Zechariah Chapter 11

Zechariah 11:10 -13 Then I took my staff called Favour and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord. I told them, If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it. So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, Throw it to the potter— the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter.

30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave gored by an ox, was the value placed on Jesus by the Pharisees. Judas, when he realised exactly what he had done, threw the money at the Pharisees:

Matthew 27: 6-10
The chief priests picked up the coins and said, It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money. So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me.

Coincidence or prophesy? I just think it is so amazing when you read something like this in Zechariah, and then see it actually happen in the New Testament.

But the while point of this chapter is the difference between a god and a bad shepherd and Zechariah has to act it out before the people. He makes two staffs, one called Favour, and the other called Union, and then breaks them in two, to show that God's covenant between him and his chosen people was broken (Favour) and that there is no unity between Israel and Judah (Union). And the thing is, these covenants were broken by the people, not by God, because the people, the Jews had turned away from God and started worshipping false gods. When Jesus, the Messiah, Came, the people, the Pharisees, rejected him, and he was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, no more than a slave was worth.

The chapter is also a warning to worthless shepherds, those who lead nations, people, churches, who do not care for the flock underneath them. This is like governments who are out to feather their own nests, who accept bribes, oppress the poor and do not seek justice. It is a warning for church leaders, who draw people away from God by their words, their preaching, their lifestyles. Being a leader is a position of great responsibility and not something that should be undertaken lightly.