Slices
Prepare
Think through the Christian rituals that you have in your daily, weekly and even annual schedule. Are any of them in danger of being merely empty rituals, rather than spiritually real for you?
Bible passage
Justice and mercy, not fasting
7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord 3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, ‘Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?’
4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5 ‘Ask all the people of the land and the priests, “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?”’
8 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty said: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.”
11 ‘But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.
13 ‘“When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,” says the Lord Almighty. 14 “I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one travelled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.”’
Explore
A couple of years had passed since the night visions (see 1:7,8). Now, a group of Jews travel 12 miles from Bethel to ask a question. They had been fasting in mourning for the old Temple in specific months of the year for decades. Was it now time to stop?
The question was turned back on them by Zechariah. Had they been mourning, or even feasting (per the Jewish calendar), for God, or for themselves (vs 5,6)? Were their rituals a reflection of spiritual reality? God’s call to them was clear. ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another’ (v 9). He wanted the evil oppression of the vulnerable to stop (v 10).
In fact, back before the exile, the prophets had warned them, but they had not softened their hearts to God’s message. That was why the nation had needed to go into exile in the first place. It is clear that God is not satisfied by rituals that are not backed up with a heartfelt spiritual reality that shows itself in the life of the community.
Respond
What practical demonstration of an inner spiritual reality could you show to others in these days? Spiritual rituals can be satisfying, but they need to flow into real action too.
Deeper Bible study
… what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’1
Two years after his visions, and with the Temple half-completed,2 Zechariah received from God a new word for the people. In exile, the Jews had added four extra fast days to their calendar.3 Two are mentioned here – one in the fifth month (v 3), marking the destruction of Solomon’s Temple,4 and another in the seventh month (v 5) commemorating the murder of Gedaliah, Nebuchadnezzar’s appointed governor over conquered Judah.5 People wondered: now the exile was over and building work on the new Temple was well under way, should they still observe these fasts? Zechariah delivers a challenging response from God…
Had those fasts not been mere expressions of self-pity rather than genuine manifestations of repentance and concern for God’s glory? Were they not empty rituals that failed to disguise the real cause of the exile in the first place – the sinful rebelliousness against which the pre-exilic prophets had, alas in vain, constantly warned them?6 The message voiced by those prophets was still applicable – man-centred religiosity was no substitute for God-honouring righteousness, issuing in the practice of ‘justice … mercy and compassion’ (v 9).
In my early years of church-planting ministry in Paris, a British Christian commented to me that what French believers needed was more church meetings! Besides the fact that the Parisian work rhythm made that impossible, my dear friend failed to realise that living out our lives in a way that promotes ‘justice, mercy and compassion’ is as valid an expression of worship to God as attendance at church services. Genuine devotion to him is to be displayed as much in the workplace and in the home as in the house of prayer! Need more convincing? Read James 2:14–17!
‘Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words’ is a saying attributed to Francis of Assisi! Pray today for Christians evangelising by both word and deed!
1 Mic 6:8 2 Cf Hag 1:1; Ezra 6:15 3 Zech 8:19 4 Cf 2 Kings 25:8,9 5 2 Kings 25:22–26 6 Isa 58; Amos 5:21–24; Mic 6:6–8
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ruth 1,2; Mark 8
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for Local Mission Partner Scripture Union Ministries Trust on the Isle of Man as they seek to recruit new team members and gap-year students to meet the many needs of the schools on the island against a background of tighter border controls. Pray that the right people will be found and will fit in well.
