Zechariah 7:5-6
“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? And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The verse highlights that their fasting, though seemingly a religious act for seventy years, wasn't directed to God. It wasn't about pleasing Him or repenting of their sin, but more about grieving their own losses and inconveniences.
A delegation from Bethel arrives, asking if they should continue observing the traditional fasts now that the temple reconstruction is underway. In response, God, through Zechariah, challenges the sincerity of these fasts, questioning if they were ever truly for Him, especially since they continued for seventy years after the destruction of Jerusalem and the murder of Gedaliah. God then pivots to what truly pleases Him, highlighting the importance of justice and mercy over mere ritual observance.
You've been observing these solemn fasts for seventy years, marking out periods of mourning. But God asks a pointed question: was all this religious observance actually for Him?
The True Object of Worship
Zechariah's message cuts straight to the heart of religious practice. The people and priests had continued observing specific fasts, one in the fifth month and another in the seventh, for decades. These weren't just arbitrary days; they marked significant historical tragedies—the destruction of Jerusalem and the murder of Gedaliah.
However, God's question, 'was it for me that you fasted?', reveals that the intention behind the fast was misplaced. The commentaries suggest the people were mourning the inconvenience and the loss associated with these events, rather than genuinely grieving over the sins that led to them. Their fasting had become a ritual, a form of 'will-worship,' where they were pleasing themselves or seeking some inherent merit in the act, not truly seeking God's face or submitting to His will.
God isn't impressed by religious acts performed out of obligation, habit, or for personal gain. True worship is directed to Him, with Him as the ultimate object and goal. It's about aligning our hearts with His desires, not just going through the motions.
Fasting and mourning can be powerful expressions of devotion. But what happens when the outward act loses its inward connection to genuine sorrow and obedience?
The Danger of Empty Observances
The seventy years of fasting mentioned here represent a long period where religious custom may have overshadowed sincere devotion. The commentaries point out that these fasts, while perhaps commanded or arising from sincere grief at one time, had become detached from their original spiritual purpose.
God wasn't just questioning the timing of the fasts, but their substance. Were they accompanied by true repentance? Were they expressions of a heart sorrowing over sin and seeking God's favor through obedience? It seems not. Instead, the people were performing rituals that religious but lacked the spiritual reality God desires.
Understand the original words
tsum · Hebrew Verb
A voluntary practice of denying oneself food or other physical comforts for a period of time to focus on prayer, repentance, or seeking God’s guidance and intervention. In Scripture, it is meant to be a sincere expression of humility before God, not a mechanical ritual.
saphad · Hebrew Verb
A profound expression of sorrow or grief, often associated with repentance or lament over sin and judgment. Biblically, it signifies a broken spirit and a recognition of the need for divine mercy and restoration.
The Jews had developed a practice of fasting that had become more about remembering personal or national tragedies than about genuine repentance towards God for the sins that caused those calamities.
587 BC
Murder of Gedaliah
Gedaliah, the governor appointed by Babylon, was assassinated by Ishmael along with many Jews. This event triggered fear and led many to flee to Egypt.
Starting 587 BC
Fasting in the Seventh Month
In response to the assassination of Gedaliah and the subsequent fear, the Jews instituted a fast in the seventh month to mourn the tragic events.
Starting 587 BC
Fasting in the Fifth Month
The Jews also observed a fast in the fifth month, commemorating the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians.
c. 518 BC— this verse
Inquiry About Fasts
Delegates from the returned Jewish community in Jerusalem, possibly including priests, ask Zechariah whether the established fasts should continue now that the Temple is being rebuilt.
This passage directly contrasts genuine fasting, done for God and involving justice and compassion, with the kind of superficial fasting God rejects in Zechariah 7:5. It highlights that God desires sincere hearts and righteous actions, not just outward religious acts.
Jeremiah 41:2This verse provides the historical context for the fast mentioned in Zechariah 7:5, detailing the murder of Gedaliah which occurred in the seventh month and led to further calamity for the people of Judah. It shows the specific event that prompted one of the fasts God questions.
Matthew 23:23Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for meticulously tithing herbs while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness, echoing God's concern in Zechariah 7:5. Both passages condemn the focus on external rituals while ignoring core principles of righteousness and love.
Luke 18:9-14The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector illustrates God's rejection of self-righteous religious observance, similar to the people in Zechariah's day. The Pharisee's fasting and boasting are contrasted with the tax collector's humble repentance, showing that true devotion is about heart attitude, not just performance.
1 Corinthians 10:31wesleyZechariah 7:5: "Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?"
7:5 Unto all the people - By their messengers. And seventh - For the murder of Gedaliah, slain by Ishmael. Even to me - You pleased yourselves in it, not me; you wept more for the inconveniences of the thing than the sinfulness of it.
calvinZechariah 7:4-9: "Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,"
Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?
Annon ad sermones quos clamavit Iehova in manu prophetarum priorum, quum esset Ierusalem quieta et opulenta (vel, quieta et tranquilla; diximus enim alibi de hac voce [ysvt] et urbes ejus per circuitus eju…
The verse highlights that their fasting, though seemingly a religious act for seventy years, wasn't directed to God. It wasn't about pleasing Him or repenting of their sin, but more about grieving their own losses and inconveniences.
A delegation from Bethel arrives, asking if they should continue observing the traditional fasts now that the temple reconstruction is underway. In response, God, through Zechariah, challenges the sincerity of these fasts, questioning if they were ever truly for Him, especially since they continued for seventy years after the destruction of Jerusalem and the murder of Gedaliah. God then pivots to what truly pleases Him, highlighting the importance of justice and mercy over mere ritual observance.
A delegation from Bethel arrives, asking if they should continue observing the traditional fasts now that the temple reconstruction is underway. In response, God, through Zechariah, challenges the sincerity of these fasts, questioning if they were ever truly for Him, especially since they continued for seventy years after the destruction of Jerusalem and the murder of Gedaliah. God then pivots to what truly pleases Him, highlighting the importance of justice and mercy over mere ritual observance.
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This verse warns us against the trap of 'dead orthodoxy'—holding to the correct beliefs or practices without the accompanying heart transformation. God desires a worship that is 'true' and 'spiritual,' rooted in a genuine relationship, not just a performance of duties.
c. 518 BC
Zechariah's Rebuke
Zechariah, prompted by God, confronts the people and priests, questioning the sincerity and purpose behind their seventy years of fasting.
This verse provides a guiding principle for all actions, including fasting: 'whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.' Zechariah 7:5 questions whether the people's fasting was truly 'to Me' (to God's glory) or to themselves, aligning with Paul's call for all activities to be God-centered.
"“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? And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yoursel…" — The verse highlights that their fasting, though seemingly a religious act for seventy years, wasn't directed to God. It wasn't about pleasing Him or repenting of their sin, but more about grieving…
