What is the meaning of Zechariah 7:3? by asking the priests The delegation from Bethel knew where to take their concern: to the ordained ministers of God’s law. Priests were charged with teaching (Malachi 2:7) and settling matters of conscience (Deuteronomy 17:8-10). Coming to them showed respect for the order God had established around worship and judgment (Haggai 2:11). • The people recognized that personal feelings about spiritual disciplines must be tested by God’s revealed will, not popular opinion (Leviticus 10:10-11). • Their approach reminds us that clarity about any practice—fasting, giving, serving—should flow from Scripture, not self-made tradition (2 Chronicles 17:9). of the house of the LORD of Hosts This phrase centers the inquiry on the covenant God who rules every army of heaven and earth (Psalm 24:10). The temple was His chosen dwelling (1 Kings 8:29), the place He promised to hear prayers (2 Chronicles 7:15-16). • By bringing the question there, the delegation effectively submitted it to the living Presence, not just to human leaders (Psalm 84:10). • The rebuilt temple’s rising walls made the question urgent: if God’s judgment had ended, should the fast commemorating that judgment continue (Haggai 1:8; Zechariah 4:9)? as well as the prophets They did not rely on priestly ritual insight alone; they also sought the Word of the LORD through His spokesmen (Ezra 5:1-2). Priests preserved law; prophets applied it to the moment (Jeremiah 18:18). • This combination echoes earlier reforms when both offices worked together (2 Kings 23:2). • Prophets had already called post-exilic Judah to repent (Zechariah 1:4-6). Including them acknowledged that heart motives matter as much as outward practice (Isaiah 1:11-17). “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month The fifth-month fast marked the destruction of Solomon’s temple on the seventh and tenth day of that month (2 Kings 25:8-9; Jeremiah 52:12-13). Weeping and fasting were fitting responses to national sin (Lamentations 1:16; Joel 2:12-13). • Yet God had often questioned fasts done without sincere obedience (Isaiah 58:3-6). • Jesus later affirmed that fasting has value when focused on God, not display (Matthew 6:16-18). • The question here: now that restoration was underway, did the lament still belong? as I have done these many years?” For roughly seventy years—from 586 BC to Zechariah’s day (Zechariah 1:12; Jeremiah 25:11-12)—the people had kept this fast. What began as heartfelt grief risked becoming rote tradition (Hosea 6:6). • Longevity alone doesn’t make a practice pleasing to God (Mark 7:7-9). • God would soon reply that justice, mercy, and compassion outweigh ritual mourning (Zechariah 7:8-10). • Later He promised to turn these fasts into joyous feasts when hearts aligned with His truth (Zechariah 8:19). summary Zechariah 7:3 records a sincere, time-tested devotion—fasting for the temple’s fall—being laid before priests and prophets in God’s house. The question exposes a timeless principle: spiritual disciplines must remain anchored to God’s present word and purpose. Tradition, however long-standing, must yield to fresh obedience. When God moves from judgment to restoration, His people are called to move with Him—from mourning to joy, from empty ritual to living righteousness. |
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