Tag Archives: Zechariah 11-14

Daily Bible Study

October 1, 2024 Bible Study — A Confusing Passage

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 11-14.

Zechariah prophesies a day of destruction when God will refine His people.  On that day, all the nations of the world will attack God’s people and suffering will abound, but it will result in living water pouring out from God to all those who call Him Lord.  On that day God will call everyone who calls Him Lord His people.  I will be perfectly honest, reading today’s passage both fills me with fear and with hope.  The fear comes because it seems to suggest great suffering to come for God’s people.  The hope comes because it says that God will accept as His people, and will shield them.  The thing about this passage is that I am sure that it prophesies the hope portion.  And while I am sure it prophesies the fear portion, it seems to me that when it does it talks about a time which has already come to pass.  I am not fully convinced of this, but I am inclined to think that the time of great suffering for God’s people which Zechariah prophesies here occurred around the time of Jesus.  I am hesitant to interpret a passage in that manner, but today I do not fully understand what Zechariah is writing and the portion I do understand refers to Jesus’ life on this earth.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

October 1, 2023 Bible Study — If We Do Not Follow the Good Shepherd, We Will Follow the Bad Shepherd

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 11-14.

I struggle with today’s passage because it seems to be composed of multiple separate prophecies, and I am unclear where the breaks are between one of them and the next.  I am not quite sure of the implications of the first thing which struck me.  As Zechariah speaks about the ways in which God provides shepherds for His people, he writes that God will raise up a bad shepherd over His people.  One who will not care about the lost, nor seek the young.  One who will not heal the injured or feed the healthy.  A shepherd whose only concern will be for what is in it for him.  The context seems to imply that God did this (will do this?) because His people did not value the Good Shepherd He had given them.  When I read about that bad shepherd it reminded me of so many of the leaders we have today, religious, political, and even business leaders.  Leaders who are not concerned with the care of those whom they ostensibly lead.  God has given us such leaders because we have stopped following the Good Shepherd He sent to care for His flock.  I want to point out that thinking of it that way can be very scary.  Until you think about what Jesus said when He took upon Himself the mantle of Good Shepherd.  He is looking for, and caring for, the sheep who have wondered away.  Let us follow His voice when He calls us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

October 1, 2022 Bible Study — On That Day All Will Acknowledge That God Is Lord

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 11-14.

I am unsure what to make of this passage.  Everything from chapter 12 to the end of today’s passage reads to me as being part of the same prophecy, but different parts of it seem to be about different events while all pointing to “that day”.  So, here is what I see the parts I think  I understand to say.  The nations of the world will unite against the nation of Israel and suffer a devastating defeat at the hands of Israel.  I will state that this seems to be intended to be taken as hyperbole: fulfillment of this prophecy does not require that no nations ally with Israel, just that Israel face overwhelming odds against it.  This event will lead the people of Israel to praise God and acknowledge the great things He has done for them.  Also on that day, or perhaps on another “that day”, God’s grace will pour out on the people of Jerusalem, cleansing them of their sin and impurity and causing the names of idols to be forgotten (another case of possible hyperbole where the names are not actually forgotten, but are just no longer considered names of power).  Finally, on “that day” there will be neither sunlight nor darkness and God will be the only Lord over the earth.  All of the peoples of the earth will worship Him.  So, what does all of this mean for us?

    1. Do not go to war against Israel or God’s people
    2. God reigns supreme over all of the earth, and sooner or later everyone will acknowledge His rule
    3. God freely offers to cleanse us of our sin and corruption

 

 

Daily Bible Study

October 1, 2021 Bible Study — When We Reject God’s Favor Disunity Follows

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 11-14.

The first thing which struck me concerned the prophecy about breaking the staff called “Union”, which symbolized the breaking of the family bond between Judah and Israel.  Zechariah prophesied after the Return from Exile, so theoretically after the split between Israel and Judah had become moot.  However, this come just before God told Zechariah that He was going to raise up a worthless shepherd over the land, a shepherd who would not care for the lost, nor seek  the young, nor heal the injured.  This shepherd would divide the members of the flock against one another (this is me interpreting what I am reading here).  This prophecy of abandonment comes after Zechariah had prophesied that the oppressed of the flock had rejected God as their shepherd.   This gave this whole passage a meaning I had never seen before.  God has promised to protect the weak, the powerless, and the oppressed, but when those who fall into those categories reject His protection He will allow “leaders” to arise who will show them their folly.  When those whom God has vowed to protect reject His protection He will allow leaders to arise who divide them against one another and take advantage of them for the benefit of the leader.  Look around and I think you will see how that is happening today.

All of the above being said, Zechariah follows that with a prophecy of promise.  God promises that the day will come when He will pour out His Spirit on people and they will mourn for what they have done.  Then He will purify them as silver is purified by fire and they will burn like a fire in straw, purifying the world around them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

October 1, 2020 Bible Study What Value Do We Put On Others?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 11-14

I am really struggling with today’s passage, nothing in it seems to fit into anything meaningful for me today.  So, I will spend a little time looking at Zechariah’s reference to receiving a wage of 30 pieces of silver.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew connects this passage to the price paid Judas to betray Jesus.  The significance in today’s passage (and to some degree in Matthew) of the 30 pieces of silver is that in Exodus 21:32 that is the price that someone must pay if their animal kills someone else’s slave.  So, Zechariah says that he was worth no more than a slave to the people to whom he was sent to prophecy.  By extension, Matthew said that Jesus was valued at no more than a slave by those who paid Judas to betray Him.  By valuing Zechariah (and Jesus) at no more than a slave, those who did so said that he was disposable.  Do we value the people around us?  Or are they merely disposable?

Daily Bible Study

October 1, 2019 Bible Study — If We Think Our Leaders Are Evil, We Should Examine Ourselves

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 11-14

There is little in today’s passage which speaks to me today.  The main thing I want to focus on is what Zechariah writes about evil shepherds of God’s people.  From time to time, God appoints leaders over His people who are evil.  Such leaders do not rise to prominence in opposition to God’s will.  Rather, God appoints them to lead His people as punishment for their sins.  When the people of God are led by wicked, selfish people it is because they have become wicked, selfish people. 

However, I want to point out what Zechariah writes a little further on.  Yes, when God’s people allow themselves to fall into wickedness He will appoint over them wicked leaders, but in time He will pour out His Spirit on His people and draw them back to righteousness.  Revival comes about when each one of us is led by the Spirit to look at our own lives and allow the Spirit to cleanse us of our sins.

Daily Bible Study

October 1, 2017 Bible Study — Things Will Not Get Better Until Each Of Us Is Seeking The Good Of All

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 11-14.

    Usually when I read the various shepherd metaphors in the Bible I clearly understand why the writer is using that particular metaphor. However, today I do not really understand why Zechariah is using the metaphor of a shepherd and sheep. For that matter I am not sure I understand the message which Zechariah is conveying, but I will write what I see the message as being. Zechariah seems to me to be saying that everyone is seeking to satisfy their desires, no one is seeking to promote the good of everyone. The various leaders were merely in it for themselves. The “buyers” sought to consume the sheep. The “sellers” sought to profit from the sheep. Even the shepherds, whose job it was to care for the sheep, sought only their own interest and did not care for the sheep. The sheep themselves were out to take advantage of each other and expressed disdain for the only shepherd who tried to lead them to their best interest.

    Zechariah finishes his writing with prophecies of God’s redemption of the people of Israel. When that day comes, God will not use the elites to bring about victory. Victory will begin with the common man. God will do this to show that the “elites” are not better than the common man. All are on common ground as the people of God. When Zechariah wrote these prophecies he believed them to be about the Jewish people, and that may indeed be the case. However, there are elements here, and in other similar Old Testament prophecies, which suggest that these prophecies apply to all who choose to worship and obey God. In either case, a key part of this prophecy is that those too whom it applies mourn for the One “whom they have pierced.” This is a clear reference to Jesus and His death. One thing it also makes clear is that part of salvation is accepting our share in the guilt of His suffering and death. Recognizing our guilt is a requisite step in receiving the cleansing from sin and impurity which God offers us.

Daily Bible Study

October 1, 2016 Bible Study — Cleansing Water and Life Giving Water

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 11-14.

    There are bits and pieces of this passage which speak clearly to me, but the whole of the passage eludes my understanding. I know that at least part of the reason for this is that the author used imagery which would have been clear to his contemporaries, but which does not transfer well to the way we think today. I will continue to read this passage because I know that the Holy Spirit will use it to speak to me when the time is right. Having said that I want to comment on the parts of this passage which I do understand.

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    There is clear Messianic prophecy in this passage, probably even in the parts I do not understand. There is the 30 pieces of silver, which the New Testament writers tell us was a reference to Judas. There is the passage about mourning for the one “whom they have pierced.” A reference to Jesus’ death on the cross. One thing we do not often look at is the reference to God breaking His covenant in the middle of this passage about Jesus. I sure that I do not fully understand what the prophet is telling us here. However, part of the message is that, with the Crucifixion of Jesus, God is entering into a new covenant with the human race. There is also the message about the coming fountain of cleansing which will wash away sin and idolatry. Part of me wants to connect that fountain to the life-giving waters which the prophet refers to a few verses later. I think this is an example which most clearly shows how Zechariah uses a metaphor one way to give one message than turns around and takes a similar metaphor to give a different message…and yet the second message is somehow connected to the first. The waters of that cleansing fountain become the life-giving waters. It is only when we allow the cleansing waters which are Jesus’ blood to wash us and scour us that we can experience the life-giving waters which are also Jesus’ blood. The cleansing water and the life-giving water are different things…and yet they are the same thing. A paradox that never be fully understood by our limited minds.