Reading for March 22nd

 Read Zechariah 11.4-17. In 11.4-17: The prophet satirizes Judah's corrupt leaders. In this first-person narrative, an anonymous prophet acts out the corrupt practices of Judah's leaders in order to expose and denounce them. In verse 5: Their own shepherds are Judah's leaders, who buy and kill them, that is their own people symbolized as sheep. In verse 7: The sheep merchants are Judah's leaders., buying and selling their people ((v. 5). The names of the two staffs, Favor (or "pleasantness") and Unity , reflect the goals of the good shepherd for the sheep. In verse 8: The identity of the three shepherds is unknown. In verse 9: Having disposed of the three shepherds (v. 8), the prophet apparently becomes impatient with the people themselves. In verse 10: Breaking the staffs of Favor and Unity (v. 14) consigns the flock, the people of Judah, to a time of trouble and conflict. In verses 12-13: the reason for the amount of the wages and their deposit in the temple is uncertain. Donation of about this amount were made to the Temple to "redeem" people devoted to the Temple service from their obligation (Lev 27.1-8). On the other hand, the prophet may, by placing tainted money in the Temple's treasuries, want to indict the Temple and its leaders as corrupt. In verse 14: The prophet abandons hope for the  reunion of the old norther. kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah which traced their origins back to single ancestor, Jacob (Gen 49). In verses 15-17: The prophet anticipates, by dressing up a second time as a shepherd (v. 4), the arrival of another corrupt leader. Comments or Questions..