Zechariah7

In the fourth year of King Darius, a delegation from Bethel inquired whether they should continue their traditional fasts. The Lord, through Zechariah, questioned the sincerity of their past fasting, stating it was not truly for Him but for themselves. He reminded them of His earlier commands for justice and mercy, which they had historically rejected, leading to their scattering and the desolation of the land.
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Delegation Asks About Continuing the Fasts

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. ​
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Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, along with their men, to plead before the LORD ​
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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?” ​

God Challenges the Motivation for Fasting

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Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying,
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“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? ​
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And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves? ​
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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?’” ​

The Requirement of True Justice

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Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,
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“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another. ​
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Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’ ​

Past Rebellion and Divine Judgment

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But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing. ​
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They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts. ​
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And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts. ​
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But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.” ​

Study Notes for Zechariah 7

Verse 1

This chapter is precisely dated to the fourth year of Darius (518 BC), two years after Zechariah’s visions (Ch. 1–6), indicating that the rebuilding efforts are now established.

Verse 2

Sherezer and Regemmelech were representatives sent from the Jewish community, likely from Bethel or even Babylon, to consult the priests and prophets in Jerusalem regarding appropriate ritual practice.

Verse 3

The fast of the fifth month (Av) commemorated the destruction of the First Temple (586 BC). With the Second Temple reconstruction underway, the people questioned whether this traditional mourning fast was still necessary.

Verse 5

The seventy years of fasting aligns with the duration of the Babylonian exile. God questions their motive, implying their mourning was centered on self-pity rather than genuine repentance or devotion to Him.

Verse 6

This rhetorical question emphasizes that their eating and drinking (both feasting and fasting) were self-serving. True worship requires a heart focused on God, not merely external ritual performance.

Verse 7

The 'former prophets' (e.g., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos) consistently warned that ritual without ethical obedience was meaningless, a message Israel ignored when the land was prosperous.

Verse 9

God shifts the focus from ritual questions (fasting) to ethical requirements, summarizing the core of covenant law: true judgment (justice) and practical compassion (mercy) toward one’s neighbor.

Verse 10

This list identifies the most vulnerable groups in society (widow, orphan, stranger, poor), emphasizing that ethical religion is demonstrated by protecting the marginalized.

Verse 11

The people’s historical response to God’s commands was willful rejection, symbolized by the refusal to 'hearken' (listen obediently) and pulling away the shoulder (like oxen refusing the yoke).

Verse 12

They made their hearts like an 'adamant stone' (Heb. *shamir*, a very hard substance like diamond), illustrating their deliberate spiritual stubbornness against the Law and the Spirit-inspired message of the prophets.

Verse 13

This verse establishes the principle of reciprocal judgment: because Israel refused to hear God when He spoke, God refused to hear their desperate cries when judgment finally came (the exile).

Verse 14

The scattering was executed 'with a whirlwind,' symbolizing the violent, chaotic, and forceful nature of the judgment and exile, which left the once 'pleasant land' utterly desolate.

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