The United States observes September 11th annually to honor the memory of those lost in the 2001 attacks. In Ukraine, February 24, 2022, is remembered as the day Russia initiated its invasion, marking a significant moment in the nation’s history. Similarly, Israelis commemorate October 7, 2023, reflecting on the tragic events of the attack by Hamas.
In 586 BC, Israel commemorated the destruction of the temple and their subsequent exile to Babylon with an annual day of fasting. Upon their return to their homeland, individuals sought guidance from Zechariah, inquiring whether they should maintain the tradition of fasting or if, given their return to the land, they should discontinue it.
Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord
And to ask the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I mourn and practice abstinence in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” (Zechariah 7.2-3).
God gave this message to the prophet: “Say to all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented 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 and drink only for yourselves?” (Zechariah 7.5-6).
Fasting involves abstaining from food and sometimes water as a way to express solidarity with God and His intentions. The key question posed was not about whether to fast, but rather, what motivated their fasting.
Like prayer, fasting is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end, and it permits us an opportunity to know God better so that we can be more obedient to His direction.
The Prophets and True Spirituality
Fasting and prayer should transform the inner life of a human being. Our inner self is revealed by the way we obey God and treat other people.
This was Zechariah’s message to the people in response to their question about fasting.
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another” (Zechariah 7.9-10).
When I was in seminary in New Orleans, I attended a service where one of the most dynamic preachers in America was to speak. Before his message, a woman who had formerly been a prostitute in Las Vegas shared her testimony. It took several minutes for her to tell her story.
In the end, the preacher had this to say to the congregation: “I want you to take your spiritual temperature. Do you care more about God rescuing this woman from her life of sin than you do about getting to hear me tell you interesting stories?”
How we treat the most vulnerable of society reflects our spiritual temperature.
Hard Hearts Like Pharaoh
The good religious people of Zechariah’s day wanted to know about fasting. Zechariah essentially told them that obedience was more important than their religious activity. Their failure to follow God’s direction put them in the same category as Pharaoh.
The hardened heart mentioned in the next verses is the same word used for Pharaoh’s hardened heart when he refused to let the children of Israel leave Egypt.
But they refused to listen and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears in order not to hear.
They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts (Zechariah 7.11-12).
When God speaks to us, He intends that we adjust our behavior and follow His direction. We give God the cold shoulder and hard heart to our detriment.
This is God’s word to the people: “Just as, when I called, they would not hear, so, when they called, I would not hear, says the Lord of hosts,
“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 a pleasant land was made desolate” (Zechariah 7.13-14).
There were three consequences for those who hardened their hearts against God. First, their prayers went unheard. Second, they faced dispersion, enduring 70 years of exile. Third, their land became desolate.
This serves as a reminder that turning away from God’s will carries grave risks.
Jesus put it very well. He said, “The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but I have come that they may have life and life overflowing” (John 10.10). What will it be for us?
Our willingness to align our lives with God’s purposes makes all the difference in the world.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. Rudy brings a wealth of insight from his years of studying the Bible and his love for the Lord. You’ll be glad to hear it.
It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 