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. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord, 3 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?”
4 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: 5 “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? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7 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?’”
8 And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. 12 They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. 13 “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, 14 “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.” Zechariah 7 ESV
Zechariah 7 A Call For Justice and Mercy
I always think about the story of the actor who went to the sort of a drawing room function. And there was a lady there – a fancy place – you know, 37:40 __ ladies had their glasses on a stick, you know, one of those old fancy deals.
So this one lady who was the hostess came to him and said, “Sir, we would like for you to recite for us.” So the actor was in his glory, wanted to recite. And wanting to get the benefit of all that he could from his audience and having a rather unlimited repertoire, he said to his audience, “What would you like me to recite?” And there was an old preacher there, probably crashed the party, and he said, “I’d like to hear the twenty-third Psalm.” And the actor said, “All right, I'll – I'll – I don’t prefer to do that, but I’ll do it on one condition,” hoping that the gentleman would back down on his request, he said, “I’ll do it if you’ll do it after me.”
The old pastor, figuring twice is better than once, said, “Fine.” So the actor began, and his intonation was flawless and his diction was beautiful. Masterfully, he went through with great intensity the twenty-third Psalm. When he was done, there was applause. And the old preacher got up there and he had kind of a ministerial twang and his diction wasn’t that hot, his interpretation wasn’t so great. He got all done and there wasn’t a sound. And there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. And the actor was overcome with the silence, stood up and he said, “I think I know the difference. I know the Psalm, but he knows the Shepherd.” That’s the difference. There are lots of people who know the Psalm. Sadly, there are not so many who know the Shepherd. - From J Mac sermon Ritual vs. Reality
In the fourth year of King Darius - Darius was a Persian king, who honored the edict of a past king, Cyrus. Archeologist have found the Cyrus cylinder and other forms of writing from the period that show how they catalogued these things, kept their history and passed down their laws. There were no zip drives so some of the ancient libraries were quite vast.
Chislev - This would be during the Gregorian calendar months of November and December, not the whole of those months, for it is a period of 30 days.
Now the people of Bethel had sent - Bethel means "House of God", where Abraham built an altar, and where Jacob, Abraham's grandson, later sees the staircase going to heaven and angels ascending and descending, "Jacob's ladder". So this was a sacred site for those early patriarchs, but it was far from living up to it's namesake. It became a place of much apostasy, steeped in the sins of Jeroboam. For such sins, the northern kingdom was taken away by Assyria. Babylon later took Assyria, and then Medo-Persia took Babylon, which is at the time of this discussion.
Sharezer and Regem-melech - These are Jews who were probably born in Babylon, hence the names, and they are coming the 12 miles from Bethel to Jerusalem to represent their little town.
To entreat the favor of the Lord - Jerusalem was where God's true temple had been and will again be, so they are going to ask of the true priests and true prophets, which is remarkable considering the break off before the captivity. The northern kingdom started shortly after Solomon's reign, and they forsook the true temple and true worship, making calves for themselves, just like many today preach a different gospel, another Christ.
…7which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! 9As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!… Galatians 1: 7-9
…15Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets: “I will feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.” 16This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. 17They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD says that you will have peace,’ and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’… Jeremiah 23: 15-17
And so, they came down because they had this question on their minds. They came down to pray before the Lord. Now that is a vivid Hebrew word, lehalloth. It literally means so stroke the face of, or to caress, and it was used to speak of a person who came down and wanted to get the right answer from somebody. And in order to gain the proper answer and in order to give them the proper respect and in order to make sure they accepted everything peacefully, you would sort of stroke their face and rub out the wrinkles of consternation. - J Mac
Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month - This was not a fast instituted by the law, like the fast that is brought up in Leviticus 23:37, but a fast they added to the law, in remembrance of the destruction of Jerusalem.
As I have done for so many years - The Babylonian captivity was 70 years, during which time this became tradition.
Was it for Me that you fasted - When the Bible says, "blessed are they that mourn", it's not about anything in general, it's a reference to true repentance, mourning over our sin towards a Holy God. Men can even mourn for lack of sinful indulgence, I have been there, crying over losing some meth, or angry because a girl I wanted for a booty call was no longer returning my calls. I was mourning over sin, but in the wrong direction, I wanted more of it, my heart was full of it. I have mourned over the troubles brought on by my sin, the pain of overdosing, the hurt of broken relationships, but not the offense towards God, that wasn't as big a deal to me. I have even gone so far as to be mad at God, thinking Him unfair, when my excursions into indulgence and excess have backfired and landed me in the hospital. As far as fasting, I have done that, and preferred it like the ascetics, hoping to make God move, walking out into the woods and not eating or drinking, spending days in a pity party for myself because I broke up with a girl and I didn't want her to be able to reach me, or I wanted to grasp at, attain some sort of righteousness apart from obedience to the Lord. Here's a good one, how many times have you actually mourned over your resistance to the words of God, like "love your enemy, do good to those that hate you, pray for those who despitefully use you, do not return evil for evil." Oh God, I would rather climb some mountain, find the Golden Fleece or wrestle with a bear than obey some of Your commands. I am sorry, please conform me to the image of Your Son, Who took many insults on my behalf, was beaten and mocked for my sins, and it was most certainly by His stripes, not mine, that I was healed.
…21The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the things devoted to destruction, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.” 22But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”… 1 Samuel 15: 21-23
Now, this is a sad thing, in a sense, because the very fact that they asked the question – and here comes the major point – indicates that the whole purpose for which the fast was instituted had already passed by. And all it was was a ritual. It was simply a routine. There wasn’t anything there at all and they were just cranking out the motions and it was a rather boring thing to do. They had turned something that I’m sure they had good intention for into an institution, into a mechanical ritual, a time of, if you will, annual humiliation. And so, the fact that they were asking out of it is indicative that it had lost its meaning. - J Mac
And when you eat and when you drink - This is something for all of us to think about in the church, and I was asked often why my children hadn't been baptized yet, and why they didn't take communion. They do now, but it's a simple answer, I don't want to, nor do I think it right, to teach children to perform what without understanding and desire for God, is merely a ritual. It is a false hope in an act, as if you did something worthy, that you put a coin into the slot and now God owes you a gum ball. I don't want my kids to be flighty anthropologists, experiencing the culture, as if God has not ordained a Way to approach Him. What is the bread, what is the wine, what is sin? I need not repent repeatedly over my sins of the past, but I still sin, and so in that quiet space, where the preacher says, reflect, go to God, ask for forgiveness, how self righteous can I possibly be if all I can think of is me, and not my constant offense towards Him?
One commentator paraphrases the answer of God by these words, “When you fast, it is because of your sins. And when you eat and drink, it is for your own profit. The whole matter is for yourselves. But what have I in all this? For neither in the fasting nor the feasting is there anything for My glory. When you fasted it was like penance, and when you feasted it was for your own satisfaction. And where did I ever come in? Did you really ever fast for Me?”
You know, some people today fast. It’s a good thing. And I wonder if we fast in the way that the Bible says we ought to fast, without letting people know we fast, in order that it might be something done to the glory of God and not something done for us for the praise of men. Or not simply having the occasion to miss a couple of meals because we’ve been busy and then to tell ourselves, “Oh, I fasted.” The true fast is that of a broken contrite worshiping heart, that’s what He’s saying. Don’t ever think because you went through the religious formality that you worshiped God. That’s something that has to come out of the heart. - J Mac
Render true judgments - Now He answers them, and this is hard, He answers them starting in verse 7, these are the words, commandments I gave you before the captivity, and I haven't changed, so here they are again. Remember, Israel and Judah were guilty of unjust weights and balances, of the poor not being able to get justice. If we cared more for the truth than winning an argument, winning a court case, getting paid, then the poor would have been rightly covered under the umbrella of the truth. But it was the opposite, just like in our day, you could pay to have someone help you abuse the justice system, to find you innocent when you were guilty, but not if you were poor, you couldn't afford the same levels of injustice.
19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” Exodus 18: 19-23
Go back to Exodus chapter 18 and read verses 19 to 23 – we won’t take the time now. You’ll see it all begins there, that all are to be treated equally. And Paul says it in Philippians where he says, “All having the same love.” And that’s a basic truth in Christian faith. In Jeremiah chapter 7 verse 4, Jeremiah says, “Trust not in lying words, and saying the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.” In other words, you’re hailing your form of religion. “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you execute justice between a man and his neighbor, if you oppress not the stranger or the fatherless or the widow and did not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your harm, then will I cause you to dwell in this place.” - J Mac
But they refused to pay attention - How long will that go on? This is part of why they went into captivity, why the temple was destroyed, it is a matter of ritual versus reality, and we He says show mercy and kindness, do not oppress the poor, widow, fatherless or foreigner, He means it, then and now.
…46“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. 47They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.” Luke 20: 46-47
…26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless. 27Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1: 26-27
Spirit through the former prophets - This is why so many today graze over or totally avoid some passages in the Bible, or they look for someone who will call themselves a pastor, a teacher, a prophet, and spin it for them in a more palatable way. You don't want the truth when you do this, so quit patting yourself on the back that you are a truth seeker. You don't want God either, just His gifts, and you will soon find that the god you believe in is very different than the God of the Bible, the Creator of universe. You worship at the altar of your lusts, your greed, convenience, popularity, your idols. God is telling them that what these prophets spoke, which much of had already come to pass, like Isaiah and Jeremiah's prophecies against their sin, against their false prophets, and going to Babylon, that wasn't the words of those men. You often killed the messenger, but it was God, Who you really wanted dead.
…20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation. 21For no such prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1: 20-21
…50Has not My hand made all these things?’ 51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. 52Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—… Acts 7: 50-52
So they called and I would not hear - It was all recorded, God's early words to them, but they held them in no regard, though it was promised that they would be ejected from the land for such sins, yet they turned and deaf ear to God and His prophets. There eyes were closed to His written word, but when they saw calamity, then they cried out to God, but He stopped hearing them. They never hated the sin, only some of its results.
The pleasant land was made desolate -
…34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! 35Look, your house is left to you desolate. And I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Luke 13: 34-35
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