Zechariah 7    This is two years after Zechariah delivered his first message. 

Some men from Bethel came to Jerusalem to pray. They had a question for the priests, "Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?"  The exile had lasted 70 years, just as Jeremiah had prophesied.  But, now the remnant had returned and the temple was under construction.. so, should the people observe the fast  that commemorated the burning of the temple and city by Nebuchadnezzar?

The Lord does not answer this question right away.  He has a few other things to say first, " Ask all the people of the land and the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?'"  Neither of these fasts were part of God's appointed fasts or feasts.  Not only were they self-imposed, but the Lord rebukes them, saying, "And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?"   The Bible Knowledge commentary calls this a "rebuke.. against empty formalism". 

The problem.. the Lord says.. is the same one that their predecessors had before the exile.. they were practicing external "religious" rituals.. but their hearts were as "hard as flint".. just like their fathers.  Their inward spiritual lives.. their hearts... are what really needs changed, not their fasts... " This is what the Lord Almighty said, ' Administer true justice, show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against one another."

The same message that was given in the days before the exile.. the same message that was ignored by hard hearted and stubborn people.. the same message that is given to those in Zechariah's day.. is the same message that we need to hear.  Are we practicing "empty formalism"?  Are the things we do in His Name really for Him?  Or are we doing these things for ourselves?  What is going on in our hearts?

The Lord was angry with Israel and sent them into exile. "When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen, says the Lord Almighty."  There is a vital lesson to be learned!  

Father in heaven, You see our hearts and You know our motives.  Expose those things that are done out of our self-imposed religious practices and forgive us for having hard hearts. Open our ears to hear You call.. that we might truly listen.. that we might humble ourselves in repentance.. that You might bring us into true worship and true service.  May we do justice, show mercy, have compassion, and help those in need. May we truly love our neighbors as ourselves.  Help us to be all that You desire us to be.. in Christ Jesus, by the power of His Spirit in us.  In His mighty name we pray. Amen.