Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Today we finished our 34th book of the Bible. We opened in chapter 10 with God reminding his people that he will restore things.

In that process,

one of his targets is the wicked leaders of Judah, the people who shepherd his flock. Because of their passivity, the people sought out leadership and guidance from wicked sources, from diviners and

false gods. Because Judah's leaders have been terrible shepherds, God is going to remove them and punish them.

Then, when God's sheep are under his care, they will flourish. They'll grow strong and majestic

and they'll have victory over the enemy. He'll bring them back from the nations where they've

been scattered, and he'll multiply them in the promised land again. For the people of Judah, we know this definitely has literal implications,

but it's likely this also has spiritual implications.

For instance, the way God's people can fight against sin and win

is because he is with us and grants us victory, like verse 5 says,

and he grants us strength like verse 12 says.

In chapter 11, God tells Zach to try his hand

at shepherding the flock destined for destruction. There are lots of ways to interpret this passage.

Some believe it's a prophetic parable, like a metaphor God told Zach to help him better understand

God's perspective on things. Others say it's a sign act where Zach becomes the

literal shepherd of a group of animals known as the flock doomed to slaughter. This unfriendly sounding

title probably refers to animals that were kept near the temple to be used as sacrificial offerings.

In those days, not everyone raised their own animals for the offering. Some people owned animals and hired shepherds to watch over them, and others would buy the

animals from them to use as sacrifices.

But because the animal owners and shepherds of Judah were wicked people, these animals

only mattered to them because of how they could benefit them financially when they sold

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