Slaying and Holding Themselves Not Guilty - Zechariah 11:5

In the book of Zechariah, Zechariah said, “Thus says the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter”, and in chapter eleven and verse five of Zechariah, Zechariah shared how Jehovah God said, “whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty” where we read,

Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, 

Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.

The verse reads, “Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, ...” Zechariahbegan with the words, “whose possessors slay them” or “the owners of the flocks kill, destroy, ruin and slaughter them”,“and hold themselves not guilty” which means “and cause their own selves to be without any remorse or guilt and unpunished”: “and they that sell them” which means “and the people who merchandise away the flock” “say” or “utter, declare and proclaim” the following words. Zechariah shared how the owners of the “flock” (the people of Israel) destroy them, conduct themselves without any remorse and say the following words.

The verse goes on to say, “Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.” Zechariah continued with the words, “blessed be the LORD” or “adored, saluted and praised exists Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God”; “for I am rich” which means “because, since and on account that I, the shepherds, exist as wealthy and enriched”: “and their own shepherds” or “and their, the flock's, own personal rulers, leaders and herdsmen” “pity them not” which means “do not spare or have tender love and compassion upon the flock”.Zechariah shared how the “shepherds” or leaders of the flock, the people of Israel, merchandise them and declare Jehovah God to be praised, however, they do not have any compassion upon the “flock” themselves.

When we consider the words in this verse, we discover through Zechariah how Jehovah God was on the offensive against the leaders of Israel who were not only abusing their people without “guilt”, but also were merchandising them and “blessing” God for their enrichment. They had no compassion upon the people of Israel and lived for their own gain. This was the beginning of a corrupt priesthood. God loves the people of Israel, and He wants a relationship with them even as He does with us. He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we yield our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and demonstrate how He cares for us and how we should have compassion upon His “flock” as well. 

Next time Zechariah shares how Jehovah God says, “I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".