Passage of the Day - April 3, 2011

Zechariah 11:7-14

 ⁷So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock.

 ⁸Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me.

 ⁹Then I said, "I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another's flesh."

 ¹⁰I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

 ¹¹So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD.

 ¹²I said to them, "If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!" So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.

 ¹³Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them." So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

 ¹⁴Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

Some interesting theology in this passage.  We know that Judas was paid 30 pieces of silver for betraying Jesus.  Jesus was valued at 30 pieces of silver just like God was valued at 30 pieces of silver.  This equality between God and Christ shows once again that Christ is God.

This passage also describes a break in God's favor and a break in the unity of Israel.  A similar situation takes place when Jesus was handed over to be crucified.  The entirety of Israel had an opportunity to follow their Messiah and King, but the foolish self-righteous shepherds led them away.  The favor that God had for the people of Israel went away and their union was once again destroyed by Titus in 70 AD.  However, Christ's Church, established by Christ and His Jewish disciple remnant, remained and flourished throughout the world.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)