What is the meaning of Zechariah 7:6? And when you were eating and drinking – In context, the people of Judah had set up fasts during the exile (Zechariah 7:3-5). Yet once the hardship eased, their ordinary meals resumed without mindful gratitude to God. – God reminds them that He watches weekday meals just as closely as formal fasts. • 1 Corinthians 10:31 – “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.” • Deuteronomy 8:10 – “When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land He has given you.” • Ecclesiastes 9:7 – “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works.” – The Lord’s first phrase highlights daily life: every bite and sip are potential acts of worship or of self-indulgence. were you not doing so – A rhetorical probe: God leads them to answer, “Yes, we were.” – He exposes the gap between outward activity and inward motive. • Isaiah 29:13 – “These people draw near to Me with their mouths… yet their hearts are far from Me.” • Mark 7:6 – “‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.’” – Their fasts and feasts alike had slid into habit; God asks them to recognize this for themselves. simply for yourselves? – The heart of the accusation: self-centered spirituality. • Romans 14:7-8 – “For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord.” • Philippians 2:3-4 – “Do nothing out of selfish ambition… but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.” • Isaiah 58:3-7 – God rejects fasts that neglect justice and care for others. – God cares less about the calendar of religious events than the orientation of the heart toward Him and neighbor. summary Zechariah 7:6 exposes the emptiness of rituals performed for personal satisfaction rather than for God’s glory. Whether fasting or feasting, the issue is motive: are we centered on ourselves or on the Lord and the good of others? True worship transforms everyday meals into thanksgiving, aligns the heart with God’s purposes, and overflows in love for people. |
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