S) "5 Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?'"
Zechariah 7:5 (NASB)
O) There were some men who came to Zechariah from Bethel. They were inquiring of the LORD, as to whether or not they should continue fasting, as they had been doing so, now that the exile was over (see v.2-4). Then God gives His answer to Zechariah, but He challenges their fasting as it was, regardless of whether or not it continues. Again, the LORD cut to the real issue, the heart issue. The people wanted to know if their behavior should continue, but their Father God was much more concerned with the posture of their hearts.
A) Certainly, this passage is brings conviction about how I am to fast. However, limiting this passage, by applying it to fasting alone, would be a mistake. Any act of devotion or worship, without a genuine and humbled heart, is just that: an act. God is not interested in religious rites. He wants sincere hearts. He is not interested in circumcised flesh, but circumcised hearts, and this is not a new issue by any means (see Deuteronomy 10:15-17). Particular to fasting, this means that my fasting is useless if, while I am fasting in the flesh, my heart and mind and strength are still spent on myself, devoted to things other than my Lord's will, serving things that have nothing to do with my reasons for fasting in the first place. God is asking, with this passage, for me to examine my own motives, and to repent if necessary, so that I am not profaning a holy discipline.
P) Father, it is such a blessing to have a God who ordains and prescribes methods for relationship with You. Through grace alone, You reached out to a rebellious people, to me a rebel of rebels, in order that I might learn how to be Your adopted son. You give me the tools and disciplines for growth in our relationship, teaching me how to know You better, how to communicate with You more effectively, all the while You change my heart within me to love You more deeply and completely. What a joy, to take part in that gracious change! Let me not waste even a single breath, going through motions and following by rote. Open my eyes to see, and carefully consider, every act of devotion. Help me examine my own heart, to prayerfully understand the motives of my worship. Prepare my heart, each day, to receive Your words as I study them, so that I am bearing fruit according to Your will. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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