Zechariah Essays - Biblical People In Islam, Sheep,

Zechariah Zechariah is one of the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. His book is located between the books of Haggai and Malachi. Zechariah is thought to have preached from about 520-518 B.C. The book of Zechariah deals with the restoration of Jerusalem, the Temple, and God?s people. Chapter 11 verses 4-17, which is a story of two shepherds, is one of the most difficult passages in the Old Testament to understand. From the New Living Translation, the passage reads as follows: 4 This is what the LORD my God says: Go and care for a flock that is intended for slaughter. 5 The buyers will slaughter their sheep without remorse. The sellers will say, 'Praise the LORD, I am now rich!' Even the shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 And likewise, I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land, says the LORD. I will let them fall into each other's clutches, as well as into the clutches of their king. They will turn the land into a wilderness, and I will not protect them. 7 So I cared for the flock intended for slaughter ? the flock that was oppressed. Then I took two shepherd's staffs and named one Favor and the other Union. 8 I got rid of their three evil shepherds in a single month. But I became impatient with these sheep ? this nation ? and they hated me, too. 9 So I told them, I won't be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And those who remain will devour each other! 10 Then I took my staff called Favo r and snapped it in two, showing that I had revoked the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 That was the end of my covenant with them. Those who bought and sold sheep were watching me, and they knew that the LORD was speaking to them through my actions. 12 And I said to them, If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to. So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the LORD said to me, Throw it to the potters ? this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potters in the Temple of the LORD. 14 Then I broke my other staff, Union, to show that the bond of unity between Judah and Israel was broken. 15 Then the LORD said to me, Go again and play the part of a worthless shepherd. 16 This will illustrate how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for the sheep that are threatened by death, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves. 17 Doom is certain for this worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! The sword will cut his arm and pierce his right eye! His arm will become useless, and his right eye completely blind! The commentary Obadiah through Malachi begins by commenting on the ambiguous nature of the passage. This vague language makes it very difficult to interpret; thus the details remain elusive. The author feels that this passage goes in accordance with the earlier situation described in Zechariah 10:3. In both passages it is made clear that the leaders (shepherds) of Israel have made the Lord angry. Zechariah is describing the social disorder and the peoples' dishonesty toward each other that has overwhelmed the community before it will be restored by God. This commentary is certain that the doomed flock is in fact Israel, but is unsure whom the sheep merchants represent. Their guess is that they may be the workers in the temple who have hired Zechariah. The shepherd is understood as symbolizing a ruling, most likely a prophetic one. Zechariah is telling his audience that Israel is in total disarray and the leaders aren't doing anything to help, in fact some are making the situation worse. God is permitting the corruption by sitting on His hands. While

Pat Conroy

Growing up in what today is considered a dysfunctional family, Pat Conroy took advantage of this opportunity to write some of the most intriguing stories of his past that capture the attention of his readers. In the movie "Prince of Tides" that was based on his life, Pat Conroy attempts to draw the viewer into his own world, and give them the chance to experience the pain that he has experienced while growing up. Brought up in a family that consisted of his mother, father, older brother, and a twin sister, he was introduced to a lot of hate and violence at an early age. His father would physically abuse their mother. When this would go on the three kids would attempt to escape this harsh reality by running to a nearby lake and jump in, trying to stay underwater for as long as possible. This technique however could not let them escape this reality forever. As a child Pat was a peaceful kid. He tended to relate more to his mother, and in return received warm words of compassion from her. She would tell him that he was her favorite child, and that she loved him more than she loved the rest of her kids. She also told him that he would be the only one that would amount up to anything in their whole family because he was the smartest one out of all of them. This seemed to have an unpleasant effect on him. He seemed to feel hurt by hearing his own mother say such things to him. He later found out that his mother told his brother and his sister exactly the same things about them too. Because of incidents like that, Pat later expresses the hate that he has for his mother and his unwillingness to see her. At the age of twelve, Pat, his mother and his sister were all brutally raped by three men that escaped from a nearby prison. This incident had such an effect on his twin poetic sister that she later on in life made several attempts to tak