Charles Spurgeon Commentary Zechariah 7
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
Zechariah 7
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
Zechariah 7
"And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah in the fourth [day] of the ninth month, even in Chislev." — Zechariah 7:1 (ASV)
God's prophets were not always in the Spirit, and when the Word of God came to them, it was a notable day, and they marked it in their diary. I think that we, too, who are not prophets can remember some special time when God's Word was especially precious to us. We can put down "the fourth day of the ninth month."
"Now [they of] Beth-el had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to entreat the favor of Jehovah, [and] to speak unto the priests of the house of Jehovah of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?" — Zechariah 7:2-3 (ASV)
On that day, the Jews had kept a fast to commemorate the terrible calamity that happened to the temple in the time of Nebuchadnezzar. Now, these people were living far away in Babylon, and it occurred to them that, since the temple was now being rebuilt and Jerusalem was restored, it was a question whether they should keep that fast any longer; it was not kept by divine command. It was a fast of their own invention, and the question was whether they should not abandon it, now that things had changed so much; so they sent messengers to the temple to inquire of the priests and the prophets, and to pray to God Himself. When we have a difficult question lying on the conscience, it is good to settle it, and not allow it to rest on the heart unsatisfied.
"Then came the word of Jehovah of hosts unto me, saying, Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh [month], even these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?" — Zechariah 7:4-5 (ASV)
There is the point. You can fast to self. You can fast to your own pride. If we have no thought of honouring God in our fasting, there is nothing in it. The question is, Did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
"And when ye eat, and when ye drink, do not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?" — Zechariah 7:6 (ASV)
If a holy feast is not kept with a view to God, it is not kept at all.
It is a feast to yourselves. You have missed the mark altogether.
"[Should ye] not [hear] the words which Jehovah cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?" — Zechariah 7:7 (ASV)
Well, what was that word? Zechariah has it fresh from God, and he states it.
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