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.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 7-10.

When we go to church on Sunday, or any other time, are we really doing that for God?  Or, are we doing it for ourselves?  When we celebrate Christmas and Easter, is that for God, or for us?  When we do those things they are supposed to remind us of what God really wants from us.  He wants us to show mercy and compassion to each other.  God wants us to show His love to those around us.  Let us not be as those who saw visions which are lies and recount dreams that are false.  If we love truth and seek God, He will do good for us.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 1-6.

I see a lot I could write about in today’s passage, but there are two quotes which God gave to the prophet I want to focus on.

‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’

and

‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

The first of these quotes addresses how we should respond when we feel cut off from God.  The second reminds us of how we carry out the missions God gives us.  For me this means that when I look at society around me and see how far it is from God, I must return to God and pray that He returns to those around me, drawing them unto Him.  I will not transform society around me, or even myself, by my strength, my power, or even my wealth (not even should I miraculously acquire the wealth of Elon Musk).  I will not transform society around me by teaming up with others and pooling our strength, power, and wealth.  Transformation of our society will only happen by the Spirit of God.  Transformation of individuals will only happen by the Spirit of God.

I use 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 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. 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

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 7-10.

Zechariah writes what God had asked of His people through the prophets who preceded him…and as I have read through the Bible I have seen that this was indeed what those prophets had said.  God had called on them to administer true justice, show mercy to one another, and not oppress the fatherless, the widow, the foreigner, or the poor.    Then Zechariah writes that the people should not be afraid because God once more intends to do good for them, for us.  All that He asks is that we speak the truth to each other, render true and sound judgment, do not plot evil against each other, and do not swear falsely.  So, God’s message did not change.  If we do as God commands, people from all nations will join us in seeking the Lord and we will need have no fear.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 1-6.

The first thing I want to comment on is this phrase which Zechariah writes that the Lord said, “I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.”  This suggests to me that when God chooses a nation to punish His people, sometimes that nation goes beyond what God intended.  I want to note that in this context “His people” means the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, but this message may also apply to Christians (I do not know that such is the case, but I believe that many Old Testament prophecies concerning the people of Israel also have application to Christians).  As an example, one my father actually suggested to me many years ago, God may have allowed the Nazis to come to power in Germany in order to punish the Jewish people in Europe, but the Holocaust was them going far beyond the punishment God intended.  The Holocaust was evil which impacted more than the Jewish people, but it did result in the establishment of the modern state of Israel.  Even if God allowed the Nazis to rise to power in order to punish the Jewish people (something I am not convinced is the case), it does not mean that the Jewish people are to blame for the Holocaust.

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

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.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 7-10.

When some of the Returned Exiles came and asked if they should continue to fast and mourn the destruction of the Temple now that the Temple was being rebuilt (that last part is my understanding of the unstated context of the question), Zechariah asked them if that fasting and mourning was really for God?  Or was it more for themselves?  Zechariah’s answer from God tells us that God did not establish the feasts and fasts for the sake of those events.  Those events were established to remind us to show mercy and compassion to each other and to administer justice.  All of our worship rituals should serve that purpose.  If we start to view them as ends in themselves, they have become idols and we have become idolaters.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 1-6.

Zechariah begins by reminding the people of how their ancestors sin had led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of its people.  He then tells them that restoration took place when those same ancestors repented of their sins and accepted the punishment which God had meted out to them.  God had scattered the people if Israel to all parts of the earth.  Now He was calling them back to gather in Jerusalem once more.  But as part of this, God will be calling people of many nations to become part of His people.

Zechariah proceeds to give a message for both the High Priest and the Governor over the Returned Exiles in Jerusalem, a separate message for each, both of these message have relevance for us today.  Zechariah’s message to Joshua, the High Priest, was that Satan would accuse him before God of sin.  The accusation would have merit, but God would strip him (Joshua) of his sin and dress him in righteousness. It is only after cleansing him of his sin and dressing him in robes of righteousness that God asks Joshua to walk according to His requirements.  Something similar happens to us.  Satan, the adversary, brings us before God and accuses us of the sins which we have committed.  Often times, he is that little voice in our head which tells us that we are no good and worthless.  God neither dismisses our sins as meaningless, nor does He pretend they do not exist.  Instead, He removes them from us and washes away the filth they have placed upon our bodies and souls.  Then He dresses us in the finest clothes of righteous behavior and tells us, “Look, this is what you were made to be.”

Which brings us to Zechariah’s message to Zerubbabel, the governor.  God has given Zerubbabel a difficult task, to rebuild His Temple.  Zechariah tells Zerubbabel that he will not accomplish this task by might, nor by power.  No, he will only accomplish the tasks he has been set by the Spirit of the Living God.  In the same way, we will only live up to the beauty and righteousness of which God has shown us to be capable by His Spirit.  We will not do so by our strength, nor by our will, but only by the Spirit of the Lord.

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

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?