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Prayer, A Conversation with God - Week 1 - 1/05/25
Zechariah 7:1-14
1 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 8:14-19
14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”
18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.
Chapter 7 of Zechariah deals with a delegation coming to Jerusalem to inquire about the necessity of certain fasting rituals that had been enacted since the exile of Jews into Babylon. The fasts that were observed were in memory of the destruction of the temple and other significant acts of judgement. Now that the Jews were allowed back into Jerusalem and the temple was being rebuilt, there was a sense that these fasts were unnecessary. They came to offer proper sacrifices and worship and inquire of the Lord. It is the prophet Zechariah that the Lord gives his response through, and it actually never answers the question but instead provides a very important context for their fasting and what God‘s expectations actually were.
Do we have to?
Zechariah 7:3 “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?””
It seems that the men asking the question for the group might have had self-serving reasons as to why they would desire to cease the fast, and Zechariah’s response lends itself to this conclusion.
Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary (a. The Question (7:1–3)) The hope may have been that, by reducing the number of Jewish holy days by four (8:19), one of the problems of integration with Persian employers and employees, namely the compulsory holidays required by Jews, might be lessened.
It is believed by some scholars that these Jewish men made the journey from Babylon to inquire of the validity of the fast now that things were being restored - not because of their dedication to the Lord but because of the complications it posed over the years in the Persian work culture.
Why do we ask the questions? When we ask how much should we pray and fast, is it because of our devotion or to find out the minimum requirement to please the Lord?
The motivation was not hidden to the Lord, and his response through Zechariah indicated the question was not coming from a place of devotion.
Who is it for?
Zechariah 7:4–7 “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?’ ””
Zechariah replies with a question: was it for the Lord? For over 60 years, the Jews had adhered to a strict schedule of observing the fall and destruction of their land and worship center as well as the exile of the people into Babylon by fasting four separate days. The irony here is that it did not have to happen. God sent many prophets to warn and counsel the people to repent and do the right things in order to avoid judgement. They would memorialize the consequences of their own sin and yet not change their behavior.
Isaiah had pointed this out as well in Isaiah 58:3 “3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.”
It is important during this time of year when people are making resolutions and churches are focused on prayer and fasting to remember why we do it. Prayer and fasting is not a shortcut to get God to do what you want him to do. We should not make resolutions that lead to success and pleasure and at the same time pray and fast for God to simply enact the design we have laid out in front of him.
We fast and pray to know the mind of God, to be in right relationship with him, and receive the power to do his will here on earth as it is in Heaven. Isaiah 58:5–6 “5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?”
Zechariah 7:8–14 “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.””
The best life for Israel was to live in accordance with the will of God. This was not a restrictive set of laws that repressed people. God’s ways were designed to give freedom and prosperity to the entire community, not to a select few. To adhere to and live by God’s standards created a society where people could firsthand experience the favor of God. This is the problem God has with the question. Zechariah reminds them that when God gave them his standard, they turned their shoulders in refusal and hardened their hearts like diamonds.
Zechariah introduces four precepts for them to live by:
- Render true judgements. - Restoring harmony and peace where there has been conflict and injustice. It is everyone’s responsibility to bring peace into circumstances.
- Kindness - Kindness is shown through acts of mercy towards others
- Do not oppress those lower than you. - It has always been the design of God that the lowest in the community are cared for. Jesus healed the sick and associated with sinners.
- Devise no evil towards others. - Do not plot your success at the expense of others.
Fasting and prayer for the sake of worship and accomplishing God’s will are acceptable, and Zechariah points out that they fasted and yet neglected God’s commands, making the whole act one that was focused on self-pity for the judgement they were under.
Do the right thing and things change. Victimhood and self-pity are not God’s ways.
Fasting to Celebrate
Zechariah 8:18–19 “18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.”
Obey God, and prayer is better. Obey God, and fasting is better. Fasting is to become a celebration of God’s goodness and not a mourning of his judgement. We fast to know God’s will, not to get ours. We fast because God is willing to show us and equip us.