaking of God’s favor on His people, their rejection of the Shepherd, and the breaking of their unity. [Note: See Feinberg, God Remembers, p. 211.] We know that this destruction would not be permanent, however, because of other promises that God would reunite and restore His people and that He would not cast them off permanently (e.g., Romans 11; et al.).
"Responsibility for human chaos lies squarely on human shoulders. God has offered men His shepherd, but they have rejected Him, to their own irreparable loss." [Note: Baldwin, p. 187.]
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