Deeper Commentary
Zechariah Chapter 7
Zechariah 7:1 It happened in the fourth year of king Darius that the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev- We note the usage of Babylonian forms for the months, reflecting how deep was the assimilation of the Jews into Babylonian language and culture. The temple work would be completed two years later (Ezra 6:25). But it was not at all on track to complete a temple according to the specifications required in Ez. 40-48, hence this prophecy of encouragement.
Zechariah 7:2 The people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem Melech, and their men, to entreat Yahweh’s favour- The people of Bethel were amongst the first to return to the land and rebuild their own houses, whilst leaving God's house unfinished, as Hag. 1:3,4 laments. 223 of them returned in Ezra 2:28, and another 123 at the time of Neh. 7:32. "Regem Melech" is a mixture of an Assyrian and Hebrew word, implying 'friend of the king'. Again we see how deeply assimilated the Jews had become. "Sharezer" likewise reflects this, equivalent to the Assyrian Sar-usur or Asur-sar-usur, "Asur protect the King"; and it was the name of one of Sennacherib's sons (2 Kings 19:37).
Zechariah 7:3 And to speak to the priests of the house of Yahweh of
Armies, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month,
separating myself, as I have done these so many years?- Weeping
implied fasting (Neh. 1:4; Joel 2:12). This fast had been established to
remember the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the
burning of the temple in that month (2 Kings 25:8,9; Jer. 52:12,13). They
had instituted several other such fasts and feasts (see on Zech. 8:19).
The only fast required by God was that on the day of atonement on the
tenth day of the seventh month. That fasting was intended to elicit
repentance; and it was exactly that which was lacking in Judah. Instead
they had fasted basically out of self pity, lamenting their national
judgment as a tragedy, but without personal repentance.
Zechariah 7:4 Then the word of Yahweh of Armies came to me, saying-
The question was used as an opportunity to call Judah to deeper
repentance, and there are several answers given to the question as to
whether they should continue their self-imposed fasts of Zech. 7:3, each
introduced by this same rubric "Then the word of Yahweh of Armies came to
me, saying".
Zechariah 7:5 Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests,
saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month
for these seventy years- As explained on Zech. 8:19, the Jews had
instituted a fast in the seventh month, to mourn the murder of Gedaliah
(Jer. 41:1,2). But this had eclipsed the fast of the seventh month which
God required- on the day of atonement, to mourn their personal sins and
seek His atonement.
Did you actually fast to Me, really to Me?- God's answer is
that they hadn't really fasted for Him. They'd fasted, publically
appearing to love the temple and the idea of a restored Kingdom... but in
reality they had not done it
for God, but somehow for themselves. And the challenge echoes
to us today; we can go through all manner of religious ritual when it is
effectively to ourselves and not to God.
Zechariah 7:7 Aren’t these the words which Yahweh proclaimed by the
former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and its
cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’-
The point was that it was whilst the Jews were in prosperity formerly that
they were so far from God and needed the radical call to repentance made
by the former prophets. The returned exiles had been motivated by a desire
for personal gain, and were bitterly disappointed by the drought and poor
harvests (see on Hag. 1 and Malachi). The idea was that even if they
attained prosperity, they would still be in sin. Bethel was one of the
"cities" in view, and the answer was being given to the delegation from
there (:2).
Zechariah 7:8 The word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying- See
on :4.
Zechariah 7:9 Thus has Yahweh of Armies spoken, saying, ‘Execute true
judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother-
Zechariah 7:10 Don’t oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor- The implication is that the returned exiles were committing the same sins as Judah had done before the exile. They were no better than their fathers, and the earlier prophetic criticisms of them still applied to this later generation. This is demonstration enough of how God's word is a living word and speaks to subsequent generations rather than solely to the initial audience; and that is surely why the relevant prophetic words have been preserved for us in the Bible. Thus prophetic appeals to Old Testament Israel are quoted in the New Testament as being directly to us.
And let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart’- LXX "Let none of you remember in your hearts the malice of your brother". This balances the first half of the verse, which criticizes those in power. If it were only the sins of a minority which were in view, then the judgment of the entire community would have been inappropriate. But remembering the malice of our more powerful brothers is just as much a sin as the oppression of the weak by the strong. Here again we see a major message in a minor prophet.
Zechariah 7:11 But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and
stopped their ears, that they might not hear- This quotes Nehemiah's
words of warning to the returned exiles in Neh. 9:29. There are three
progressive positions described here. They refused to listen, then turned
their backs upon the warnings of the prophets, and then psychologically
turned off their hearing. This same downward spiral is observable in human
beings of all ages.
Zechariah 7:12 Yes, they made their hearts as hard as flint- Like
a diamond. The same figure is used in Ez. 3:9, meaning to be
psychologically unimpressable by anything other than what we already
believe in our hearts. Hence LXX "They set their heart disobedient".
In case they might hear the law, and the words which Yahweh of Armies had sent by His Spirit in the previous prophets- The human mind can resist the Holy Spirit, powerful as that Spirit is. Otherwise, we would not have freewill. We wonder why people are apparently deaf to God's word. It's not merely busyness with life, or inability to intellectually grasp what it says. There is a psychological basis for all apparent intellectual failure; and that basis is that they do not want to hear and face God's demands.
Therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of Armies- The invading, desolating armies had been those of Yahweh, controlled by His Angelic armies, as previous visions in Zechariah have made clear.
Zechariah 7:13 It has come to pass that, as He called, and they
refused to listen, so they will call, and I will not listen, said Yahweh
of Armies- "They" as in the former generation were already dead. But
as noted on :10, God's word is a living word. Just as the former
generation had refused to listen to God's call, so the present generation
would call to God and God would not listen. Our attitude to God's call to
us in His word is reflected in how He responds to our calls to Him in the
words of our prayers. Prayer and our attitude to God's word are therefore
related. As He calls to us and we respond, so we call to Him and He
responds; or doesn't respond, according to our lack of response to Him.
And yet Zechariah's generation were calling out for increased prosperity;
and were having no response. Because they were not hearing His word about
restoring the Kingdom. The delegation from Bethel (:2) had come calling to
God for an answer. And there was no yes / no answer as they sought.
Zechariah 7:14 But I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the
nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them,
so that no man passed through nor returned: for they made the pleasant
land desolate- We note the mixing of tenses; "I will
scatter... the land was desolate". This is explicable once we
grasp the principle explained on :10 and :13 (see too on Zech. 8:9); God
had called to a previous generation of Judah through the prophetic word,
and they had refused to respond. And so the land had been desolated. But
that same call came to the current generation; and they too would be
scattered. But God was so gracious with the returned exiles; that
scattering took centuries to happen, until the temple was again destroyed
and the Jews scattered in AD70. We note that the desolation of the land
was because they had made the land "desolate". The judgments were
a reflection of what they themselves had done. And it was a "pleasant
land", Heb. a land of desire- God's desire was to reestablish His Kingdom
there, but they made no use of that huge potential.
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