Zechariah 7:6

"“Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to me?"

Key Reflection

Zechariah 7:6 challenges the people of Judah regarding their fasting practices during the Babylonian exile and subsequent return to Jerusalem. The verse questions whether these prolonged fasts were truly directed toward God, or if they were merely self-serving observances. This query reflects a deeper concern about the sincerity and authenticity of religious practices in light of the dire circumstances faced by the Israelites. The cultural context highlights the importance of genuine devotion over mere ritualistic observance, emphasizing that true piety should be reflective of one's heart toward God rather than just external acts.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

And when ye eat and when ye drink, is it not ye who eat and ye who drink? -Conversely now that, after your return, ye feast for joy, this is no religious act; ye have all the good of it, there is no thanksgiving to God. Contrary to the apostle’s saying, “Whether ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glow of God”1 Corinthians 10:31. “He eateth and drinketh to himself, who receiveth the nourishments of the body, which are the common gifts of the Creator, without the needy. And anyone fasts to himself, if he doth not give to the poor what for the time he withdraweth from himself, but keepeth it to be thereafter offered to his appetite. Hence, it is said by Joel, sanctify a fast.

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