Zechariah 7-8 “Putting Up Appearances”

READ: Zechariah 7-8

Verses chosen for meditation: Zechariah 7:2-6

² Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord, ³ saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: ⁵ “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? ⁶ And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?

REFLECT

Zachariah’s ministry was when the Jews were under Persian rule (after they overpowered the Babylonians), during which the exiles were allowed to return to Judah and rebuild the Temple (Ezra 1-2). The Temple, symbolising the presence of God among God’s people, was an important rallying point. After many years in exile, they started the Temple building project with relish.

However, hiccups and challenges eventually led to loss of enthusiasm, halting the project. This was until King Darius took over the throne, with his royal decree (Ezra 6) removing any obstacle to the Temple building. Zachariah then rebuked and encouraged the people to restore the Temple, as part of restoring their relationship with God.

Amidst this rebuild, God was more interested in addressing His people’s hearts. What have they learnt during their time in exile? In v2-3, we see 2 delegates representing God’s people, asking if they should continue fasting in the fifth month, a tradition they held for 70 years in exile. This fast commemorated the destruction of the house of God in the fifth month, and now that the temple’s almost complete, should they stop fasting?

Interestingly, God only commanded His people to observe 1 fast day, the “Day of Atonement” (Leviticus 16:29-34). The people instead increased their own burden by adding 4 more fast days, including this one they were asking about. Instead of getting the essence of why they do what they do, they focussed more on the outward showmanship of religious piety. God replied via Zachariah in v4-6, getting the people to reflect whether their show of piety was more for themselves or for Him.

RELATE

Despite the seemingly faithful act, God rebuked them, as their fasting was done more to pity themselves, for the pain and shame they experienced during the fall of Jerusalem, rather than for repentance as it was due to their own sins that led to the fall.

The fast served only to remind them that they suffered much in captivity, but did not remind of how they should change their ways. It made them prouder, thinking they were suffering and doing pious acts for God, when it should have the opposite effect of humbling themselves to depend more on God.

What the people did is so true to life. First is the tendency to burden ourselves, in our religious practices, to appear pious before God. God never intended worship for Him to be a chore, meeting an exhaustive list of to-dos. Humans, however, like to presume for God what’s appropriate and sufficient. In doing so, it leads to 3 undesirable outcomes:

1) Emphasis on the practices over the heart of practising them.

2) Judging others for not meeting certain requirements, when God never had such requirements.

3) Portraying an inaccurate image of God, making people misunderstand that God is only interested in whether we tick a checklist of religious practices.   

Second is how we can use religious acts to bring attention to ourselves instead of God. True fasting and mourning comes from genuine inward grief and a decision to repent of sin. The people’s fasting, were instead self-glorifying. God likened their piousness to their habit of eating and drinking for themselves in v6. The contrasting verse can be seen in 1 Corinthians 10:31, where we should do everything, including eating and drinking, for the glory of God.

What God wants is authenticity from our hearts. We need not come to church putting up appearances, to behave in certain ways so that people think we are holy. That doesn’t mean we come any way we want, especially when it’s disrespectful. But why we may put up appearances is because it’s much easier to look the part, than to prepare for these acts by coming with a humble posture that wants to listen and respond to what God says via the worship service.  

Some things God is looking for, can’t be substituted by form. Mere attendance means nothing if it lacks reverence and proper preparation to meet God. Being kind, patient and humble in church on Sundays mean nothing if we are completely different persons the rest of the week outside church. Having great knowledge in the word means nothing, if there’s no genuine response to what that word teaches. Let’s prioritise working at our hearts, letting the pious acts flow naturally from the gratefulness of our hearts.

REST

Dear Lord, let us admit that hypocrisy lies in all of us. To some extent, we display a form of holiness that does not reflect our heart conditions. May this confession make us more sensitive to your spirit’s teaching, replacing appearances with genuine worship. Amen.

Chris Chong