Zechariah 7: Obedience To God Is Better Than Fasting

Zechariah 7: Obedience To God Is Better Than Fasting

Collin Leong. Feb 3, 2026

(v1-7) Obedience Better Than Fasting

(v1-3) In the 4th year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah. On the 4th day of the 9th month, Chislev, when the people sent Sherezer, with Regem-Melech and his men, to the house of God, to pray before the LORD, and to ask the priests who were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and the prophets, saying "Should I weep in the 5th month and fast as I have done for so many years?"

Exp: The events of this chapter is two years after the events in Chapter 1 to 6, where Zechariah had his first vision in the 2nd year of King Darius. Chislev (also spelled Kislev) is the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, usually falling in late November to December on the Gregorian calendar. So the date of this event was December 518BC. 

In v2, NIV says "The people of Bethel had sent...", whereas ESV didn't mention Bethel. This is due to different choices of their interpretation of the Hebrew manuscripts. These people were representatives sent from Bethel to the Temple in Jerusalem to seek God’s guidance. By 518 BC, the Temple reconstruction was progressing well under Persian rule. The people of Bethel wanted to know if they should continue the ritual fasts that commemorated the destruction of the Temple (e.g., mourning the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC).

(v4-7) Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me: "Say to all the people of the land and the priests, "When you fasted and mourned in the 5th month and in the 7th month, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? And when you eat and drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? Were not these the words that the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with the cities around her, and the South and lowland were inhabited?"

Exp: God was focusing on their fastings during their exile of 70 years. In v7,  God is pointing back to the messages of earlier prophets (like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah). They had already told the people that true obedience meant justice, mercy, and righteousness — not empty ritual. God did not answer their questions directly. He often answers deeper than the surface question, exposing motives and redirecting us to what truly matters. See Zechariah 8:19,  when He turned the fasting of mourning into joy! 

(v8-14) Disobedience Resulted In Captivity

(v8-11) And the word of the LORD said to Zechariah: "Thus says the LORD of hosts, render true judgements, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart." But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they night not hear.

Exp: God is reminding them of the prophets said to them, such as Jeremiah 21:12 - “Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor…”; Jeremiah 7:5–6 – “If you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow… then I will let you dwell in this place.” Isaiah 1:17 - “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” Micah 6:8 – “What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”  But they stubbornly refuse to listen and obey.

(v12-14) They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of host had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts. "As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear," says the LORD of hosts, "and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not know. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate."

Exp: In the scripture, God the Father is the speaker, and the Holy Spirit is the transmitter of the message to the prophets, who then deliver the message or write it down. When Jesus was on earth, He was God's Word - he speaks the same way that God would have spoken. In John 12:49-50, Jesus said: "For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment - what to say and what to speak." However, they hardened their hearts and did not listen, so when the crisis of the war came, God would not listen to them, but sent them away (to Babylon) and their land became desolate. 

Key Messages

Zechariah 7 shifts the focus from ritual fasting to ethical obedience. God is not impressed by outward displays of religion but by hearts that practice justice, mercy, and compassion. The chapter warns against repeating the failures of past generations who hardened their hearts.

1. The Question about Fasting (Zech 7:1–3)

Key Message:

A delegation asks whether they should continue fasting as they had done during the exile. This raises the issue of whether ritual practices are truly what God desires.

Application:

• Religious rituals are meaningless if disconnected from obedience and devotion to God.

• We should examine whether our spiritual practices are motivated by genuine devotion or empty tradition.

• God values sincerity of heart over mere outward observance.

2. God’s Response: Were You Really Fasting for Me? (Zech 7:4–6)

Key Message:

God challenges the people: when they fasted or feasted, was it truly for Him, or for themselves? Their rituals had become self-serving rather than God-centered.

Application:

• Worship must be God-focused, not self-focused.

• Even good practices (fasting, celebration) can become hollow if done for personal gain or reputation.

• We must continually reorient our spiritual disciplines toward honoring God.

3. The Call to Justice and Mercy (Zech 7:7–10)

Key Message:

God reminds them of the earlier prophets’ message: practice justice, show mercy, care for the vulnerable (widows, orphans, foreigners, the poor). Ritual without righteousness is worthless.

Application:

• True religion is expressed in ethical living and compassion.

• Our devotion to God must overflow into how we treat others, especially the marginalized.

• Justice and mercy are inseparable from genuine worship.

4. The People’s Past Rebellion (Zech 7:11–14)

Key Message:

The ancestors refused to listen, hardened their hearts, and ignored God’s word. As a result, God’s wrath scattered them among the nations, leaving the land desolate.

Application:

• Ignoring God’s word leads to spiritual ruin and loss of blessing.

• History warns us against repeating the mistakes of disobedience.

• Listening to God’s voice brings life; rejecting it leads to emptiness and exile (spiritual or literal).