EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
Zechariah 7:1-14
God remembers his promises
Zechariah
Gordon Churchyard
Chapter 7
v1 The word of the *LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the 9th month (called) Kislev. This happened in the fourth year that Darius was the king (of Persia). v2 The (people that lived) in Bethel had sent men (to Jerusalem). (The men were) Sharezer, Regem-melech and the people that were with them. They came to ask the *LORD (a question). v3 They asked the priests in the house of the *LORD of Everything and they asked the *prophets (this). ‘Should I be sad and be separate (from people) in the fifth month? I have done this for many years.’ v4 Then the word of the *LORD of Everything came to me. (The *LORD) said, v5 ‘Ask all the people from the country (near Bethel). And (ask) the priests this (question). For the last 70 years, you did not eat food and you were sad. But did you really (do it) for me? You did not eat food (on particular days) in the 5th and 7th months. v6 When you ate, surely you ate for yourselves. And when you drank, surely you drank for yourselves. v7 These are the words that the *LORD spoke by the earlier *prophets. (He said these things) while people (lived) in peace and *prosperity in Jerusalem. Also, (he said them) while people still lived in cities near Jerusalem and the Negev and the Shephelah regions.’
v8 And the word of the *LORD came to Zechariah. (He must) say, v9 ‘The *LORD of Everything says this: You must give judgement with *justice and truth. And each man must show kind love and pity to other people. v10 Also, (he says), do not *oppress the widow and the *orphan. (And do not *oppress) foreigners and poor people. And in your hearts do not think evil things about each other.’ v11 But they refused to listen (to the earlier *prophets). They would not change their ways. And they turned their backs (on what *LORD teaches). And they refused to listen. v12 And they made their heart (as hard as) a stone. And they would not listen to the law nor to the words that the *LORD of Everything sent (to them). (He sent these words) by his Spirit to the earlier *prophets. So, the *LORD of Everything was very angry. v13 ‘When I called them, they did not hear. So, when they called me, I did not listen.’ (This is what) the *LORD of Everything is saying. v14 ‘Like a strong wind, I scattered them among all the nations. They were strangers there. Behind them, the land was wild and empty so nobody could even come or go (through it). This is how they made the pleasant land wild and empty.’
Notes
Verse 1 This was December 5, 518 *B.C. The people had almost rebuilt the *temple. Perhaps the priests were already burning animals to offer to God.
Verses 2, 3 This is a very difficult verse to translate. The *Hebrew Bible says, ‘He sent Bethel Sharezer and Regem-melech and his men to ask the *LORD.’ Who was ‘he’? Bible students suggest:
• ‘He’ means ‘the people of Bethel’, as in our translation. Bethel was a town nearly 20 kilometres north of Jerusalem. When Israel divided from Judah, the people of Israel went to Bethel and Dan to *worship instead of to Jerusalem. 1 Kings 12:27-29 tells us this. Ezra 2:28 tells us that 223 *Jews went back to Bethel from Babylon. Perhaps ‘he’ in this verse means them.
• ‘He’ was Darius, the King of Persia. This is unlikely, as it means that we must leave out the end of verse 1.
• ‘He’ was a man called Bethel Sharezer. History students have found a man with this name in old papers from Babylon. He lived in Babylon at the time of Zechariah. Also, history students have found that Regem-melech is the name for an official from the king.
So, perhaps king Darius sent an official called Bethel Sharezer to Jerusalem. Ezra 7:7-9 tells us that it took about 3 months to travel from Babylon to Jerusalem. There was a *fast in the 5th month. If the official left Babylon at that time, then he would arrive in Jerusalem 3 or 4 months later. This agrees with verse 1. A *fast is when people do not eat food for reasons of religion. During this *fast, the people remembered when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586 *B.C. There were 4 *fasts that remembered this:
• 9th day of 4th month: Nebuchadnezzar’s men destroyed the walls of Jerusalem, Jeremiah 39:2;
• 5th month: Nebuchadnezzar’s men destroyed the *temple, 2 Kings 25:8;
• 7th month: murder of Gedaliah, 2 Kings 25:25; Jeremiah 41:1;
• 10th day of tenth month: Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem, 2 Kings 25:1; 2 Kings 25:2; Jeremiah 39:1.
So some Bible students say that the men did not come from Bethel. They could travel to Jerusalem in one day. Instead, *Jewish leaders in Babylon sent people to ask if they should keep the *fasts. People were now rebuilding Jerusalem, with its walls, its houses and its *temple. The important thing is not who asked the question. Rather the important point was what Zechariah answered. The answer was true for everyone, whether they lived in Jerusalem, Bethel or Babylon!
In order to ask their question, the men burned animals at the *temple as a gift to God. This was how they asked God questions in those days. The answer would come from a priest or a *prophet.
Verse 3 The ‘many years’ would be the time from 586 *B.C. to the time of Zechariah, 518 *B.C.
Verse 5 Zechariah mentions all 4 *fasts. See:
• Zechariah 8:18, the fourth month;
• Zechariah 7:3 and Zechariah 8:18, the fifth month;
• Zechariah 7:5 and Zechariah 8:18, the 7th month; and
• Zechariah 8:18, the 10th month.
The 7th month *fast was for the murder of Gedaliah. Perhaps it was (also) for the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur (a *Jewish special day). In this verse, the *Lord asks them why they kept these *fasts. In other words, what was their real reason? Was it to please God, or to please themselves? The ‘people in the country’ are those from Bethel, unless they are from Babylon. (See note on verses 2, 3). The *Lord’s answer would be true for all *Jews, wherever they lived.
Verse 6 We do not know how long they *fasted for (ate no food). Perhaps it was just for one day. Perhaps, like Muslims today, it was only in daylight hours. In this verse, the *Lord answers the question in verse 5. Whenever the people ate, they were eating to please themselves. And their fasts were also for their own benefit. The people were merely doing whatever they wanted to do. They were not trying to please God.
Verse 7 So the people were still trying to please themselves. God reminded them about his words by the earlier *prophets. These *prophets had warned the people about God’s punishment before it happened. The prophets warned the people because they were not obeying God’s laws. Instead, the people were doing whatever pleased them. Now, many years later, the people were still doing whatever pleased them. But God had not changed. He still wanted them to obey him.
The Negev was the region south of Jerusalem. The Shephelah was the country between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean Sea. Some Bible students think that an editor added verse 8 later. If he did, then ‘the earlier *prophets’ are those whose words are in verses 9-10. But the *Lord may be referring to what Isaiah said about *fasts in Isaiah 58:3.
Verses 9-10 These verses remind us of the words of the earlier *prophets Hosea, Amos and Micah. They include 4 important Bible words:
• justice (mishpat in *Hebrew): to do the things that are fair and right, especially in the courts.
• truth (emet). We should not merely speak the truth. We must also do the right things.
• kind love (or *covenant love, or *mercy) (chesed): the *covenant was the agreement between God and his people. *Mercy means kindness when you do not have to be kind.
• pity (racham): the same attitude that a mother has when she looks after her child.
God’s answer (by Zechariah) was this. Your religion does not matter if you do not obey God’s rules. These are God’s rules: *justice, truth, kind love (*mercy) and pity. We call this ‘social *justice’. In other words, everybody should do what is fair and right to everybody else. The foreigners may have been *refugees. These are people that run away from their own countries because of difficulties there.
Verses 11-12 Because there was no social *justice in earlier times, God punished his people. He sent Israel to *exile in Assyria. He sent Judah to *exile in Babylon. ‘Turned their backs’ is a way to say ‘they did not listen’. It is hard to make a mark on a stone. God, by Zechariah, means here that he could not make a mark on (or impress) his people. He could not make them change their minds. And he could not make them obey him. They did not want social *justice. Even God’s Spirit, by the earlier *prophets, did not make them obey him. So, God was very angry.
Verses 13-14 Because God was angry, he scattered his people. Some went to Assyria in about 720 *B.C. Some went to Babylon in about 600 *B.C. Perhaps some went to other places. When his people had left their land, it was desolate. ‘Desolate’ means that nobody remained in the land. So the land became wild. There were no farmers to grow crops. There were only weeds and wild animals. It was not now a pleasant land.
Something to do
1. Look for the words *justice, truth, kind love and pity in Hosea, Amos, Micah and Isaiah. Write them in the following *table:| Verse | Important Bible word | What it means |
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2. Pray for social *justice in our world. Do what you can to help poor people, widows, *orphans and *refugees.
3. Read what the *New Testament says about *fasts. Look at Matthew 6:16-18; Acts 10:30; Acts 14:23; 1 Corinthians 7:5; 2 Corinthians 11:27.
4. Learn to say Zechariah 7:9-10 by heart. (‘By heart’ means that you do not look at the words.)
lord ~ someone in authority; ‘my lord’ means ‘sir’. With a capital L, a name for God.LORD ~ the covenant name for God that his servants use.
covenant ~ an agreement. God’s covenant with his people was a special agreement.
prophet ~ someone who tells people what God is saying.
prosperity ~ plenty of everything.
justice ~ to do the things that are fair and right, especially in the courts.
oppress ~ be very unkind to someone, often to get money.
orphan ~ a child without parents.
temple ~ a special house for God (in Jerusalem) or a house for false gods (in places like Babylon).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
worship ~ to tell someone that you love them and you will obey them.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
fast ~ a sad time when you eat no food for reasons of religion.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to a Jew.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
lord ~ someone in authority; ‘my lord’ means ‘sir’. With a capital L, a name for God.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God that his servants use.
covenant ~ an agreement. God’s covenant with his people was a special agreement.
covenant ~ an agreement. God’s covenant with his people was a special agreement.
mercy ~ kindness to someone, especially when you do not have to be kind to them.
mercy ~ kindness to someone, especially when you do not have to be kind to them.
refugees ~ people that leave their own countries because of difficulties there.
exile ~ away from home; or, a person that lives away from home. ‘In exile’ means away from home.
table ~ a number of boxes to show information clearly.'New Testament ~ the second part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after Jesus came.