Summary of Zechariah 7:1-7
People from Bethel went to Zechariah to ask him if they should still mourn and fast as they had been doing for years.
God answered by asking the people if their hearts were truly mourning or if they were just going through the motions, and if when they were feasting, if it was just for themselves.
BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 20 Day 2: Zechariah 7:1-7
3)
Time Passed: Approximately two years passed between the first vision (2nd year of Darius, 8th month) and this inquiry (4th year of Darius, 9th month).
What Was Happening:
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Active Construction: When Zechariah began (1:1), the work was just restarting after a 16-year delay (Ezra 5:1-2). By Chapter 7, the rebuilding was in full swing.
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Mid-Way Point: They were roughly halfway through the project. The foundation was laid, and the structure was rising, but it would not be fully finished until Darius’s 6th year (Ezra 6:15).
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Rising Hope: Because the new Temple was becoming a reality, the people began to question if they still needed to fast and mourn over the destruction of the old one.
4a) They asked the priests, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”
b) God didn’t simply answer their question with a yes or a no. He wanted to know if they were truly mourning for Him or for themselves. He wanted them to examine their hearts.
5a) Because religious rituals are easy to do. Anyone can do them. Heartfelt worship and service require work and for us to get uncomfortable and face and admit things we don’t necessarily want to.
b) Many ways. You can truly not be repentant for your sins and therefore continue in your ways rather than grow in a relationship with Christ. God gets the glory, not us.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 20, Day 2: Zechariah 7:1-7
Great stuff! I love how God always knows everything — our motivations, desires, fears, and reasonings. And, I love how God always corrects in His amazing way to get us on the right path for Him!
End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 20, Day 2: Zechariah 7:1-7
Bible scholars put this exact day at December 4, 518 B.C., when the temple was about halfway done.
This fast marked the destruction of the temple (2 Kings 25:8-9). The fast in the seventh month (Zechariah 7:5) remembered the murder of Gedaliah, which was the last act of rebellion against the Babylonian governor of Judah (2 Kings 25:25).
Note that these were all fasts and mournings instituted by the Israelites themselves. The only one God instituted was the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29-34). They had been doing this one for 70 years, so they just kept doing it. Now, they began to wonder why.
And, how long should we mourn our past? With Jesus, this is unnecessary!
God rebuked His people for this show of self-pity rather than actual heart mourning, and for trying to make up for living for themselves the rest of the year.
If it’s not done for God, it’s useless.
END NOTES SUMMARIZED
Zechariah 7:1-7 addresses the emptiness of ritual without relationship.
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The Question: A delegation arrives from Bethel two years into the temple rebuilding. They ask a practical question: “Should we continue to fast and mourn in the fifth month (remembering the Temple’s destruction) as we have done for seventy years?” Since the Temple was being rebuilt, the ritual seemed obsolete.
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The Motive Check: God does not give a simple “yes” or “no.” Instead, He exposes their hearts: “When you fasted… did you really fast for Me?” God reveals that their fasting was actually self-pity, not repentance. They were mourning their loss, not their sin.
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The Comparison: God parallels their fasting with their feasting. When they ate, they did it for themselves (pleasure); when they fasted, they did it for themselves (religious pride/sorrow). God was not the focus of either activity.
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The Reminder: God points them back to the “former prophets.” He implies that if their ancestors had simply obeyed the message of justice and mercy back when Jerusalem was prosperous, these mourning fasts would never have been necessary in the first place.
Conclusion
God looks at the “Why,” not just the “What.” This passage teaches that religious activities—even difficult ones like fasting—are worthless to God if the motive is self-centered. God desires obedience and a heart connection, not just the mindless maintenance of religious traditions.
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SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 19:1-6
