Part 58 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series 

Continuing his study on Zechariah, David Pawson looks at the question brought to the priest/prophet by the people regarding fasting and feasting which were part of their religion. They were wondering how long they needed to go on fasting to please God. Zechariah quoted the enlightening words of Isaiah which show that food fasting is not the principal kind that God requires, but rather ‘fasting’ from mistreating others, and to be generous and kind. The exile had been the result of their selfishness and greed. Regarding their feasts, Zechariah pointed out that they needed to be celebrations of God. He seeks to give them a missionary outlook. Much of what he said in the 2nd half of the book regarded the distant future. David points out that Hebrews 1:1 says: God spoke to our fathers in the olden times through the prophets in bits and pieces. And that describes these prophecies. He says that they were like jigsaw pieces and that Revelation is “the picture on the jigsaw box lid”, fitting the pieces together. One of the pictures Zechariah presents is of a King riding on a donkey which obviously was describing Jesus. Eventually all the nations will send representatives to Israel to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.