Did You Really Fast for Me—for Me?

Zechariah 7:5-6

  • Worship is one of the cornerstones of being a Christian.

    • We know why we worship together—if you don’t we talked about it in a sermon a few weeks ago.

    • But to make the question more personal—why do you worship?

    • We often quote John 4:24, that we “must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

    • But we typically focus on the “truth” part, worshiping in the proper manner according to God’s Word.

    • And that is vitally important! But no less important than worshiping “spirit.”

  • It’s easy for us to come to worship, week in and week out, and just go through the motions.

    • The pandemic has made it easier to do that in some aspects.

    • How many of you get distracted while you’re watching these live streams?

    • It’s not an indictment, just a fact—we have more distractions around us while we’re at home.

    • We also don’t need to take the time to get dressed (though I recommend it. The first time we did this my wife did not dress up, and found it more difficult to worship. Clothes often alter our mindset. You don’t feel like working out if you go to the gym wearing a button-up shirt and a tie).

    • But on top of that, how many of you take the time in your car while you drive to help prepare your mind? Well, that can’t be done now… at least not the same way.

  • The Israelites had a similar problem in Zechariah 7:1-6.

    • They had implemented four fasts during the year while they were in Babylonian Captivity (8:19). Here are the likely reasons …

      • One in the tenth month to mourn the coming of the Babylonian army.

      • One in the fourth month to mourn Jerusalem’s walls breached.

      • One in the fifth month to mourn the burning of the temple.

      • One in the seventh month to mourn the killing of Gedaliah, the governor appointed by the Babylonians which sealed their fate.

    • For 70 years, they were engaged in this practice (7:5).

    • Recall, the only fast they had to observe was during the Day of Atonement, also in the seventh month, but it is not mentioned here.

    • So now the question remained: why were they keeping this fast?

    • Earlier I said it was to mourn, but apparently that’s not the only reason they told themselves.

    • Fasting is often done to show mourning or repentance or devotion.

    • It was the reason they were to fast during the Day of Atonement, to show their contrition and repentance.

    • But the Lord reveals the real reason they have been fasting these 70 years: for themselves, not for God.

    • If they were doing this to show repentance or devotion, then it would have been for God—so the reason must only have been for mourning.

  • What then were they mourning?

    • The loss of their land, their position, their place with God—their pride.

    • Ostensibly, they were showing their repentance, but the Lord reveals that if they were truly penitent, they should have listened long ago (7:7-10).

    • Then they wouldn’t be in this position, having to rebuild after the Babylonians ransacked the place, and we see the reason in 7:11-14.

    • The Lord did promise a return to joy and gladness, and we understand that to be when Christ came (8:19-23).

  • But what’s the point?

    • These Jews that Zechariah was talking to were not fasting with the proper motivation.

    • This is a type of worship—while form was there, the purpose was not.

    • The Lord revealed to them their motivations, but they should have been able to determine them by examining themselves, and doing so honestly.

    • They were told what to do, and so that leads us to have a better understanding of what we should do.

    • While we won’t have the Lord directly revealing to us our motives, we should still be able to pray and carefully examine ourselves to find the truth about where we are.

    • There’s nothing wrong with fasting for personal reasons, but let’s not fool ourselves into thinking it’s for God.

    • When we come together, there’s nothing wrong with socializing with our brothers and sisters in Christ, in fact that’s encouraged.

    • But let’s make sure that’s not the only, or even the main reason we worship or do things in service to our Lord.

    • It must be in spirit and in truth, obeyed from the heart.

    • Let us examine ourselves to make sure that our focus is on Him, even in times like these.