Zechariah 7:1-7 | The Way of Scripture

Zechariah 7:1-7

What question does the Lord put behind the question about fasting?

Berean Standard Bible

1 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 Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, along with their men, to plead before the LORD 3 by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?” 4 Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”

What is the context?

A delegation associated with Bethel asks whether the mourning fast should continue. The question reaches priests and prophets in the restored setting.

The Lord responds by asking whether the fasting was really for Him. Eating and drinking can be equally self-directed.

The issue is therefore larger than preserving or ending a practice. The community must consider the purpose of its worship and its response to the word already given.

The prosperous former Jerusalem is recalled as a time when earlier prophets were already calling for attentive obedience. Religious observance cannot replace hearing them.

How is this passage commonly understood?

Wesley takes the envoys as coming from the Babylonian community, whereas the BSB explicitly names Bethel as the sender. Both the question and the Lord’s reply concern whether established mourning has become detached from devotion to Him.

What is our position?

We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.

Where can I study this further?

No deeper study linked yet.

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