Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, 'Praise the LORD, I am rich!' Their own shepherds do not spare them. – Zechariah 11:5

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 1, 2020): Zechariah 11

Last Sunday, my granddaughter (eight years old) sat at my dinner table, wearing a T-Shirt that read "Never Give Up." As I listened to her tell stories, and watched her roll her eyes at her grandfather's feeble attempts at humor, my eyes kept returning to the logo on her T-Shirt. And her grandfather hoped that she took the slogan seriously. I am already proud of her. She has gone through more challenges than I ever wanted her to suffer through during her first eight years of life and has come through those challenges with flying colors. But I know that more trials are ahead. And, I hope that she just keeps persisting through all that is to come; that she never gives up. And that hope is extended to all three of my grandsons.

As Zechariah begins his story, he introduces us to three characters. The buyers who purchase the animals only to kill them from owners who are only concerned with increasing their wealth without objection from the shepherds who have been given the responsibility for the daily care for the flock. No one in the process speaks in defense of the animals.

Zechariah's point is that Israel is the flock. They are weak, exiles who are returning to the land that has now been occupied by foreigners for decades. The new occupants have a different plan than those who formerly lived in the area. They need someone to speak for them. They need someone willing to stand up for them and defend their interests. But Zechariah believes that everyone involved in the process just wants to benefit from Israel and that Israel is being sent to the slaughter. But God has commissioned Zechariah to be the "Good Shepherd," the one standing in defense of the people. Even though they were weak and poor, Zechariah was not going to give up on them.

Of course, another "Good Shepherd" was coming. And he would make a stand for the weak, and the overlooked of Israel. John tells a story of a blind man in John 9-10. The blind man has been abused and victimized by those in power. He is left to beg for his food while the religious elite of the day argue over whose sin caused the blindness.

But Jesus sees the man, and while the religious of his day had given up on him, Jesus restores his sight. The elite are not pleased because it was not part of their plan. The healed man is kicked out of the Temple and has a second positive confrontation with Jesus. But then Jesus meets with the Pharisees. He attacks their willingness to give up on the weak of Israel, much like the characters in Zechariah's tale. And in his meeting with the Pharisees, he makes this comment.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Jesus promises that he is not the one who will give up on you, no matter how inconsequential you might think yourself to be, so be careful that you do not give up on yourself. The Good Shepherd still comes to give life and to give it fully.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 12 & 13