Do our motives matter to God? Sometimes people get the idea that in the Old Testament, Israel’s relationship with God was simply all about following external rules. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Chapter 7 introduces a new section in the book of Zechariah. We have jumped forward a couple of years. The rebuilding of the Temple is well under way. This situation raises an important question for Israel. A group of Jewish leaders asked the prophet, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” (v. 3). During the exile, the Jewish people had regular periods of fasting and mourning over the destruction of the Temple. The question now was, “With the Temple nearing completion, do we still need to fast?”

This simple question sparks a passionate response from the Lord that will continue through chapter 8. God’s first message was to question the people’s motives for fasting in the first place, “Was it really for me that you fasted?” (v. 5). They had practiced fasting to get something from the Lord, not out of genuine repentance over their sin. There had been no genuine turning to the Lord. There was nothing wrong with their outward act of fasting, but it had not reached their heart.

The evidence for this? They had not obeyed the Law. True repentance requires more than simply fasting and mourning over sin but results in a changed life. Instead of fasting from food, they should have fasted from mistreating the vulnerable around them, “Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor” (v. 10). As followers of Christ, we are also called to have a faith that evidences itself in a changed life.

Donate to Today in the Word: https://give.todayintheword.org/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.