Beauty and Bonds
ss=MsoNormal> BEAUTY AND BONDS Zec 11:4-16 9/30/07 a.m.Do you want your teacher, preacher, pastor, or leader to;
Have a growing knowledge of God
Have a growing understanding of the things of God and His word
Continually be growing in wisdom
To have the ability to hear from the Lord
Do you want your teacher, preacher, pastor, or leader to;
Have a right relationship with the Lord
And have a right relationship with the people they lead
Remember your answers to these questions.
Zec 11:4-16
Zachariah’s ministry began in November of 520 B.C., 17 years after the 70 years of captivity in Babylon.
Of course Israel was destroyed and the Temple was gone as well as Temple worship.
In addition to their 70 years of servitude to Babylon, they were now under the controlling influence of the Medes and the Persians.
They began to live their lives as though their religion and faith had no bearing on the way they should live their lives.
There were several reasons for this;
1) The people were becoming discouraged concerning the promises of God;
For the restoration of the nation of Israel,
The rebuilding of the temple,
And of course the coming of the Messiah.
2) They were now under the influence of the Persian approach that all religions were the same.
As a result they saw little reason to pay close attention the laws of God.
And they began to reject Gods messengers and His message.
That’s were we pick up the story.
Since they reject the importance of Gods’ word and reject His messengers, God says in verse 4; “Feed the flock for slaughter”
Zec 11:44 Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter,
Why?
Je 5:30-31 30 “An astonishing and horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
Dt 29:19 when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart’— as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.
They had shepherds that feed them with lies, smooth words pleasant to the ears and justified their sin; this is what they wanted to hear.
Could this type thing happen today?
2 Ti 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
Are we doing the same thing they were doing?
Let’s see;
Church officials hiding the molesting of children
Churches condoning homosexuality
Churches teaching that the Bible isn’t the infallible, inspired word of God
Churches teaching that we don’t need to believe and apply the word of God
Churches teaching that all religions are the same
Churches teaching that Allah is the same as Jehovah God
Churches teaching that God will bless us in these things
The answer is plain.
OUR SIN IS THE SAME AS THEIRS’.
The results when the people want it this way;
Zec 11:55 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.
This is Gods judgment;
Zec 11:7 7 So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called 4Beauty, and the other I called 5Bonds; and I fed the flock.
How did he feed the flock for slaughter?
I took for myself two staffs: the one I called 4Beauty, and the other I called 5Bonds; and I fed the flock.
Staffs are what a shepherd uses to lead, guide, direct, provide for and protect the flock
These two staffs are; Beauty, Or Grace
Bonds, Or Unity
Beauty, Or Grace; the favor of God
It’s by the favor of God that a shepherd has the ability to lead, guide, direct,
provide for (or feed) and protect the flock
Bonds, Or Unity or bind
It is by unity with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit that a
shepherd is able to bond with the flock and bond the flock itself together.
These are two things the shepherd of the flock can’t do without, w/o them he can not perform the duties of a shepherd!!!
Notice what he does with the two staffs.
Zec 11:10 And I took my staff, Beauty, (Or Grace) and cut it in two,
He cut it in two, the staff of grace - he stopped the flow of grace
Why? - that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples.
The staff of grace was cut into, cutting off the favor of God to the shepherd and the people because they refused to obey His word and embraced false teachers with false doctrines.
NEXT
Zec 11:14 14 Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, (Or Unity) that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, (Or Unity) - he broke the bond of unity
Why? - that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
break the brotherhood – he broke the unity between brothers
When the bond of unity is cut off the fruit of the Spirit will not be present but the fruit of the flesh will take over bringing with it a lack of brotherly love, forgiveness, understanding, patience.
Anger, strife, contention, jealousy, greed, selfishness, and trouble will abound in its place.
Notice the types of shepherds we get when we reject Gods word and His shepherds
Zec 11:15-16 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.
We get foolish shepherds that;
Will not care for those who are cut off,
He won’t care those living in sin & headed for hell with love and warning.
· The homosexual, drunkard, adulterer, doper, liar,
· Because he will lack the staffs of Beauty and Bonds
Nor seek the young,
He won’t care about the youth; they have nothing to offer
(Unless of course they have well to do or influential parents)
· The ones caught up in gangs, drugs, sex, alcohol, abuse, witchcraft
· He won’t put either money, time, or effort toward their salvation
· Because he will lack the staffs of Beauty and Bonds
Nor heal those that are broken,
He will neither care nor have the ability to restore broken homes,
marriages, families, or those of broken heart, spirit, or hope.
· They are seen as too troublesome
· They are considered trouble without rewards
· They are seen as a source of discouragement
· Their problems will be viewed as their own, not his concern
· His advice, when given will lack power, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding
· Because he will lack the staffs of Beauty and Bonds
Nor feed those that still stand.
He will neither care nor try to strengthen, encourage, or teach those that
are not growing in their knowledge, wisdom, or understanding of the
things of God.
· He will lack the desire to feed them
· He will lack the ability to feed others with the truth
· He will lack the discretion to notice those not growing in the Lord
· Even though he speaks his words will not cause growth
· Because he will lack the staffs of Beauty and Bonds
But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces.
He will use them and their resources for his own personal desires and his own personal gain.
He will use them regardless of the damage to their home, family, marriage, business, reputation, faith, or spiritual growth.
He will use them w/o concern for their eternal soul for his own benefit
We are told to be loyal to the Lord and Savior with our whole heart
We are instructed to pursue and accept the Word of God with all diligence
We are told that not doing so is self destructive
My prayer is that we will always desire the whole truth of Gods Word!!
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4 Or Grace
5 Or Unity
4 Or Grace
5 Or Unity