Zechariah 7: Fasting or Faithfulness?
When the people ask whether to keep fasting, God exposes self-serving religion and recalls his old demand for justice, kindness, and compassion.
Zechariah 7 (WEB)
1 In the fourth year of king Darius, Yahweh’s word came to Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.
2 The people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem Melech, and their men, to entreat Yahweh’s favor,
3 and to speak to the priests of the house of Yahweh of Armies, and to the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?”
4 Then the word of Yahweh of Armies came to me, saying,
5 “Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to me?
6 When you eat, and when you drink, don’t you eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 Aren’t these the words which Yahweh proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and its cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’”
8 Yahweh’s word came to Zechariah, saying,
9 “Thus has Yahweh of Armies spoken, saying, ‘Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother.
10 Don’t oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.’
11 But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
12 Yes, they made their hearts as hard as flint, lest they might hear the law, and the words which Yahweh of Armies had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of Armies.
13 It has come to pass that, as he called, and they refused to listen, so they will call, and I will not listen,” said Yahweh of Armies;
14 “but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
Zechariah 7 (KJV)
1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;
2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem–melech, and their men, to pray before the Lord,
3 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?
4 Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying,
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?
6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 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?
8 And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,
9 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.
13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts:
14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
Zechariah 7 (ASV)
1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chislev.
2 Now they of Beth-el had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to entreat the favor of Jehovah,
3 and to speak unto the priests of the house of Jehovah of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?
4 Then came the word of Jehovah of hosts unto me, saying,
5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, even these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
6 And when ye eat, and when ye drink, do not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 Should ye not hear the words which Jehovah cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?
8 And the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah, saying,
9 Thus hath Jehovah of hosts spoken, saying, Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother;
10 and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the sojourner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.
11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which Jehovah of hosts had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets: therefore there came great wrath from Jehovah of hosts.
13 And it is come to pass that, as he cried, and they would not hear, so they shall cry, and I will not hear, said Jehovah of hosts;
14 but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
Summary
Two years after the night visions, the people of Bethel send messengers to ask the priests and prophets whether they should keep mourning and fasting in the fifth month, as they had done for many years to remember the temple's destruction. God answers with a searching question of his own: when they fasted and mourned for seventy years, did they really do it for him, or for themselves? When they eat and drink, do they not do that for themselves too? The same self-centeredness, he says, had marked their fathers, to whom the former prophets had proclaimed God's true desire: execute true justice, show kindness and compassion to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the foreigner, or the poor, and do not plot evil against a brother. But their fathers refused to listen; they turned their backs, stopped their ears, and made their hearts as hard as flint, so that great wrath came from the Lord. Because they would not hear when he called, he would not hear when they called, and he scattered them with a whirlwind among nations they did not know, leaving the pleasant land desolate. The chapter is a sober reminder that God desires merciful obedience far more than religious ritual performed for ourselves.
Main Characters
- Zechariah — The prophet through whom God answers the people's question about fasting with a call to genuine justice and mercy.
- Yahweh of Armies (the LORD) — The God who probes the motives behind their fasting and recalls his long-standing demand for justice, kindness, and compassion.
- The people of Bethel — The delegation, including Sharezer and Regem Melech, who come to ask whether they should continue their customary fasts of mourning.
- The fathers — The earlier generation who refused to listen to the former prophets, hardened their hearts, and were scattered, leaving the land desolate.
Key Verse
Zechariah 7:9 (WEB)
“Thus has Yahweh of Armies spoken, saying, ‘Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother.
Lessons Learned
- God looks beyond our religious acts to the motives of our hearts.
- Fasting and worship done for ourselves are not truly offered to God.
- The Lord desires justice, kindness, and compassion, especially toward the vulnerable.
- A hardened, unhearing heart eventually finds God unhearing in return.
- God examines our motives, not just our acts. “When you fasted… did you at all fast to me, really to me?” (Zechariah 7:5, WEB). Religion can be performed for self rather than offered to God.
- God desires mercy and justice. “Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother” (Zechariah 7:9, WEB). Genuine faith shows itself in how we treat others.
- God defends the vulnerable. “Don’t oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor” (Zechariah 7:10, WEB). True religion cares for those least able to defend themselves.
- A hardened heart reaps a hard silence. “As he called, and they refused to listen, so they will call, and I will not listen” (Zechariah 7:13, WEB). Persistent refusal to hear God has sobering consequences.
- What was the people's question about fasting, and how does God reframe it (7:3-6)?
- Why does God ask whether they fasted “really to me” (7:5)? What does this reveal about the danger of ritual?
- What does God say he actually desires from his people in verses 9-10?
- What happened to the fathers who “made their hearts as hard as flint” (7:12), and what warning is in this for us?
- Where might your own religious habits be serving yourself more than God or your neighbor?
- They ask a practical question—should they keep up the mourning fasts now that restoration has begun (7:3)? God responds not with a yes or no but by exposing the heart behind the practice: their fasting, like their eating, had largely been for themselves (7:5-6). He shifts the conversation from ritual mechanics to genuine devotion.
- Religious acts can be done out of habit, guilt, or self-interest rather than as worship offered to God (7:5). The danger of ritual is that it can become a substitute for a heart turned toward him. God's question invites honest self-examination about why we do what we do in our worship.
- God recalls the constant demand of the former prophets: execute true justice, show kindness and compassion, and refuse to oppress the widow, fatherless, foreigner, and poor (7:9-10). These are not optional extras but the substance of faithfulness. How we treat the vulnerable reveals whether our religion is real.
- The fathers stopped their ears and hardened their hearts like flint, so great wrath came and they were scattered, leaving the land desolate (7:11-14). The warning is that refusing to hear God is not without cost; persistent hardness leads to a painful silence. It urges us to keep soft, listening hearts today.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to examine whether their devotional practices have drifted into self-focus, and whether their faith bears fruit in mercy and justice toward others. As leader, keep the tone gracious, inviting renewal rather than guilt, and point to the God who delights in compassion.