For No Reason

Background to passage: Dec 519 BC, 2nd of 3 post exilic prophets.

Zechariah 7:1–7 ESV

In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev.

Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord,

saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me:

“Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?

And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?

Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’ ”

Opening illustration: Story of the man who fasted yet accomplished nothing. “I’ve fasted on several occasions; and nothing happened. I just got hungry … several years ago I heard a couple of pastors discussing fasting. On their recommendation I tried my first fast. They said it was commanded in the Bible and should be practiced by every Christian. Being a Christian, I decided to try it. After putting it off for several days, I mustered up enough courage to start. I couldn’t go to the breakfast table with my family because I didn’t think I would have enough willpower to abstain from eating, so I went on to work. The coffee break was almost unbearable, and I told a little white lie about why I didn’t go with the group. All I could think about was how hungry I was. I said to myself, “If ever I get through this day, I’ll never try this again.” The afternoon was even worse. I tried to concentrate on my work, but I all I could hear was the growling of my stomach. My wife prepared a meal herself and our child, and the aroma of the food was all I could bear. I figured that if I could make it till midnight, I would have fasted all day. I did – but immediately after the striking of the hour of twelve, I dug into food. I don’t think that day of fasting helped me one bit.” -Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney

Main thought: One of the purposes of fasting is to fix our eyes upon God, examining ourselves in light of Him in order to strengthen prayer. For our Month of Fasting and Prayer 2024, we are going to focus on God, his attributes and character so that we might be transformed, and pray by the Spirit for the right things. So, rather than a well thought out list, we will pray as we see His face.

I want 2024 to be a year of REFOCUS at WHBC. We are refocusing our eyes, hearts, minds for the kingdom. This morning we will look at motivation.

1) Is Your Fasting and Praying for Him? (v. 5-6)

Zechariah 7:5–6 ESV

“Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?

And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?

1) Is Your Fasting and Praying for Him? (v. 5-6)

Explanation: Multiple times in the OT, the evaluation for fasting by the prophets was its result. Did a person’s or the nation’s fast lead to a life that is godly, often spoken about how they treat other people, especially the weak, oppressed, and needy.

Here, the people ask a question about continuing fasting in the fifth and seventh month as they did in Babylon. God asks a question about their motivation, rather than giving them an answer at this point.

Regardless of the discipline or the act of worship (songs, sacrifices, offerings, vows), God desires purity of motivation. He desires that things be done for him with sincerity and with love for him. He instructs us that we are to do things, all things, for his glory and for his great name.

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

God is very clear in the OT that forms of worship done otherwise are not acceptable.

1 Samuel 15:22–23 ESV

And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.