Zechariah 11

Scripture Reading:  Read Zechariah Chapter 11. 

Worthless Clay:

Zechariah 11:12-13 – “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 valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.”  (NIV)

I am continually amazed at the different prophecies concerning Christ we read about going through these Old Testament prophets.  Some prophecies seem cryptic and challenging for the average Bible reader to identify as a prophecy of Christ.  This one, however, will stand out to most who have read the New Testament.  

This prophecy was fulfilled in Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.  Not only did he betray him for 30 pieces of silver, but after Judas hanged himself, the money he gave back to the priests was used to purchase a potter’s field to bury poor people.  A potter’s field was a field where a potter would throw away useless clay that couldn’t be molded into anything worthwhile.  

A lesson we can take away from this prophecy today is to recognize that we are like clay.  Without a skilled potter, there is no hope for us to be molded into anything useful; we cannot mold ourselves.  Even more than that, however, is the reality that we are worthless clay. But in His mercy, God has sent His son Jesus to do a miraculous work within us.  He can take the worthless clay that we are and change our very composition; He can and does mold us into the people He wants us to be. 

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for this reminder that you are the potter, and I am the clay.  Thank you for your mercy and for doing a work in us that is beyond what we could ever imagine. Your guidance reassures us and leads us on the right path.