Zechariah Chapter 11 consists of 17 verses,
verses 15-17 are given below:
And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.-Zechariah 11:15-17***Aaron the priest and his younger brother Moses the prophet were Israelites from the tribe of Levi, descended from Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai), Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob (Israel) and his 1st wife Leah, and Jacob and Leah's 3rd born son Levi. Months after 80-year-old Moses and 83-year-old Aaron led the Israelites, and those with them, away from Egyptian slavery, across the divinely parted Red Sea, and into the desert wilderness of Shur, according to the commands of the Lord God, the Israelites heard the voice of the Lord God proclaim the Ten Commandments to them, and the Lord God began giving Moses judgments, statutes and laws for the Israelites. When Moses was upon Mount Sinai with the Lord God for 40 days and nights, the Lord God told Moses that only Aaron and Aaron's sons and the sons born to their descendants were to serve the Lord God as priests. Meanwhile, the Israelites told Aaron to make gods to go before them, and Aaron made a golden calf with the gold earrings he requested the Israelites give him. During the 40th year of their journey to Canaan, the Promised Land, 123-year-old Aaron died and was buried upon Mount Hor and Moses went upon Mount Nebo. The Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses died and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' successor, was from the tribe of Ephraim, descended from Jacob and his 2nd wife Rachel, their firstborn son Joseph, and his wife Asenath, and Joseph and Asenath's 2nd born son Ephraim, whom Jacob proclaimed to be his own son. Joshua led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. After 110-year-old Joshua died and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, the Israelites were led by elders, judges or their own minds. Samuel the priest, prophet and judge was from the tribe of Levi, descended from Aaron and Aaron's wife Elisheba. When Samuel was elderly, and his sons Joel (Vashni) and Abiah were wicked, and King Nahash and his Ammonite army were preparing to attack, the Israelite elders demanded that Samuel appoint a king to judge them. The Lord God sent Samuel to anoint Saul, from the tribe of Jacob and Rachel's 2nd and last son Benjamin, to reign as king. After Saul did not obey the commands of the Lord God, and was still reigning, the Lord God sent Samuel to anoint David, from the tribe of Jacob and Leah's 4th born son Judah, to reign as king. When David was 30 years old, he began to reign only over the tribe of Judah. When David was 37 1/2 years old, he became the 2nd king to reign over all of the Israelites. David was a man after the Lord God's own heart. In a divinely inspired psalm, David wrote that the Lord God is his shepherd. Solomon, the 2nd child born to David and Bathsheba, was the 3rd king to reign. Rehoboam, the son born to Solomon and Naamah, was the 4th king to reign over all of the Israelites. After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation, Samaria was the final royal city and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. Jeroboam established a system of idolatry in the northern nation of Israel. Moreover, Israelites in both kingdoms, including kings, worshiped idols and refused to believe or listen to the warnings proclaimed by the prophets of the Lord God. However, kings in both kingdoms, and their fellow Israelites, encouraged and listened to false prophets. King Pekah was the 18th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel. During Pekah's reign, the Assyrians invaded the kingdom and King Tiglath-pileser (Pul), ruler of Assyria, took Israelites captive to Assyria. During the reign of King Hoshea, the 19th king to rule the northern nation of Israel, the Assyrians conquered Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Rehoboam's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Jehoiakim (Eliakim) was the 17th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiakim's reign, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) invaded Judah and Jerusalem and King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, began looting the temple of the Lord. During the reign of Jehoiakim's son King Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Coniah), the 18th king to rule Judah, the Babylonians took more prominent Israelites, including Jehoiachin and his mother Nehushta, to Babylon. During the reign of Jehoiakim's brother King Zedekiah (Mattaniah), the 19th king to rule Judah, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. The Babylonians also looted and burned the temple and broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah were prophets of the Lord God and were descendants of Aaron and Elisheba. The Lord God revealed to Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah his plans for the shepherds who had not taken care of his sheep, the Israelites, and were involved in causing the Israelites to go astray. Notably, the Lord God described to Ezekiel and Zechariah another shepherd. Over 100 years before King Cyrus, ruler of the Persian Empire, was born, the Lord God revealed to Isaiah the prophet that Cyrus would be his shepherd and would perform the will of the Lord God. Thus, less than 70 years after Jerusalem was conquered, Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God and the proclamation decreed by Cyrus. Less than 500 years after Israelites in Jerusalem built a new temple and new wall around Jerusalem, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. Approximately 30 years after Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by Mary's relative John the Baptist, a descendant of Aaron and Elisheba. Jesus having prayed, the heavens tearing open, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and lit upon Jesus. The Lord God in heaven audibly acknowledged his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert wilderness. Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights and was tempted. Afterwards, Jesus was tended to by angels, and Jesus went to the area near John the Baptist, and John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world. In Galilee, Jesus told specific Israelite men to follow him, and Jesus began to preach, teach and perform miracles among the Israelites, the treasured and chosen people of the Lord God. In Judea, Jesus told a group of Pharisees that he is the door of the sheep, and the good shepherd, and he has other sheep.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 13:1-14:45, 20:1-29, 26:1-27:23, Deuteronomy 31:1-34:12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 6:1-81, 8:1-40, 9:35-29:30, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26
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