Zechariah 7:1–14

7:1 A third and final dating formula introduces this section (cf. 1:1, 7 and comments). Now Darius is titled “King,” subtly reminding the readers and hearers that even though the temple reconstruction is under way (and was completed by the time the book of Zechariah was written), the people of God are still living under a foreign power. The “fourth year of King Darius . . . on the fourth day of the ninth month” is December 7, 518 BC. This is almost two years after the night visions of chapters 1–6 and two years before the temple is completed (cf. Ezra 6:14–16). “Chislev” is a Babylonian month name (cf. comment on Zech. 1:7).

7:2 The city of Bethel was located about 12 miles (20 km) north of Jerusalem. Before the exile it was part of the northern kingdom (1 Kings 12:29–33; Hos. 10:15; Amos 3:14), but afterward it appears to have been part of Judah (Ezra 2:28; Neh. 7:32). A delegation headed by Sharezer and Regem-melech is sent by the people of Bethel “to entreat the favor of the LORD,” that is, to seek God’s favor in the aftermath of the exile. This is a foretaste of what other cities will do in Zechariah 8:20–21.

7:3 As part of seeking the Lord’s favor, the delegation also seeks an answer to an important question from the religious leaders in Jerusalem (the temple priests and the prophets). The priests were responsible for instructing the people in the Torah (e.g., Deut. 31:9; Hag. 2:11; Mal. 2:6–7) and determining God’s will (e.g., Ex. 28:30; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8). The prophets were also responsible for giving guidance in God’s ways. Interestingly, it is the prophet Zechariah who answers the delegation’s question. Reference to more than one prophet (“prophets”) suggests the presence of Haggai also, though he is not named here (but cf. Ezra 6:14).

The delegation’s question concerns the need to continue to “weep and abstain in the fifth month.” The verb “weep” is often associated with penitence and lamentation over sin and seeking God’s favor (e.g., 2 Sam. 12:21–22). In the context of Zechariah 7:5, it is clear that “abstain” refers to fasting. Fasting “in the fifth month” is one of the four fasts mentioned in 8:19, and this one is believed to recall Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of the temple in 586 BC (2 Kings 25:8–9). With the temple reconstruction in Jerusalem nearing its completion, it was appropriate for the delegation to ask if they must continue to mourn and fast in Bethel. If God has turned to his people with mercy (Zech. 1:16), why the continued need to fast?

7:4–5 The word of God that comes to Zechariah in response to the delegation’s question cuts to the heart of their motives. The prophet poses a series of three questions “to all the people of the land and the priests” (v. 5)—their question has implications beyond the city of Bethel.

The first question of Zechariah extends also to the fast of the “seventh” month, which apparently commemorated the assassination of Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar appointed governor (2 Kings 25:25). The reference to seventy years is to the time of exile and temple desolation prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer. 25:11–12; 29:10; cf. Zech. 1:12).¹ God asks, “Was it for me that you fasted?” (7:5). This question challenges the people about their motives in fasting. Fasting without obedience to God is hypocritical (Isa. 58:3–6).

7:6 A second question asks if they eat and drink (presumably at their religious festivals, such as Passover, Weeks, Booths/Tabernacles) for God or for their own benefit. The implication of the question is that their motives have been selfish and insincere.

7:7 A third question asks if their behavior is consistent with the words the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets. As in 1:4, the expression “former prophets” here refers to prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel who proclaimed that a relationship with God and obedience to his word is more important than religious ritual (e.g., Isa. 1:10–11; 58:3–6; Jeremiah 7; Joel 2:12–13; Mic. 6:6–8). The delegation had asked about fasting, and Zechariah reminds them that the Lord is much more interested in relationship and obedience to his word. The words of the “former prophets” are still very relevant.

Zechariah reminds the people of an earlier time, “when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous,” a time that was lost because the people refused to listen to God’s word proclaimed by the “former prophets” (cf. Zech. 1:4). The prosperity was also shared by “her cities around her” and further afield. The “South” (or “Negeb”) was located about 50 miles (80 km) south of Jerusalem. It was used for grazing and agriculture and was also an important trade route. Under Solomon, Israelite control extended through this region (1 Kings 9:26). The “lowland” (or “Shephelah”) refers to the tract of low hills between the high central ranges of Judea and the coastal plains. Zechariah implies that these regions are not inhabited as they were in preexilic times, and that the need for obedience to God’s word is as great as it was then. He effectively asks them if they have learned the needed lessons from the exilic experience.

7:8–10 God summarizes the heart of the message of the “former prophets” (cf. 1:4) and states that he values justice more than religious rituals like fasting (e.g., 1 Sam. 15:22–23; Amos 5:21–27; Mic. 6:7–8). There are many parallels in these verses to Jeremiah’s temple sermon (in Jeremiah 7), where Jeremiah repudiates the idea that temple service provides impunity from the consequences of unethical behavior.

“Render true judgments” (Zech. 7:9) is broader than simply ruling faithfully in legal cases, though it certainly includes this (cf. 8:16–17). This phrase can also be translated “judge true justice,” which is first and foremost found in God and the rightness of his ways (Deut. 32:4; Ps. 89:14). “Justice” is often paired with “righteousness,” and together they constitute an ethical ideal for God’s people described also as keeping “the way of the LORD” (e.g., Gen. 18:19). Justice also represents right relationships as enshrined in the covenant God made with Israel at Sinai, encompassing “kindness and mercy” (Zech. 7:9; cf. Jer. 9:24; Hos. 2:19; 12:6). Justice also means not oppressing the weak and vulnerable—“the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor” (Zech. 7:10; cf. Isa. 1:17; Jer. 7:6). Furthermore, justice is not merely external acts but extends to thoughts and motivations: “Let none of you devise evil against another in your heart” (Zech. 7:10), where the “heart” is the seat of the will in Hebrew thought. God’s people are to judge or determine what is right and true in all their relationships—and then do it!

7:11–12 The ancestors’ refusal to obey God’s words is stated in four ways: (1) “they refused to pay attention” (cf. Jer. 7:24; Zech. 1:4); (2) they “turned a stubborn shoulder,” using the image of an animal that refuses the yoke (e.g., Ex. 32:9; Jer. 7:24); (3) they “stopped their ears that they might not hear,” indicating a willful refusal (cf. Isa. 6:10; Zech. 1:4); and (4) “they made their hearts diamond-hard” (Zech. 7:12; cf. Jer. 6:28; 17:1; Ezek. 3:7–9; 11:19).

God’s words to the community came by the law and the prophets (cf. Mal. 4:4–6). Zechariah 7:12 also clearly links the words of the prophets with the agency of God’s Spirit (cf. 4:6; Ezek. 11:5; Mic. 3:8). Their fathers’ rejection of God’s word led to their rightly experiencing his “great anger” (Zech. 7:12). The exile as God’s anger at those who continued to refuse him reiterates the introduction of the book (cf. 1:2). The consequences of this anger are elaborated in 7:13–14.

7:13 Because the people refused to listen to God and continued in their unjust ways, God shut his ears to their prayers. The implication is that they asked God for things only when it suited them—they treated him as their servant, further insulting him.

7:14 The result was that God “scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations.” The verb “scatter” conveys the idea of being blown by the wind of a storm. Although a different verb is used here, this echoes the covenant curse of “scattering” (Lev. 26:31–33; Deut. 28:64). It refers to exile and dispersion among the nations—those whom “they had not known.”

The prosperous situation referred to in verse 7 is undone: “the land they left was desolate, . . . the pleasant land was made desolate.” That “no one went to and fro” suggests a lack of security, travel, and trade. While it was God who scattered the people in judgment, the people bore responsibility through their refusal to listen to God’s word. God is sovereign in judgment, and the people bear responsibility for their sin.