A message the Lord God
revealed to Zechariah the prophet
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***Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses 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. When Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83, they led the Israelites 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. In the desert wilderness of Sinai, in the region of Mount Sinai, 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 40 days and nights with the Lord God, 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. While Moses was with the Lord God, the Israelites told Aaron to make gods to go before them, and Aaron made a golden calf with the gold earrings he told the Israelites to give him. During the 40-year journey to Canaan, the Promised Land, Miriam the prophetess died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron the high priest died. When Moses went upon Mount Nebo, the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses the prophet died and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' aide and 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 and their own minds. When Samuel the priest, prophet and judge was elderly, and his sons Joel (Vashni) and Abiah (Abijah) were not obeying the commands of the Lord God, and King Nahash and his Ammonite army were preparing to attack, the Israelite elders demanded that Samuel appoint a king to lead them, and Samuel anointed Saul, from the tribe of Jacob and Rachel's 2nd and last son Benjamin, to reign as king, according to the command of the Lord God. At least twice, Saul did not obey the commands of the Lord God. While Saul reigned, 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 rule 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 rule 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. Many 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, and kings and other Israelites in both kingdoms 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 20-year reign, the Assyrians invaded the kingdom and King Tiglath-pileser (Pul), ruler of Assyria, began taking Israelites captive. During the 9th year of 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. Less than 125 years after Samaria was conquered, Rehoboam's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Jehoiakim (Eliakim) became the 17th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiakim's 11-year reign, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) invaded Judah and Jerusalem and King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, began looting the temple of the Lord. Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Coniah), the son born to Jehoiakim and Nehushta, was the 18th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiachin's 3-month reign, the Babylonians took more prominent Israelites, including Jehoiachin, his wives and mother, to Babylon. During the 11th year of 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. Before taking more Israelites captive, the Babylonians burned the temple and other buildings and broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah were prophets, and the Lord God revealed to them his plans for the shepherds who had not taken care of his sheep and were involved in causing his sheep, 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, while Cyrus reigned, the Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem less than 70 years after Jerusalem was conquered, 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, John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, were born. John the Baptist was born into the tribe of Levi to Zechariah (Zacharias) the priest and his wife Elizabeth (Elisabeth). Jesus the Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Elizabeth's relative 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 John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ were born, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. 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 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, and testified that Jesus is the Son of God. In Galilee, Jesus told specific Israelite men to follow him, and Jesus began to preach, teach and perform miracles among the Israelites. In Judea, Jesus told a group of Pharisees that he is the door of the sheep, and the good shepherd, and 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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