The Piety of the Hard Heart Text: Zechariah 7:1-7
Introduction: The Danger of Dead Ritual
We live in an age that is deeply religious, but it is a religion without God. Men are inveterately religious creatures; if you chase the true God out, they will not become contented secularists. They will simply erect new idols, invent new liturgies, and establish new fasts. Our culture fasts from plastic straws to save the planet, and it feasts on self-affirmation to save the ego. The problem is not a lack of religious impulse; the problem is that this impulse is directed inward. It is a closed loop. Man becomes both the worshiper and the worshiped, and the result is a piety that is both exhausting and entirely useless.
This is not a new problem. It is the ancient problem of the human heart, which is a factory of idols. And it is the problem that confronts us here in the seventh chapter of Zechariah. The exiles have returned from Babylon, the foundation of the Temple has been laid, and the work of rebuilding is underway. Things are looking up. And so, a delegation comes with what appears to be a very pious and sincere question. They want to know if they should continue a religious tradition, a fast, that they had established during the dark days of the exile. They want to make sure they are doing the right thing. They are asking a question about the calendar.
But God does not answer their question. Instead, He asks a question of His own, and His question cuts right through the pious exterior to the diseased heart of the matter. They were asking about the propriety of their ritual, and God was asking about the object of their worship. They were concerned with the "what" and the "when." God was concerned with the "why" and the "for whom." This is always the central issue. It is possible to do all the right things, to check all the religious boxes, to maintain a rigorous schedule of spiritual disciplines, and to do it all for yourself. It is possible for your piety to be nothing more than a spiritual selfie.
God's word through Zechariah here is a bucket of ice water thrown on the warm, sleepy comfort of self-serving religion. It is a warning that applies with just as much force to us today as it did to the returned exiles. We must constantly be asking ourselves God's question: when we do what we do, is it actually for Him?
The Text
Now it happened that in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev.
And the town of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to entreat the favor of Yahweh,
speaking to the priests, who belong to the house of Yahweh of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, "Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?"
Then the word of Yahweh of hosts came to me, saying,
"Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?
And when you eat and when you drink, are you not eating for yourselves and are you not drinking for yourselves?
Are not these the words which Yahweh called out by the hand of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and at ease along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the Shephelah were inhabited?'"
(Zechariah 7:1-7 LSB)
A Question About the Calendar (vv. 1-3)
We begin with the historical setting and the seemingly devout question.
"Now it happened that in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. And the town of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to entreat the favor of Yahweh, speaking to the priests, who belong to the house of Yahweh of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, 'Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?'" (Zechariah 7:1-3)
The date is precise: two years after the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah had spurred the people to resume work on the Temple. Progress is being made. The word of Yahweh is active. Into this scene comes a delegation. And notice where they come from: Bethel. This should immediately set off alarm bells. Bethel means "house of God," but it had a notorious history. It was one of the two centers of Jeroboam's apostate calf-worship that split the kingdom (1 Kings 12:29). It was a place famous for religious innovation and syncretism. And now, men from Bethel come to the priests and prophets in Jerusalem to "entreat the favor of Yahweh."
Their question is about a fast. "Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?" During the seventy years of exile, the Jews had established four annual fasts to commemorate the tragic events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem. The fast in the fifth month remembered the destruction of the Temple (2 Kings 25:8-9). Now that the Temple is being rebuilt, they want to know if they should keep mourning. On the surface, it sounds reasonable. They are asking for liturgical guidance.
But look at the framing of the question. "Shall I weep... as I have done." Their focus is on their own activity, their own tradition. This was not a fast commanded by God in the law of Moses. The only divinely commanded fast was on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:27). This was a man-made tradition, born out of their sorrow. And while there is a place for such mourning, their question reveals that the practice had become an end in itself. They are asking for a ruling on their tradition, not seeking the face of God in repentance. They are more concerned with getting the ritual right than with getting their hearts right. They are polishing the brass on a sinking ship.
God's Surgical Question (vv. 4-6)
God does not give them a yes or no answer. Instead, He redirects the entire conversation from the practice of fasting to the purpose of worship.
"Then the word of Yahweh of hosts came to me, saying, 'Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, "When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? And when you eat and when you drink, are you not eating for yourselves and are you not drinking for yourselves?"'" (Zechariah 7:4-6)
Notice that God broadens the audience. The question came from Bethel, but the answer is for "all the people of the land and to the priests." This is a systemic problem. The Lord's question is one of the most penetrating in all of Scripture: "was it actually for Me that you fasted?" The implied answer is a thunderous "No."
Their fasting was an elaborate act of self-pity. They mourned the loss of their Temple, their nation, their comfort. They wept for their own sad state of affairs. But had they truly mourned over the sin and idolatry that caused the judgment? God is saying that their seventy years of religious observance were entirely self-referential. It was about them. It was for them. It was a performance for their own benefit, to make themselves feel better about their tragic circumstances, or perhaps to feel piously miserable.
And then God turns the tables in verse 6. It is not just their fasting; their feasting is the same. "When you eat and when you drink, are you not eating for yourselves and are you not drinking for yourselves?" Whether they were being ascetic or indulgent, the center of the circle was always themselves. Their lives were a closed economy of self-interest. This is the essence of sin. True worship, whether in sackcloth or at a banquet, is about God. It is directed to Him, for His glory. Paul nails it down for the new covenant: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). Their religion, both the sad parts and the happy parts, was godless. It was a ritual with a vacuum at the center.
The Consistent Prophetic Word (v. 7)
To show them that this is no new standard, God points them back to their own history. He reminds them of the message they should have already known.
"Are not these the words which Yahweh called out by the hand of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and at ease along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the Shephelah were inhabited?'" (Zechariah 7:7)
God's response is, in effect, "Have you learned nothing?" This is the same message I sent to your fathers through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Micah. This is not some new, higher standard. This has always been the standard. When your fathers were living in prosperity, "when Jerusalem was inhabited and at ease," they were given the same choice. The prophets of old told them plainly what God required.
What were those words? "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6). Or consider Isaiah's blistering critique of their fasting: "'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it?'... In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exploit all your laborers" (Isaiah 58:3). God has always been clear that He is not interested in external rituals that are detached from a heart of faith, which necessarily produces a life of justice and mercy.
Jesus says the same thing to the Pharisees, who were the direct spiritual descendants of these people. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness" (Matthew 23:23). The problem is perennial. Man will always prefer the manageable religion of ritual over the messy, demanding, all-of-life religion of true faith and obedience. Your fathers ignored this message, and their prosperous land became a ruin. And now you, standing in those ruins, are in danger of making the exact same mistake, just with a different set of man-made rules.
Conclusion: Who Is It For?
The question from Bethel hangs in the air in every church in the world. We come with our questions about methods, programs, traditions, and styles. Should we do this? Should we continue that? And God's word cuts through it all with His foundational question: "Who is it for?"
Is your Christian life for you? Is it about your spiritual growth, your emotional well-being, your personal fulfillment, your sense of being a good person? Is church a place you go to get your needs met? Is your quiet time a way to center yourself for the day? If so, then whether you fast or you feast, you are doing it for yourself. You are the idol in your own temple.
The gospel smashes this self-referential piety. The gospel declares that you are a sinner whose best religious performances are as filthy rags before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). You cannot entreat the favor of Yahweh on your own terms. The favor of Yahweh came to us on His terms, in the person of His Son. Jesus Christ lived a life that was perfectly and completely "for God." He is the only one who ever did. And on the cross, He offered Himself as the only sacrifice that God would ever accept.
Therefore, true Christianity begins not with our performance for God, but with receiving His performance for us, by faith. When we are united to Christ, His life becomes ours. And only then can our lives begin to be truly for God. Our fasting is no longer a grim attempt to earn favor, but a joyful expression of our dependence on Him. Our feasting is no longer mere self-indulgence, but a grateful celebration of His provision. All of life is reoriented away from the self and toward the glorious God who saved us.
So let us take God's question to heart. Let us examine our worship, our service, our prayers, our eating, our drinking, our everything. Let us repent of our Bethel-hearted religion, which is always for us. And let us, by His grace, learn to do all things for the glory of the Father, through the Son, and by the power of the Spirit.