I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds

Some of the fallen nations named in the opening include Lebanon and Jordan. Then there is a proclamation against the flock whom the shepherds have taken advantage off. The command was to feed the flock just as before they were led to the slaughter. However, the prophet refused to feed the flock and broke the staff as a symbol of breaking the covenant. And the prophet required payment from the people for his actions.

Then the Lord told the prophet to throw the payment into the House of the Lord. And then the prophet broke his other staff symbolizing the breaking between Judah and Israel. Then the chapter ends with a proclamation against worthless shepherds. These shepherds do not care for the flock but are looking after themselves only. These shepherds are likely a reference to the leadership of Israel.




Zechariah 11
Desolation of Israel

1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
That fire may devour your cedars.
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
Because the mighty trees are ruined.
Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
For the thick forest has come down.
3 There is the sound of wailing shepherds!
For their glory is in ruins.
There is the sound of roaring lions!
For the pride[a] of the Jordan is in ruins.


Prophecy of the Shepherds

4 Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter, 5 whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich’; and their shepherds do not pity them. 6 For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord. “But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”

7 So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock.[b] I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty,[c] and the other I called Bonds;[d] and I fed the flock. 8 I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9 Then I said, “I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other’s flesh.” 10 And I took my staff, Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day. Thus the poor[e] of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter. 14 Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the Lord said to me, “Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd. 16 For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces.

17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,
Who leaves the flock!
A sword shall be against his arm
And against his right eye;
His arm shall completely wither,
And his right eye shall be totally blinded.”

And I will Send Fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the Coastlands.

This chapter is less quoted than the previous one of Ezekiel 38, but the significance of it cannot be underestimated in the way it suggest that the Northern Alliance will be destroyed by a devastating means, likely to be nuclear. This chapter starts where the previous left off, that is with the destruction of God and the enemies of Israel.

Then a detailed description of the aftermath is given. The remains of the armies of God, including weapons, will be collected to make fire. The forests and the land may not be used for another seven years. It will take Israel about seven months to bury the enemy and cleanse the land. Various commentators in End Times prophecies have concluded that these descriptions as the result of a nuclear event.

God reminds them that He has caused His people to be defeated and scattered because of their transgressions. After that He will have mercy on them, defeat their enemies and bring them back together. God will then pour out His Spirit on the House of Israel.





Ezekiel 39
Gog’s Armies Destroyed

1 “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh,[a] Meshech, and Tubal; 2 and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. 4 You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God. 6 “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. 7 So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord God. “This is the day of which I have spoken.

9 “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. 10 They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord God.

The Burial of Gog

11 “It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog.[b] 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. 13 Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,” says the Lord God. 14 “They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party,[c] to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. 15 The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. 16 The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land.”’

A Triumphant Festival

17 “And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field:

“Assemble yourselves and come;
Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you,
A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel,
That you may eat flesh and drink blood.
18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty,
Drink the blood of the princes of the earth,
Of rams and lambs,
Of goats and bulls,
All of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 You shall eat fat till you are full,
And drink blood till you are drunk,
At My sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you.
20 You shall be filled at My table
With horses and riders,
With mighty men
And with all the men of war,” says the Lord God.
Israel Restored to the Land

21 “I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. 22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. 23 The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.”’

25 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— 26 after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, 28 then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. 29 And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.”

What city is like Tyre, Destroyed in the midst of the sea?

God instructed Ezekiel to lament for Tyre. God describes the beauty and splendour of Tyre. Tyre seems to be quite a metropolitan city and her beauty and architecture has influence from Lebanon, Bashan, Cyprus, Egypt and so on. Tyre had skilled sailors and soldiers as well as wise men.

Tyre was a port city and a great trading outpost. Merchants and traders pass through her with all manner of exotic goods. She traded in metals, human slaves, ivory, ebony, spices, luxury items and so on. God calls on the people to know her to lament because of her destruction that will occur.



Ezekiel 27
Lamentation for Tyre

1 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 2 “Now, son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre, 3 and say to Tyre, ‘You who are situated at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord God:

“O Tyre, you have said,
‘I am perfect in beauty.’
4 Your borders are in the midst of the seas.
Your builders have perfected your beauty.
5 They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir;
They took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a mast.
6 Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars;
The company of Ashurites have inlaid your planks
With ivory from the coasts of Cyprus.[a]
7 Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sail;
Blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was what covered you.
8 “Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen;
Your wise men, O Tyre, were in you;
They became your pilots.
9 Elders of Gebal and its wise men
Were in you to caulk your seams;
All the ships of the sea
And their oarsmen were in you
To market your merchandise.
10 “Those from Persia, Lydia,[b] and Libya[c]
Were in your army as men of war;
They hung shield and helmet in you;
They gave splendor to you.
11 Men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around,
And the men of Gammad were in your towers;
They hung their shields on your walls all around;
They made your beauty perfect.
12 “Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods. 13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. 14 Those from the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, steeds, and mules. 15 The men of Dedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment. 16 Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, corals, and rubies. 17 Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, millet, honey, oil, and balm. 18 Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items, with the wine of Helbon and with white wool. 19 Dan and Javan paid for your wares, traversing back and forth. Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your merchandise. 20 Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding. 21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your regular merchants. They traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats. 22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold. 23 Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Assyria, and Chilmad were your merchants. 24 These were your merchants in choice items—in purple clothes, in embroidered garments, in chests of multicolored apparel, in sturdy woven cords, which were in your marketplace.

25 “The ships of Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise.
You were filled and very glorious in the midst of the seas.
26 Your oarsmen brought you into many waters,
But the east wind broke you in the midst of the seas.
27 “Your riches, wares, and merchandise,
Your mariners and pilots,
Your caulkers and merchandisers,
All your men of war who are in you,
And the entire company which is in your midst,
Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin.
28 The common-land will shake at the sound of the cry of your pilots.
29 “All who handle the oar,
The mariners,
All the pilots of the sea
Will come down from their ships and stand on the shore.
30 They will make their voice heard because of you;
They will cry bitterly and cast dust on their heads;
They will roll about in ashes;
31 They will shave themselves completely bald because of you,
Gird themselves with sackcloth,
And weep for you
With bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
32 In their wailing for you
They will take up a lamentation,
And lament for you:
‘What city is like Tyre,
Destroyed in the midst of the sea?
33 ‘When your wares went out by sea,
You satisfied many people;
You enriched the kings of the earth
With your many luxury goods and your merchandise.
34 But you are broken by the seas in the depths of the waters;
Your merchandise and the entire company will fall in your midst.
35 All the inhabitants of the isles will be astonished at you;
Their kings will be greatly afraid,
And their countenance will be troubled.
36 The merchants among the peoples will hiss at you;
You will become a horror, and be no more forever.’”’”

"Now I will rise,” says the Lord

The woes are declared to those who plundered and dealt treacherously with others. This is also a prayer by those remaining who trusts in the Lord. They know of God's power and that He will exercise justice and righteousness. When the Lord rules, there will be wisdom and knowledge. The first paragraph also end  with the description of desolateness for Lebanon, Sharon, Bashan and Carmel.

The judgment against Zion is also described and the sinners and hypocrites were afraid. But for those who are righteous and upright, such as not receiving bribes, God will provide for him. Finally it describes the Lord's rule over all the people. This prophetic look at the time when the Lord will be King, Lawgiver and Judge. God will be for His people, and their iniquities will be forgiven.




Isaiah 33
A Prayer in Deep Distress

1 Woe to you who plunder, though you have not been plundered;
And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!
When you cease plundering,
You will be plundered;
When you make an end of dealing treacherously,
They will deal treacherously with you.
2 O Lord, be gracious to us;
We have waited for You.
Be their[a] arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.
3 At the noise of the tumult the people shall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;
4 And Your plunder shall be gathered
Like the gathering of the caterpillar;
As the running to and fro of locusts,
He shall run upon them.
5 The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,
And the strength of salvation;
The fear of the Lord is His treasure.
7 Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,
The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
8 The highways lie waste,
The traveling man ceases.
He has broken the covenant,
He has despised the cities,[b]
He regards no man.
9 The earth mourns and languishes,
Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;
Sharon is like a wilderness,
And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.


Impending Judgment on Zion

10 “Now I will rise,” says the Lord;
“Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.
11 You shall conceive chaff,
You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
12 And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;
Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.
13 Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
And shuts his eyes from seeing evil:
16 He will dwell on high;
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;
Bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.


The Land of the Majestic King

17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.
18 Your heart will meditate on terror:
“Where is the scribe?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
19 You will not see a fierce people,
A people of obscure speech, beyond perception,
Of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.
20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home,
A tabernacle that will not be taken down;
Not one of its stakes will ever be removed,
Nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 But there the majestic Lord will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
In which no galley with oars will sail,
Nor majestic ships pass by
22 (For the Lord is our Judge,
The Lord is our Lawgiver,
The Lord is our King;
He will save us);
23 Your tackle is loosed,
They could not strengthen their mast,
They could not spread the sail.
Then the prey of great plunder is divided;
The lame take the prey.
24 And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”;
The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is Good

A call to praise God, and a description of who God is and what He has done. It describes His Majesty as the Lord over all nature as well as the one who chose Jacob and involved in the history of His people. It describes God's role in the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and the subsequent conquest of the land promised to His children.

It also compares God with the false idols made by men with eyes that cannot see and mouths that cannot speak. This psalm call not only the priests to bless the Lord but all who fear and believe in Him are called to bless and praise God.


Psalm 135
Praise to God in Creation and Redemption

1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!

2 You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the courts of the house of our God,

3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant.

4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His special treasure.

5 For I know that the Lord is great,
And our Lord is above all gods.

6 Whatever the Lord pleases He does,
In heaven and in earth,
In the seas and in all deep places.

7 He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain;
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.

8 He destroyed the firstborn of Egypt,
Both of man and beast.

9 He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt,
Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.

10 He defeated many nations
And slew mighty kings—

11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
And all the kingdoms of Canaan—

12 And gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.

13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
Your fame, O Lord, throughout all generations.

14 For the Lord will judge His people,
And He will have compassion on His servants.

15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.

16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;

17 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.

18 Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.

19 Bless the Lord, O house of Israel!
Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron!

20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!

21 Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the Lord!

Cities of Refuge

There is a few things commands from God which we see repeated and is dear to His heart. One of them is the caring for the widow, fatherless and the alien (foreigner). The other is the establishment of places of refuge so that the hunted may find protection. In particular it protects a person who has killed another person accidentally. The cities of refuge included:

Kedesh in Galilee, land of Naphtali,
Shechem in land of Ephraim,
Kirjath Arba (Hebron), land of Judah
Bezer in the land of Reuben,
Ramoth in Gilead, land of Gad,
Golan in Bashan, land of Manasseh.


Joshua 20

The Cities of Refuge

 1 The LORD also spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 that the slayer who kills a person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there; and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 And when he flees to one of those cities, and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declares his case in the hearing of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city as one of them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. 5 Then if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, but did not hate him beforehand. 6 And he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the slayer may return and come to his own city and his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”
7 So they appointed Kedesh in Galilee, in the mountains of Naphtali, Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and Kirjath Arba (which is Hebron) in the mountains of Judah. 8 And on the other side of the Jordan, by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness on the plain, from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwelt among them, that whoever killed a person accidentally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation.

Inheritance of Manasseh

Manasseh's allocation was interesting for a few reasons. The land of Gilead and Bashan went to Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh. One branch of Manasseh had only daughters so they appealed to Joshua and Eleazar and the daughters were given inheritance, which was unique in those times. Half of the tribe of Manasseh was actually allocated land on the east side of Jordan while most of the tribes were on the west. As before, it was mentioned, perhaps emphasized that they failed to drive out the Canaanites and like Ephraim, the Canaanites dwell in the land of Manasseh. Note that the Canaanites were pagan and idol worshippers and may have a role in corrupting Israel later.

The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh requested more land from Joshua for two reasons, their allocated land was mountainous and many Canaanites still inhabited the land and they were not fully defeated. The response of Joshua was that they can have more of the forest country and the land of the Perizzites, provided they go in and defeat the Canaanites. The interesting thing about this is that Joshua also said they had to defeat the giants living there too.


Joshua 17

The Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh (West)

 1 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph: namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war; therefore he was given Gilead and Bashan. 2 And there was a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: for the children of Abiezer,[a] the children of Helek, the children of Asriel, the children of Shechem, the children of Hepher, and the children of Shemida; these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.
3 But Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters. And these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 And they came near before Eleazar the priest, before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the rulers, saying, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” Therefore, according to the commandment of the LORD, he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. 5 Ten shares fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side of the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons; and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.
7 And the territory of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, that lies east of Shechem; and the border went along south to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. 8 Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. 9 And the border descended to the Brook Kanah, southward to the brook. These cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook; and it ended at the sea.
10 Southward it was Ephraim’s, northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea was its border. Manasseh’s territory was adjoining Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. 11 And in Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh had Beth Shean and its towns, Ibleam and its towns, the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of En Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns—three hilly regions. 12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 13 And it happened, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

More Land for Ephraim and Manasseh
  
14 Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us only one lot and one share to inherit, since we are a great people, inasmuch as the LORD has blessed us until now?”
15 So Joshua answered them, “If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you.”
16 But the children of Joseph said, “The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel.”
17 And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—saying, “You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, 18 but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong.”