Zechariah #16: Superficial Religion Series

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