The exiles are coming from 70 years of fasting and mourning. They've been practicing all the external behaviors of mourning for their sin, and they're wondering if their return to the Promised Land means they can finally put away their mourning and sorrow. But has their fasting really been about mourning their sin? Are they truly repentant for breaking their covenant with God? If we only read chapter 7, we'd see the Lord questioning and challenging his people. Praise God for chapter 8 which highlights that God, in his kindness and mercy, would turn their fasting into feasting!