Bible Story of the Day: Unbelief

https://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Bible-Story-of-the-Day-Unbelief

Bible Story of the Day

Scripture is the story of Jesus, from Genesis to Revelation. There are over 400 prophecies and representations of Jesus in the Old Testament alone. The Old Testament pointed forward to the coming Christ, and the New Testament points back to Jesus. The Bible is a record of redemption through Jesus Christ who conquered sin and death when He died on the cross and resurrected three days later. The New Testament was written almost 2000 years ago. Some of the Old Testament was written over 4000 years ago. The Bible Story of the Day not only shows Jesus throughout scripture but shows how scripture is relevant to our lives today. Seeing Jesus in scripture is a major step into understanding who our God is, and how He impacts and affects our lives in every moment. I pray that the Holy Spirit opens your mind to understanding the verses and how they affect your life and gives you a better understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will post a link to the chapter that each passage is from, so that you can read further on your own.

Unbelief

Zechariah 11:8

Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me. ⁹ Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” (NASB).

Matt 23:33

You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? (NASB).

Where is Jesus and What Does This Mean to Us?

Biblical usage of the words “shepherds” and “flock” represent the religious leaders as shepherds and their flock are the believers in God. Jesus refers to himself as the “Good Shepherd” that leads His flock to green pasture and protects them with His life. In Zechariah Jesus is not pleased with the job performance of His earthly shepherds. They are leading the flock astray and not to Him. These verses can be hard to accept and understand, because we hear and see Jesus as being a loving God. We must remember that He is a just God, and true justice is a sign of love even if the result of justice does not appear that way. It is similar to when you hear someone say so and so was sentenced to prison “and that is the best thing for him”. If it is just for us to punish someone, how much more just is it when God does it?

Zechariah shows us that there are those that will not believe in Jesus nor follow His ways. He knows their hearts are not going to change and in turn He allows them to do as they choose. This is the downside of free-will. Sometimes we make poor choices when using free-will. God loves us so much, though, that He allows us to make the decision. We cannot be sad or feel sorrow for those that get what they want. In using the flock analogy, if a sheep is dying you would take care of it as long as you could but there is a point that you know it will die and you must focus on the living. Jesus is saying the same thing in verse 9. He puts His attention to those that want Him to. He is not going to force Himself on anyone. However, when you are not under the protection of Jesus you are left to die.

What does this mean to us? Jesus is patient, kind, and loving. Jesus is our provider and protector. Jesus is also just. He acknowledges our freedom to choose Him or not. He chases after us and pursues, but if we refuse Him we will allow it. The shepherds of today leading the flock astray will have to answer for their sins, which will be additional to their personal sins, as would be the just thing to do. In Matthew, Jesus calls these people a brood of vipers. Those that choose to go astray and do not respond to the call of God will be left alone to fend for themselves. They will be destroyed by each other fighting and scrapping to get by with no moral code that the holy spirit provides.

The people mentioned in Zechariah wasted their opportunity to change their ways. The passage, though, is placed here for us to see and heed the warning. We can get what we want but at what cost? Jesus is our salvation and our only way to God and eternal life. We have the freedom to accept Him or reject him. Will you be like the shepherds that rejected Him and die, or be like those that accept Him and have eternal life?

Resource

• Zechariah 11 NASB – The Doomed Flock
  The Doomed Flock – Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the glorious