Zechariah7
New King James Version
1Now in the fourth year of King Darius it came to pass that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Chislev,
2when the people sent Sherezer, with Regem-Melech and his men, to the house of God, to pray before the Lord,
3and to ask the priests who were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?”
4Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,
5“Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me?
6When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?
7Should you not have obeyed the words which the Lord proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?’ ”
8Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying,
9“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother.
10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.’
11“But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.
12Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.
13Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts.
14“But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Zechariah 7.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The captives' inquiry respecting fasting. (1–7). Sin the cause of their captivity. (8–14).
vv1-7
If we truly desire to know the will of God in doubtful matters, we must not only consult his word and ministers, but seek his direction by fervent prayer. Those who would know God's mind should consult God's ministers; and, in doubtful cases, ask advice of those whose special business it is to search the Scriptures. The Jews seemed to question whether they ought to continue their fasts, seeing that the city and temple were likely to be finished. The first answer to their inquiry is a sharp reproof of hypocrisy. These fasts were not acceptable to God, unless observed in a better manner, and to better purpose. There was the form of duty, but no life, or soul, or power in it. Holy exercises are to be done to God, looking to his word as our rule, and his glory as our end, seeking to please him and obtain his favour; but self was the centre of all their actions. And it was not enough to weep on fast days; they should have searched the Scriptures of the prophets, that they might have seen what was the ground of God's controversy with their fathers. Whether people are in prosperity or adversity, they must be called upon to leave their sins, and to do their duty.
vv8-14
God's judgements upon Israel of old for their sins, were written to warn Christians. The duties required are, not keeping fasts and offering sacrifices, but doing justly and loving mercy, which tend to the public welfare and peace. The law of God lays restraint upon the heart. But they filled their minds with prejudices against the word of God. Nothing is harder than the heart of a presumptuous sinner. See the fatal consequences of this to their fathers. Great sins against the Lord of hosts, bring great wrath from his power, which cannot be resisted. Sin, if regarded in the heart, will certainly spoil the success of prayer. The Lord always hears the cry of the broken-hearted penitent; yet all who die impenitent and unbelieving, will find no remedy or refuge from miseries which while here they despised and defied, but which they then will not be able to bear.
Key Words
אַרְבַּע: four
שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)
מֶלֶךְ: a king
דָּֽרְיָוֵשׁ: Darejavesh, a title (rather than name) of several Persian kings
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
זְכַרְיָה: Zecarjah, the name of twenty-nine Israelites
תְּשִׁיעִי: ninth
חֹדֶשׁ: the new moon; by implication, a month
כִּסְלֵו: Kisleu, the 9th Hebrew month
שָׁלַח: to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications)
Cross References
Zechariah 7Direct parallel exposing hypocritical, self-pleasing fasting rather than genuine internal devotion.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Historical record of Jerusalem's destruction in the fifth month, the origin of their memorial fast.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Records the murder of Gedaliah, which triggered the fast of the seventh month.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Summons true justice, mercy, and humility over empty external rituals.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Prophetic resolution where these sad fasts are promised to become cheerful feasts.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
New Testament principle of eating, drinking, or fasting 'unto the Lord' vs. self.
Supported by JFB
Echoes the 'former prophets' demanding obedience rather than merely ritual sacrifices.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Command to seek justice, relieve the oppressed, and plead for the fatherless and widow.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Verbal echo of 'pulled away the shoulder' (withdrawing the neck) in stubborn rebellion.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Matches the divine lex talionis: since they refused to hear, He will not hear them.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The priest's lips should keep knowledge, as ordinary casuists for the people.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Mentions the inhabited south and plain when Jerusalem was in prosperity.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Contrast between their self-made 'adamant stone' heart and God's promised heart of flesh.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The covenant curse of scattering the people among nations and leaving the land desolate.
Supported by Matthew Henry