Zechariah Essays - Biblical People In Islam, Sheep,

Zechariah Zechariah is one of the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. His book is located between the books of Haggai and Malachi. Zechariah is thought to have preached from about 520-518 B.C. The book of Zechariah deals with the restoration of Jerusalem, the Temple, and God?s people. Chapter 11 verses 4-17, which is a story of two shepherds, is one of the most difficult passages in the Old Testament to understand. From the New Living Translation, the passage reads as follows: 4 This is what the LORD my God says: Go and care for a flock that is intended for slaughter. 5 The buyers will slaughter their sheep without remorse. The sellers will say, 'Praise the LORD, I am now rich!' Even the shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 And likewise, I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land, says the LORD. I will let them fall into each other's clutches, as well as into the clutches of their king. They will turn the land into a wilderness, and I will not protect them. 7 So I cared for the flock intended for slaughter ? the flock that was oppressed. Then I took two shepherd's staffs and named one Favor and the other Union. 8 I got rid of their three evil shepherds in a single month. But I became impatient with these sheep ? this nation ? and they hated me, too. 9 So I told them, I won't be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And those who remain will devour each other! 10 Then I took my staff called Favo r and snapped it in two, showing that I had revoked the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 That was the end of my covenant with them. Those who bought and sold sheep were watching me, and they knew that the LORD was speaking to them through my actions. 12 And I said to them, If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to. So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the LORD said to me, Throw it to the potters ? this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potters in the Temple of the LORD. 14 Then I broke my other staff, Union, to show that the bond of unity between Judah and Israel was broken. 15 Then the LORD said to me, Go again and play the part of a worthless shepherd. 16 This will illustrate how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for the sheep that are threatened by death, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves. 17 Doom is certain for this worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! The sword will cut his arm and pierce his right eye! His arm will become useless, and his right eye completely blind! The commentary Obadiah through Malachi begins by commenting on the ambiguous nature of the passage. This vague language makes it very difficult to interpret; thus the details remain elusive. The author feels that this passage goes in accordance with the earlier situation described in Zechariah 10:3. In both passages it is made clear that the leaders (shepherds) of Israel have made the Lord angry. Zechariah is describing the social disorder and the peoples' dishonesty toward each other that has overwhelmed the community before it will be restored by God. This commentary is certain that the doomed flock is in fact Israel, but is unsure whom the sheep merchants represent. Their guess is that they may be the workers in the temple who have hired Zechariah. The shepherd is understood as symbolizing a ruling, most likely a prophetic one. Zechariah is telling his audience that Israel is in total disarray and the leaders aren't doing anything to help, in fact some are making the situation worse. God is permitting the corruption by sitting on His hands. While

Robber Barons essays

Robber Barons essays During the nineteenth century there were many people who contributed to Americas growth. Most of these people were either considered robber barons or captains of industry. The captains of industry generally contributed to the country in honest, hard-working ways. The robber barons, however, schemed against the country, sometimes causing monopolies in order to achieve their great wealth. Examples of these are Jay Gould, George Pullman, and J.P. Morgan. The wealthy industrialists of the late nineteenth century were robber barons. Jay Gould was one of the most successful robber barons in the U.S. He was born on May 27, 1836 in Roxbury, New York. He mostly grew up very poor and had little education. In 1860 he began speculating in railroad stocks and soon became the director of the Erie Railroad. He began to sell public shares in the railroad for a greater value than they were worth, squandering millions of dollars from the U.S. people. Gould and James Frisk, an associate of his, were involved in a scheme in gold speculating that led to Black Friday, when a financial panic was caused in a abrupt drop in the price of gold. J.P. Morgan was born on April 17, 1837 in Hartford, Connecticut. At the age of 34 he became a partner in the New York City firm Drexel, later being named J.P. Morgan and Company. It grew to be one of the worlds most powerful houses. In 1895 he organized a committee to help the US Treasury which was on the verge of bankruptcy. Morgan formed the Federal Steele Company in 1898 and in 1901 he merged the company with others and formed the United States Steele Corporation, A federal committee investigated J.P. in 1912, believing he was involved in unfair monopolies. George Pullman can be either considered a captain of industry or a robber baron. Born in 1831 in Brocton, New York, he first invented the sleeping car for railroads which made traveling much more convienen...

Poetry Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Poetry Project - Essay Example Prince sun, as he is described calls her wife, who is always busy shining at night in full, quarter or half. As they sit together, the take stock of their children who include Jupiter, the beloved eldest son, their daughter Saturn, whom they realize that she has grown to become a woman now (Leonora, para 1-5). While they sit and discuss about their family, prince sun takes a roll call of everyone while her princess, the moon sits beside him with her luminous flame shining brightly. Finally, the family re-unites and engages in song and dance, singing merrily with joyful spirit and unity. Doomsday is a science fiction poem that talks about astronomy, it talks about an eclipse that is about to happen with devastating consequences on the human race. It explains a time when the planet earth is headed for a collision with the red dwarf. The South African astronomer makes dire calculations; he decides to make a space ark that would be helpful in saving a handful of the human beings that will survive the collision (Pettit, para 1-2). In the first poem, several characteristics make the poem fit perfectly in the science fiction genre, first, the entire poem describes the solar system as a family of the sun, the moon and their planets as children. According to the family’s description by the author, the reader is left to imagine the kind of picture, â€Å"The princess who’s always shining at night in full, quarter or half† (line 2, stanza one). In the second poem, the author also makes a description of events happening when the earth is headed for a collision with a red dwarf, with pending dire consequences on the human race. The author explains, â€Å"Our home earth was headed for total devastation, a renegade red dwarf star put us in an ominous situation† (line 2-3, stanza one). This poems are interesting with full of vivid imaginations about the picture presented from the given descriptions, the make one to travel into mental