The existing narration covers Zechariah 7 and 8.
Zechariah 7 is a necessary correction for every religious person. The people ask about fasting, but the Lord asks about mercy, truth, and justice.
Where This Chapter Stands
Chapter 7 asks whether inherited fasting should continue. Zechariah 8:19 answers the question of Zechariah 7:3-5: the fasts will become joy and gladness, with love for truth and peace.
The Question About Fasting (Zechariah 7:1-7)
1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of Darius the king, that the word of the Lord came to Zacharias on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chaseleu. 2 And Sarasar and Arbeseer the king and his men sent to Bæthel, and that to propitiate the Lord, 3 speaking to the priests that were in the house of the Lord Almighty, and to the prophets, saying, The holy offering has come in hither in the fifth month, as it has done already many years.
4 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 5 Speak to the whole people of the land, and to the priests, saying, Though ye fasted or lamented in the fifth or seventh months (yea, behold, these seventy years) have ye at all fasted to me? 6 And if ye eat or drink, do ye not eat and drink for yourselves? 7 Are not these the words which the Lord spoke by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and her cities round about her, and the hill country and the low country was inhabited?
The people ask a religious question: should they continue mourning and fasting as before? The Lord answers by exposing the hidden question: for whom were they fasting?
This is not an attack on fasting. It is a rescue of fasting from self-centered religion. Fasting can become a way to preserve grief, identity, or control while avoiding obedience. The Lord turns the question from ritual habit to the heart.
Mercy, Truth, and the Refusal to Hear (Zechariah 7:8-14)
8 And the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, saying, 9 Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Judge righteous judgment, and deal mercifully and compassionately every one with his brother:
10 and oppress not the widow, or the fatherless, or the stranger, or the poor; and let not one of you remember in his heart the injury of his brother.
11 But they refused to attend, and madly turned their back, and made their ears heavy, so that they should not hear. 12 And they made their heart disobedient, so as not to hearken to my law, and the words which the Lord Almighty sent forth by his Spirit by the former prophets: so there was great wrath from the Lord Almighty. 13 And it shall come to pass, that as he spoke, and they hearkened not, so they shall cry, and I will not hearken, saith the Lord Almighty. 14 And I will cast them out among all the nations, whom they know not; and the land behind them shall be made utterly destitute of any going through or returning: yea they have made the choice land a desolation.
The Lord names what He wanted all along: righteous judgment, mercy, compassion, protection of the widow, orphan, stranger, and poor, and no evil in the heart against a brother. Their fathers refused to hear, and their refusal became scattering.
This passage is especially important for Lent. A fast that does not teach mercy is not biblical fasting. The stomach may be restrained while the heart remains hard. Zechariah says that true fasting must become justice and compassion.
Spiritual Fruit
Zechariah 7 asks whether our religious practices are making us merciful. If fasting, prayer, service, and church activity do not soften the heart toward the vulnerable, then the ritual has been separated from the Lord’s desire.
Teaching Notes
The Question About Fasting (Zechariah 7:1-7)
- Ask: What religious habits can hide self-centeredness?
- Emphasize: The Lord asks not only what we do, but for whom we do it.
- Watch for: Do not make this anti-fasting. It is a call to true fasting.
- Connect: Connect to Christ’s teaching on fasting in Matthew 6.
Mercy, Truth, and the Refusal to Hear (Zechariah 7:8-14)
- Ask: How does the passage define the fruit God wanted?
- Emphasize: Mercy toward the vulnerable is not optional social decoration. It is covenant obedience.
- Watch for: Watch for Lent becoming food rules without mercy.
- Connect: Connect to Isaiah 58 and Orthodox fasting as repentance and love.
Sources
- Embedded Scripture is from Brenton’s English Septuagint (LXX).
- Brief New Testament references are cited by reference.