Intro
Our text today is in Zechariah 7. Last week we examined the capstone of the eight visions.i The crowning of Joshua, the High Priest, was a symbolic act prophesying Messiah. Unlike any other, Messiah would be both priest and king. All the promises of God are yea and amen in Him.ii The eight visions were a revelation of God’s plans for His people. But throughout the first six chapters, we see Messiah as central to it all. The crowning of the High Priest in chapter 6 brings it all into focus. It all comes through Messiah Jesus. Chapter 6 brings the first section of the book to a close.
Zechariah 7 begins a new section. The events are triggered by a question that is asked by a delegation from Bethel. They are most likely expecting a simple yes-or-no answer. Something that the High Priest might answer simply using the Urim and Thummim.iii But God gives them an answer through Zechariah that is much more extensive than that. The answer reveals God’s perspective of what the real issues are.
The answer is found in Zechariah 7-8. Chapter 7 addresses the problem they need to correct. Chapter 8 affirms the faithfulness of God and His plans for their future.iv This is similar to what has already happened in the first six chapters. In those chapters, there is correction and assurance. There is a call to repentance that is introduced in Zechariah 1:3: “Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.”v But these is assurance that is communicated throughout the eight visions.vi Zechariah 7-8 repeats that pattern. Chapter 7 is a call to repentance, and chapter 8 is the assurance of God’s faithfulness to His people, prophesying a future day when Israel’s fasting will be turned into feasting (8:18).
The natural division in chapter 7 is:
(1) The Question that Elicits a Response from God (vs 1-3).
(2) The Identification of the Real Issue in God’s Answer (vs 4-7).
(3) The Articulation of the Solution in God’s Answer (vs 8-14).
This outline is clear in the KJV where verse 4 begins with the statement, “Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying.” And verse 8 begins with, “And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying.” Keep in mind that chapter 8 continues with God’s answer to this inquiry. That chapter has a similar structure with verse 8:1 and 8:18 beginning with “The word of the LORD Almighty came to me.” Therefore, Zechariah 7-8 is subdivided at four points, each flagged by a fresh word coming to Zechariah in 7:4, 8; 8:1; 18.
I. So let’s examine: THE QUESTION in verses 1-3.
Follow as I read from the NIV: “In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the LORD 3 by asking the priests of the house of the LORD Almighty and the prophets, ‘Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?’”
The timing of this inquiry is plainly stated in verse 1. It was on December 7, 518 BC.vii This was about 22 months after Zechariah received the eight visions recorded in the first six chapters.viii Ezra 6:15 tells us the temple was completed on March 13, 514 BC.ix So at this point the temple is about half finished.x The peaching of Haggai and Zechariah has inspired great progress on the construction. In this fourth year of King Darius, the future looked bright for these Jews in Judah at this time.xi Darius had issued a decree that removed the opposition and hindrance experienced earlier in the construction (Ezra 6).xii It was full speed ahead, and the Jews in Bethel and Jerusalem were anticipating the completion of the project. Additionally, the 70 years of exile prophesied by Jeremiah (25:11; 29:10) are almost accomplished. Zechariah references that in verse 5. The next fifth month fast was only a few months away.xiii So the question of whether to continue that fast would naturally arise at this time, especially when we understand what that fast commemorated. The fifth month fast was in remembrance of the destruction of the temple in 586 BC.xiv Therefore, if the new temple is replacing the old and the 70-year judgment is coming to a close, it might be time to discontinue the fast.
In the answer given in these two chapters, Zechariah mentions three other fasts that commemorate other lesser tragedies associated with the fall of Jerusalem. The seventh month fast, mentioned in 7:5, memorialized the assassination of their governor, Gedaliah (2 Kings 25:25; Jer. 41:1-18) also in 586 BC. In Zechariah 8:19 two additional fasts are mentioned. The fourth month fast commemorated the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem during the Babylonian siege (2 Kings 25:3; Jer. 39:2-4), and the tenth month fast memorialized the beginning of the siege (2 Kings 25:1; Jer. 39:1). So all of these fasts represented mourning over the fall of Jerusalem. The most important one of the four was the fifth month fast remembering the destruction of the temple. This delegation asks about that fast probably expecting an authorization to discontinue it. If this one is discontinued, the others would be as well.xv
The delegation asking the question was from Bethel. The two men leading the delegation have Babylonian names.xvi That indicates that they were probably Jews born in Babylon who came with this remnant to Judah.
The fact that Bethel is submitting the spiritual inquiry to Jerusalem tells us something positive has occurred during the exile. Prior to the exile, Bethel had been a center of idolatry in the Northern kingdom of Israel. God had set Jerusalem as the authorized center of worship for His people. xvii But when Jeroboam rebelled against Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12, he set up two golden calves for worship: one in Dan and one in Bethel. This idolatry was an abomination to the Lord. But the seventy years of chastening has taught these Bethelites to reject idolatry and look to Jerusalem as God’s chosen city for worship. The fact that they send their question to Jerusalem is
an indication that the rebellion and idolatry of the past is abandoned. Bethel was twelve miles north of Jerusalem.xviii
Their question in 7:3 is: “Should I [the question is coming from all those at Bethel through their representative] mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” The question is submitted to the priests and prophets which may have included Haggai. But God gives the answer through Zechariah. We will now examine the first phase of God’s answer.
II. THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE REAL ISSUE is found in verses 4-7.
“Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5 ‘Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’”
God’s instruction to Zechariah was that he ask the people three questions. These were designed to bring their attention to the real issues that needs to be addressed and awaken conscience.
Notice that the delegation from Bethel asks direction for what they are to do. But Zechariah addresses the answer to “all the people of the land and the priests” (vs 5). The rebuke comes, not only to the Bethelites, but to all those in Judah including the priests at Jerusalem.
QUESTION #1 is this: “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?”
The clear implication is that their religious ritual was not for the Lord. As implied in the next question, it was not for the Lord, but for themselves. The key issue addressed here is motive. They were doing it for all the wrong reasons. It was all about them and what they wanted. Real estate profession has a saying about what is important for the sale of a house: Location, Location, Location. God has one for us today: Motive, Motive, Motive.
I suspect there was a good dose of self-pity in this fasting event. Poor us; look at all the pain and suffering we are going through. The right motive for fasting is to draw near to God; repent of anything that offends Him; and consecrate oneself to Him and His will. In fasting we humble ourselves before God, recognizing our dependence on Him, turning from sin, and turn to God from the heart. There is sorrow and mourning involved. But it is sorrow for sin—the sin that has grieved the heart of God.
These people are sad, not because of their sin, but because of the consequences of their sin. They are not focused on the fact that their sin grieves the heart of God. They are focused on themselves and what they are going through. There was this element of collectively wallowing in self-pity over the circumstances they find themselves in. It’s not repentance from the behavior that brought on those consequences. It is not a change of heart. It is not turning from past behavior that grieved the Holy Spirit. It is poor me; look what I’m going through. Selfish fasting can take the form of feeling sorry for the consequences of one’s sin without a change in behavior.
Selfish fasting can also be an effort to get God to do what we want Him to do. Godly fasting is not a way to assert my will. It is not a way to twist God’s arm so that He will go ahead and answer my prayers. It is a way to submit my will to His will and open my heart to hear and obey that will. Fasting is a way to set aside the normal distractions of life and focus more exclusively on God and what He has to say. God had dealt with this issue of selfish fasting prior to the exile.
This passage in Zechariah closely parallels God’s rebuke in Isaiah 58. Look at that passage with me. In the first two verses God talks about the external appearance of their behavior. In verse 2 He says, “they seem eager to know my ways,” and further down, “and seem eager for God to come near them.” But things are not as they appear. God sees their hearts. And in reality they are not drawing near to God. They are asserting their own desires. They are asserting their own will. They are not sincerely seeking to know and obey God’s will.
Isaiah 58:3: “‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’” We have done all the religious stuff. But you are not responding. On the list of religious rituals, fasting is near the top. What God is addressing here applies to fasting. It applies to prayer. It applies to service. God is not just interested in what you do. He is interested in why you do it. Their spiritual exercises were getting no response from God because they were doing it for all the wrong reasons. It was all selfishly motivated, even though on the surface it looked very pious.
God’s answer in Isaiah 58:3-4 is: “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.” You’re doing the religious stuff. But you are not sincerely submitted to God. You live to get your own way. You live to please yourself. You do not love God with all your heart, and you do not love your neighbor as yourself. While you are performing these religious rituals, you are exploiting others. You take advantage of them to benefit yourself. You fuss and fight to get your way. There is no dying to self.xix It’s all about self. No matter how much you pray, how loud you sing, how long you fast—it does not get God’s ear because it is motivated wrong.
Earlier in my life, I fasted for selfish reasons without understanding these issues. I wanted the power of God. That desire is not wrong if it is motivated right.xx But my motive were sadly mixed. My object was more about my own success as a minister than to glorify God or extend His compassion to others. It was mostly my own goals. I thought prayer and fasting were the right methods for doing the Lord’s work, and there is some truth in that. My motives were not entirely selfish. But enough selfishness drove it to make it relatively ineffective. On one occasion, I had fasted 39 days when God told me to break the fast. I thought, only one more day and it will be a 40-day fast. So, I stayed on the fast another day to make it a full forty. I had never fasted a full forty days, and I wanted the internal satisfaction of knowing I had done that. At the end of the 40 days, Instead of experiencing the favor of God, I sensed His disfavor. Obedience is better than sacrifice.xxi I doubt that fast counted for anything. The hidden agenda was selfish. The best thing I got out of that experience was the lesson: “To obey is better than sacrifice.”
Often people take the correction in Isaiah 58 and in our Zechariah text as a mandate to substitute benevolent works in the place of spiritual endeavors like fasting. They miss the point altogether. Benevolent acts done for the wrong motive is no better than fasting for selfish reasons?xxii If our hearts are right, we will be benevolent toward others. In these passages, the absence of just, benevolent treatment of one’s neighbor was evidence those fasting were not truly repentant. The Pharisees of Jesus's day gave alms to the poor. They did good works. Jesus responded to their benevolence saying, “But all their works they do to be seen by men” (Matt. 23:5 NKJV). The motive was self-glorification. They were seeking honor one from another, rather than the honor that comes from above (John 5:44).
So now God asks you and me, “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?” When you went to church, was it really for me? When you sang that song, was it really for me.?
I wonder how many people would be in church today if it were only those who came for the right reason, only those with no ulterior motive—only those who came to honor the Lord. There are many reasons people go to church. Some go to see their friends. It satisfies their social need. That can be a benefit of serving God with others. But we’re talking about motive right now. Some come for the social interaction. They’re not so concerned about God showing up. They’re concerned about their friends showing up. If God doesn’t show up, they hardly notice it because He is not the real reason they’re there anyway.
Most people pick their church for what’s in it for them. They have a self-centered, consumer mentality. Young parents want a nursery and some help with child care. Old people are lonely and come for the companionship. Another person likes the music, not an encounter with God facilitated by the music; they just like the music. Change the style, and they’re out of there. Another person wants to make business contacts, expand the Amway network, find new clients. Another wants bragging rights: “I go to the biggest and best church in town.” Some are on the worship team because of the recognition they get. A pastor may work long and hard so he can be respected as successful. We could go on and on listing selfish reasons for going to church. I have seen many people come as long as the church gave them benevolence. But when that seemed to dry up, they moved on.
Why is there so little power in the church today? The answer lies not in antiquated methods or lack of financial resources. A lot of attention is given these days to finding better methods. Some of those improvements are helpful. But the crucial answer is in our text. God does not empower selfish motives, no matter how updated the methods are. How much preaching and teaching is nothing more than self-help instruction: ways to have a happier family; ways to manage your money and enjoy the American dream. You can easily build a church crowd around these objectives. But there is no real transformation in it.
“When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? Substitute anything in that question for the word “fasted” and you still have essentially the same question: Why do you do the things you do? Are you really living for the glory and honor of God or are you using God for your own objectives? This gets at the heart of the matter.
The Western church is typically strong in forensic theology (the legal side of salvation of forgiveness and imputed righteousness). That should not be neglected. But salvation is not just a legal transaction. There is to be an internal transformation that delivers us from self-absorption. It is understandable that people initially come to Christ for selfish reasons. The woman with the issue of blood wanted healing. Blind Bartimaeus wanted his sight. But I have known people who have been saved for 50 years and are just as selfish as the day they were born again. There is something very wrong about that.
This delegation wants to know whether they should keep up their religious activity in the fifth month fast. It is as if God is saying, “I don’t care! You’re doing it for all the wrong reasons. It’s not gaining you anything with me.xxiii What I am looking for is people who are seeking me; worshipping me in spirit and reality; obeying my voice; simply doing what I tell them to do; living their lives to please me.xxiv I want people who respond to my love by loving me in return and loving their neighbors as themselves.”
There is only one fast that God required of Israel in the Old Testament. It was to be on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:27). All the fasts mentioned in our text were not ordered by God. They were initiated by people—perhaps with good intentions But pleasing God is found in obedience, not self-will. Jesus said, “. . . I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38). That is the pattern we are to follow. The power of God accompanied that pattern.
I think I hear many pastors and congregations today asking God, “Why have we fasted . . . and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?” Why have we prayed all these years without an answer? Why have we preached our sermons, sung our songs, and given our money with very little fruit? And God answers the question with a question: When you did all that, was it really for me that you did it? Can you honestly say you did it only because you love me and want to please me? Or were there some hidden motives behind it all.
At the Judgment Seat of Christ there will be a lot of “wood, hay, and stubble” burned up—a lot of good works that were motivated wrong.xxv It’s better to identify the “wood, hay, and stubble” now than to wait until that day. Perhaps God is showing you some of it even today.
QUESTION #2 that God asked is similar to the first one. Zechariah 7:6: “And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?” It’s unclear whether this is a reference to their daily activities or to their feasts. The context seems to point to their feast days.
Colossians 3:23 instructs us: “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (NKJV). People may appreciate what we do, or they may not like it at all. We don’t do it to please people.xxvi When we do it to get their accolades, we are upset when we don’t get them. But when we truly do it simply to please the Lord, then we are not slaves to the opinions of others. Paul understood this when he wrote, “we make it our goal to please him” (2 Cor. 5:9). That is it in a nutshell. God could trust Paul with His power and anointing because Paul’s agenda
was very simply to please the Lord. This is what God is asking of you and me this morning. “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit” (Phil. 2:3). We are not trying to build the biggest church in town. We are not trying to publish the most popular book. We are not trying to preach the best sermons. We are simply trying to please Him in everything we do.
Earlier we commented on the fact that the Jews at Bethel had repented of their idolatry. The chastisement of the exile seemed to cure Israel’s propensity toward idolatry. But in our text, we see another error that is more subtle. It has crept into the lives of these people slowly but surely. Like a cat stalking its prey, it was there before they noticed it. What is this error? It is the substitution of external religion—ceremonies, fasts, feasts, etc. in place of heartfelt relationship with God. We see this error in full bloom in the first century when Messiah came. In Jesus’s day the scribes and Pharisees were not practicing idolatry. But their religion had become cold and mechanical. They prayed; they fasted; they conducted services. They drew near to God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him.xxvii
It is easy for people think all is well because they are not caught up in gross sin. But their hearts are no longer tender toward God. Their worship is no longer warm and adoring. They sing the same songs, but not with the same affection. They preach the same sermons, but not with the same passion.
Isaiah encountered this tendency before the exile. Listen to what God told those people about their church services. Isaiah 1:12-15: “When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. 14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!” They were going to church, but they were not living in obedience to God. They were faithful to the externals, but their hearts were far from God.
This is the tendency of religion if people are not encountering God and being empowered by His presence. We must have the Holy Spirit pouring God’s love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5) if we are to avoid this pitfall. Otherwise, we drift into ritualistic, superficial religion. It happened to these people in Isaiah’s day. It happened to those in Zechariah’s day. It happened to the Catholic Church. It has happened to many Protestant Churches. And it can happen to us if we do not seek the Lord for Himself. There must be a pursuit of God from the heart. Just going through the motions is not adequate. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” He will always do His part. But we have a choice. We can keep our secret sins and play religion. Or we can turn to God from our sins and enjoy intimacy with Him.
There is a popular trend to keep the Old Testament statutes, regulations, feast, and fasts more diligently as a way to please. But that fails to address the real problem, just as this delegation in our text failed to see the issues from God’s perspective. God is primarily concerned is with the condition of the heart. “My son,” Proverbs 23:26, “give me your heart.” It’s more costly to give God your heart, compared to giving Him a few external rituals. But loving Him from the heart is what He wants. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matt. 5:8). “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Prov. 4:23). How’s your heart this morning?
The problem with Zechariah’s audience is that they kept the outward trappings of their religion. But they failed to repent of the sins that were separating them from God at the heart-level. They kept fasting. They kept feasting in the name of the Lord. But they were doing it all for their own selfish reasons. So, God awakened their conscience with these two simple questions: “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?”
ENDNOTES:
i The crowning of Joshua, the High Priest (6:9-15), brought the eight visions to a climax. Although it was an event, rather than a vision, it is closely associated with the eight visions. Phillips considers it an “appendix” and “a fitting conclusion” to the visions. Phillips, Zechariah, 142. Rydelnik believes Zechariah structured his book “to draw attention to the hinges as the central message of the book. Significantly, the major hinge (6:9-15) is the prediction of the Messiah uniting the offices of King and Priest.” Rydelnik, Vanlaningham, eds., The Moody Bible Commentary (2014), 1414.
ii Cf. 2 Cor. 1:20 KJV
iii Cf. Ex. 28:29-30; Ezra 2:63.
iv There is perhaps an implied question in the delegation’s inquiry much like that asked by the disciples in Acts 1:6: “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” Zech. 7-8 answers that implied question by pointing out the lack of necessary repentance as indicated in Zech. 7 and the conditions existing for the full restoration (Millennium) in Zech. 8. See Zechariah 8:18.
v All Scripture quotes are from the New International Version (2020) unless indicated otherwise.
vi Reminders of the need for Israel’s repentance are weaved into the eight visions as well.
vii Meyers and Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8, 379.
viii Merrill, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, 189.
ix Merrill, 190. Some set the date as March 12, 516 BC. NIV Study Bible (2020) 766.
x Haggai 1:12-15 tells us the temple construction (after the 16-year delay) was resumed September 21, 520 BC. NIV Study Bible (2020), 1585. For a helpful list of dates, see NIV Study Bible (2020), 1589. Cf. Boda, Haggai, Zechariah, The NIV Application Commentary, 353.
xi “The Hebrew text designates the territory of which Zerubbabel is governor by the word Judah, ‘yêhûdâ,’ which is the same term used for the preexilic Davidic kingdom. However, the Aramaic sources such as Ezra 7:14 and the bullae and seals mentioned in the previous NOTE use ‘Yehud’ (yhd), which apparently was the imperial designation for the province.” Meyers and Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8, 13-14.For the sake of my lay congregation, I am simply referring to the region as Judah.
Policies articulated by Darius granting Egyptian “internal self-rule by traditional Egyptian law” in 518 BC may have also inspired optimism among the Jews in Judah at this time. See Meyers and Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8, 380.
xii Baron, Zechariah, 209.
xiii About August 2, 517 according to Merrill, 102.
xiv 2 Kings 25; Jer. 52:12-13. “Some scholars follow a different dating system and place the fall of Jerusalem in the summer of 587. NIV Study Bible (2020), 645.
xv Unger, 122.
xvi See Baron, 212.
xvii Cf. 2 Chron. 6:6; Deut. 26:1-2.
xviii When Joshua divided the land, Bethel went to the tribe of Benjamin. But this city followed Jeroboam in his rebellion. “Bethel was resettled by Jews returning from the Babylonian exile (Ezra 2:28; Neh. 7:32).”Hill, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, 183.
xix When Paul said in Phil. 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ,” he was declaring his purpose for living to be honoring and obey Christ. When we do not make disciples who are taking up their cross and denying self, we get a lot of religious activity that perhaps looks good on the surface, but in reality does not reflect true transformation of the heart. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).
xx In Acts 4:30 the early church prayed for the power of God for the right reason.
xxi 1 Sam. 15:22.
xxii “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14). The phrase, “according to his will” is an important part of that verse. Just as selfish fasting is ineffectual, so is selfish praying (James 4:3). Cf. Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019), 367-380.
xxiii “Note that the inquiry put by the Bethel committee is not being answered directly. In fact, throughout chapters 7 and 8 no direct answers is offered. The reason is: the question is not an important issue.” Leupold, 133. The closest thing to a direct answer is in Zech. 8:18, but that will only occur during the Millennial reign of Messiah.
xxiv In John 4:20 the woman at the well initiated a debate about the externals of her religion as a Samaritan versus that of the Jews. Jesus directed her attention to the essence of worship: “he true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (NKJV)/ It comes from their innermost being (in spirit and truth).
xxv 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 3:12-14 (KJV).
xxvi Cf. Gal. 1:10.
xxvii Cf. Isa. 29:13; Matt. 15:8.
