TEXT [Commentary]

  III.   Zechariah’s Messages (7:1–8:23)

A.   A Call to Justice and Mercy (7:1-14)

1 On December 7[*] of the fourth year of King Darius’s reign, another message came to Zechariah from the LORD. 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech,[*] along with their attendants, to seek the LORD’s favor. 3 They were to ask this question of the prophets and the priests at the Temple of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “Should we continue to mourn and fast each summer on the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction,[*] as we have done for so many years?”

4 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies sent me this message in reply: 5 “Say to all your people and your priests, ‘During these seventy years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in early autumn,[*] was it really for me that you were fasting? 6 And even now in your holy festivals, aren’t you eating and drinking just to please yourselves? 7 Isn’t this the same message the LORD proclaimed through the prophets in years past when Jerusalem and the towns of Judah were bustling with people, and the Negev and the foothills of Judah[*] were well populated?’”

8 Then this message came to Zechariah from the LORD: 9 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. 10 Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.

11 “Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing. 12 They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the LORD of Heaven’s Armies was so angry with them.

13 “Since they refused to listen when I called to them, I would not listen when they called to me, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 14 As with a whirlwind, I scattered them among the distant nations, where they lived as strangers. Their land became so desolate that no one even traveled through it. They turned their pleasant land into a desert.”

NOTES

7:1 December 7 of the fourth year of King Darius’s reign. This is the last date formula in the book of Zechariah. It places the two sermons (chs 7–8) almost two years after the vision section of the book (1:7–6:15). It is possible that the date formula refers primarily to the timing of the delegation seeking answers to questions on fasting (7:2-7), rather than the synopses of the prophet’s messages.

7:2 people of Bethel. The exact meaning of the opening clause of 7:2 is uncertain due to the corruption of the MT (cf. NLT mg). Either the “people” of the town of Bethel sent a delegation to Jerusalem to seek a ruling on the continuation of the fast day now that a second Temple would soon be erected, or a delegation headed by a man name Bethel-Sharezer from some unknown place (perhaps on behalf of a constituency of Hebrews still in Babylonia) came to Jerusalem seeking a priestly ruling on the fast day (see discussion in Baldwin 1972:142-143).

to seek the LORD’s favor. The idiom lekhalloth ’eth-pene [TH2470B/6440, ZH2704/7156] (to soften the face) refers to a ritual act that entailed asking God to grant a petition or make a ruling on a question (cf. 1 Kgs 13:6). It probably included some kind of sacrifice or offering (see the discussion in Meyers and Meyers 1987:384).

7:3 the prophets and the priests at the Temple. It appears that the priests and prophets had complementary roles during the early postexilic period, and the reference suggests both groups were centered at the second Temple. This explains why the delegation posing questions about the fast days of the Hebrew calendar were sent to Jerusalem for a ruling. No doubt Haggai and Zechariah were numbered among those identified as “prophets.”

fast each summer. The fast day held on the ninth day of Ab (July/August), the fifth month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar, lamented the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC (see 2 Kgs 25:8-10).

7:5 seventy years of exile. According to the prophet Jeremiah, the Babylonian exile would last for 70 years (Jer 25:11-12; 29:10). The 70-year exile is linked to the Sabbath-year rest for the land that apparently went unobserved for nearly 500 years (2 Chr 36:21). If the Babylonian exile is reckoned from the captivity of Daniel (605 BC) until the decree of King Cyrus of Persia, which permitted captive people groups to return to their homelands (539 BC), then the figure 70 rounds off an actual 66-year exile.

fasted . . . in the summer and in early autumn. The early autumn fast held during the seventh month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar (Tishri, or September/October) lamented the assassination of Gedaliah, the governor of Judah (2 Kgs 25:22-26; cf. Jer 41:1-3. See also the note on 7:3).

7:7 Negev . . . foothills of Judah. The Negev is a triangular shaped region south of Judah running from Gaza in the west to Beersheba in the east and down to Kadesh-Barnea in the south. Pastoral nomads herded flocks in the Negev during the rainy season. The western foothills (or shephelah) lay between the hill country of Judah and the Mediterranean coast. The land was productive agriculturally, especially for grain and groves of olive trees and sycamore fig trees. (Cf. Deut 1:6-8, which lists the geographical regions of Palestine.)

7:8 this message came. On the prophetic word formula, see note on 1:1.

7:10 Do not oppress. In contexts emphasizing social justice, the word “oppress” (‘ashaq [TH6231, ZH6943]) means to mistreat or exploit those people on the margins of society (e.g., the widow, the orphan, the resident alien, slaves, and the poor), who often did not have access to the same legal protection afforded the average citizen (cf. Deut 24:14, 17-18). The issues of fasting (7:5-6) and social justice are linked in Isaiah’s call for true fasting (Isa 58:6).

7:11 refused to listen. The word (ma’an [TH3985, ZH4412]) essentially means to ignore orders, whether verbal or written (as in Yahweh’s covenant stipulations; cf. Jer 11:10).

stubbornly turned away. This idiom, lit., “to set a defiant shoulder” (nathan [TH5414, ZH5989] + kathep sorareth [TH3802/5637, ZH4190/6253]; cf. Meyers and Meyers 1987:402), signifies a haughtiness that belies an unabashed recalcitrance (cf. Neh 9:29).

put their fingers in their ears. The word here (kabed [TH3513, ZH3877], Hiphil stem) means to “make dull” or “be insensitive” and places full responsibility upon the people for their obstinacy (cf. Isa 6:10). The same expression is used of Pharaoh when he “hardened his heart” against God and refused to release the Hebrews (Exod 8:32, NIV).

7:12 hearts as hard as stone. To make the heart “stony” is to steel one’s own will against the will of God. The word (shamir [TH8068A, ZH9032]) is rare in the OT and may be a word for diamond, the hardest substance known (cf. Jer 17:1; Ezek 3:9). Meyers and Meyers (1987:402) note that the first and third phrases in the series of four phrases ending here (“refused to listen . . . as stone”; 7:11-12) feature terms used to describe Israel’s hearing, the second to its body (“turned away”), and the fourth to the heart or will. The four expressions taken together (7:11-12a) paint preexilic Israel and Judah as incorrigibly rebellious. The pattern of four statements characterizing the Hebrew defiance of God and his covenant may have a literary parallel in the four precepts characterizing God’s ethical standards for Israelite social life given in 7:9-10.

instructions. This word (torah [TH8451, ZH9368]) refers to the laws and commandments of the Mosaic covenant as taught and interpreted by the prophets.

7:14 As with a whirlwind, I scattered them. This form of the verb sa‘ar [TH5590, ZH6192] (Piel stem) occurs only here in the OT. The word calls to mind the word picture from Hosea of the Israelites being scattered like chaff in the whirlwind of exile (Hos 13:3). The scattering of the Hebrews among the nations was one of the curses associated with the violation of the Mosaic covenant (cf. Deut 28:36-37, 64).

pleasant land . . . desert. The “pleasant land” (khemdah [TH2532, ZH2775]) was the land of God’s covenant promise (Ps 106:24; Jer 3:19). This reversal of fortune was divine judgment for covenant unfaithfulness in the form of idolatry (cf. Jer 12:10).

COMMENTARY [Text]

Craigie (1984:189) is probably correct in his understanding that chapters 7 and 8 represent excerpts from messages or sermons preached by Zechariah and, as such, they convey a “patchwork quilt” of his thought and theology. The first sermon condenses to two messages the questions concerning fasting (7:1-7) and the reflection upon Israel’s failure to practice social justice in the preexilic period of Hebrew history (7:8-14). Craigie (ibid.) characterizes chapter 8 as “an anthology of the prophet’s sayings from different places and varying times.” The two chapters are united by questions related to the topic of fasting (posed in 7:2-7 and answered in 8:18-19) and the theme of social justice (7:8-10; 8:16-17). In this regard, Zechariah stands in the tradition of preexilic prophets like Isaiah and Amos who also championed social justice concerns (cf. Isa 1; Amos 5).

The question of whether to continue observing a day of fasting to mourn the destruction of Solomon’s Temple was posed to the priests and prophets by the delegation from Bethel and was of practical concern (7:2-3). They asked if the near completion of the second Temple made the fast lamenting the destruction of the first Temple unnecessary. Zechariah’s formal answer to the question was delayed (cf. 8:18-19); instead, the prophet responded with questions of his own (7:4-7). Each rhetorical question was intended to drive home the point that whether in their fasting or feasting the people were engaged in self-centered rather than God-centered activity (7:6). Craigie (1984:192) has rightly observed that the “prophet emphasizes the folly of remembering an event if that remembrance is divorced from an understanding of the event.”

Zechariah calls us to rediscover the difference between the “holy day” and the “holiday.” The holy day celebrates and commemorates in communal worship (whether festive or solemn and penitential) the mighty deeds of God in the history of his people. The focus of the holiday, by contrast, is essentially the suspension of work routines to enable individuals to enjoy the present moment—“having a good time now.” The Christian celebration of a holy day is not determined by the presence of a red number on the calendar. Rather, it is a biblically informed posture toward God’s involvement in time and history, toward divine mystery and divine revelation in space and time.

In addition to his rhetorical questions countering the query about fasting (7:4-7), the prophet offered a remedy to the self-pleasing worship and lifestyle that characterized the people (7:8-10). As an alternative to the ethos of self-interest, Zechariah outlined God’s expectations for Israelite society with four precepts: two exhortations and two admonitions (7:9-10; cf. Jer 22:3). The directives to “judge fairly” and to “show mercy and kindness” (7:9) anticipate Paul’s instruction to “take an interest in others” and not just one’s own affairs (Phil 2:4).

To “judge fairly” meant legal officials were to refuse bribes and hear cases and settle disputes on their merits alone (cf. Deut 10:17; Amos 5:12). More broadly, it also meant society as a whole had responsibilities as peacemakers and as a collective social conscience (cf. Lev 19:15). To “show mercy” (khesed [TH2617, ZH2876]) “and kindness” (rakhamim [TH7356, ZH8171]) was to live in such a way that attitudes of love and loyalty prompted acts of kindness and generosity (cf. Deut 15:10-11; Ps 37:21). These words are covenant terms, rooted in the character of God and embedded in the treaty he established with Israel at Mount Sinai through Moses (cf. Deut 7:9; 30:16). It was there that God ordained the Hebrew people as his “kingdom of priests” to serve the Lord and each other (Exod 19:6).

The injunctions against exploiting the weak and plotting evil schemes against others (7:10) call to mind the second great commandment taught by Jesus—to love your neighbor as you love yourself (Matt 22:39; cf. Lev 19:18, 34; Deut 10:19). Treating others with respect both dignifies them as people made in God’s image and honors God as the Creator of all (cf. Prov 17:5; 19:17; 22:2). These representative ethical standards extracted from the Mosaic law were the “legislative glue” that bonded the covenant community together as the people of God. The recitation of the failure of their Hebrew ancestors to heed similar prophetic calls to social justice served as a veiled threat to Zechariah’s audience—history, even the catastrophe of Babylonian exile, was repeatable (7:11-14).

Like Micah, Zechariah affirmed the role of the Holy Spirit as the divine agent behind the messages of the Hebrew prophets (7:12; cf. Mic 3:8). Nehemiah also credited to the Spirit of God the sermons of instruction and warning preached by the prophets (Neh 9:30). This is why the messages that came to Zechariah are understood as words “from the LORD” (7:4, 8). Reflecting on the ministry of the Old Testament prophets, Peter stated: “no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding. . . . No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God” (2 Pet 1:20-21). The Spirit of God and the Old Testament prophetic ministry were vitally linked because it is “through the Spirit prophets are called, inspired, transported, motivated . . . to accomplish their difficult tasks within the nation” (Hildebrandt 1995:27).