Let’s get some quick context on Zechariah. In Zechariah 1:1, he is identified as a prophet, living in the time of Darius.
In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo:
Zechariah 1:1 NIV
The NIV introduction to this book puts the start of Zechariah’s recorded messages from God around 520 B.C. Context clues put him in Judea, speaking to the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem (and maybe the surrounding areas). [Ref. NIV Introduction, Hahlen & Ham, etc.]
The dates of Zechariah’s prophecies overlap slightly with Haggai, and he is contemporary with Ezra (who mentions Zechariah twice). The rebuilding of the temple had been started, but was “paused” (we might way) about 16 years prior. It’s time to resume this work, though. [Hahlen & Ham, p.317-318]
Before we get into Zechariah 7 (below and in the next few articles), though, I’d like to ask a question: Why do religious people fast? Or, if you know that fasting has value, but realize that we don’t do so very often, why should we fast? Or, if you’re not sure, that’s OK, too!
Here are some possible answers:
- Often, fasting is done in a time of distress, to seek God’s help.
- Sometimes, fasting is done in a time of questioning, to seek God’s direction.
- However, I propose that in the most general sense (and not to the exclusion of other reasons), fasting should be done in a time of humility, to seek God’s presence.
As we get into chapter 7, the time is set as King Darius’s fourth year. So, we’re in the era of Daniel and the lion’s den, but past the 70 years of exile. A commentary [Hahlen & Ham, p.402] places the start of chapter 7 as December 7 of 518 B.C.
The events of Zechariah 7 take place in and around Jerusalem, as a delegation is sent to ask a question.
The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the LORD by asking the priests of the house of the LORD Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”
Zechariah 7:2-3 NIV
Having been overthrown by a foreign power, and exiled to a foreign country, it made sense for the Jewish people to fast when they were in distress. The people’s sins had caught up with them (as sins usually do – see Numbers 32:23), and the time for repentance and asking for God’s forgiveness wasn’t just due – it was overdue.
However, now that some Jewish people had returned to Judea and had at least started to rebuild the temple, was it still necessary to fast during a certain month of the year? Specifically (per Hahlen & Ham, p. 404), this fast appears to be one that was held on the anniversary of the destruction of Solomon’s temple.
So, was this fast still required? Or, as we sometimes tell our sons when they protest, you don’t have to do this…you get to do it (even though they still have to).
You’re welcome to read all of Zechariah 7, and I encourage you to do so. Let’s start to look at the answer to the people’s question in the next article…
From Sunday School lesson prepared for August 11, 2024
References:
- The Lookout, August 11, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Minor Prophets Vol. 2 Nahum-Malachi, by Mark Allen Hahlen and Clay Alan Ham. © 2006 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 