All Is Exposed to God

All things are naked and openly exposed to the eyes of him with whom we have an accounting (Hebrew 4:13). If we are ever tempted to distort the truth in an attempt to make people think well of us, may the story of Ananias and Sapphira stand as a sober reminder (Acts 5:1-10). We might be able to deceive fellow humans, but we cannot fool Jehovah. Time and again the scriptures exhort us to be honest with one another, for liars will have no place in an earth swept clean of unrighteousness (Pro 14:2; Rev 21:8; 22:15). The reason for that should be clear. The promoter of all untruth is none other than our human nature, otherwise known in the New Testament as the devil, or Satan (John 8:44).

Making honesty our way of life brings numerous benefits. Among them are a clean conscience and the satisfaction of being trusted by others. In many cases, because they were honest, Christians have obtained employment or have kept their jobs. Above all, honesty wins us the friendship of Almighty God (Psalm 15:1,2).

The 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas Iscariot

First published in ‘Scripture News Digest’, May 2009

The following is based on a question asked in the DailyMail and the answer by Nick Welham.

The sum paid by religious leaders appears designed to show contempt of Jesus. According to Exodus 21:32, the price paid to recompense a master for a servant being hurt by an ox, is 30 pieces (shekels) of silver. Carrying this forward, for his work as a shepherd of the people, Zechariah was paid ‘30 pieces of silver’.

Yahweh scorned this as a meagre sum, regarding the wages given to Zechariah as an estimation of how the faithless people viewed Yahweh Himself, 11:12-13.

Consequently, in offering 30 pieces of silver for the betrayal of Jesus, the religious leaders made Him out to be of little value. At the same time, though, they were fulfilling Zechariah 11:12, “If it is agreeable to you, give Me my wages thirty pieces of silver. And Yahweh said to me, “Throw it to the potter” – that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of Yahweh for the potter”.

Judas was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood”.Then he threw down the pieces of silver and went and hanged himself.

But the chief priests took the 30 pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood,” Matthew 27. And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field to bury strangers in.

This was fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah.

Bro Stanford Kauzha (Harare, Zimbabwe)