We
have done with the visions, but not with the revelations of this book; the
prophet sees no more such signs as he had seen, but still "the word of
the Lord came to him." In this chapter we have, I. A case of conscience
proposed to the prophet by the children of the captivity concerning fasting,
whether they should continue their solemn fasts which they had religiously
observed during the seventy years of their captivity, ver. 1-3. II. The
answer to this question, which is given in this and the next chapter; and
this answer was given not all at once, but by piece-meal, and, it should
seem, at several times, for here are four distinct discourses which have all
of them reference to this case, each of them prefaced with "the word of
the Lord came," ver. 4-8 and ch. viii. 1, 18. The method of them is
very observable. In this chapter, 1. The prophet sharply reproves them for
the mismanagements of their fasts, ver. 4-7. 2. He exhorts them to reform
their lives, which would be the best way of fasting, and to take heed of
those sins which brought those judgments upon them which they kept these
fasts in memory of, ver. 8-14. And then in the next chapter, having searched
the wound, he binds it up, and heals it, with gracious assurances of great
mercy God had yet in store for them, by which he would turn their fasts into
feasts.
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An
Enquiry Concerning Fasting; Hypocrisy Reproved.
B. C. 520.
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1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of
king Darius, that the word of the LORD
came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even
in Chisleu; 2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer
and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,
3 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the
LORD
of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month,
separating myself, as I have done these so many years? 4 Then
came the word of the LORD
of hosts unto me, saying, 5 Speak unto all the people of the
land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth
and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto
me, even to me? 6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did
drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 Should ye not hear the words which the LORD
hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in
prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men
inhabited the south and the plain?
This occasional sermon, which the prophet preached, and which is recorded in
this and the next chapter, was above two years after the former, in which he
gave them an account of his visions, as appears by comparing the date of
this (v. 1), in the ninth month of the fourth year of
Darius, with the date of that (ch. i. 1), in the eighth month of the
second year of Darius; not that Zechariah was idle all that while (it is
expressly said that he and Haggai continued prophesying till the
temple was finished in the sixth year of Darius; Ezra vi. 14, 15), but
during that time he did not preach any sermon that was afterwards published,
and left upon record, as this is. God may be honoured, his work done, and
his interest served, by word of mouth as well as by writing; and by
inculcating and pressing what has been taught, as well as by advancing
something new. Now here we have,
I. A case proposed concerning fasting. Some persons were sent to enquire of
the priests and prophets whether they should continue to observe their
yearly fasts, particularly that in the fifth month, as they had done. It is
uncertain whether the case was put by those that yet remained in Babylon,
who, being deprived of the benefit of the solemn feasts which God's
ordinance appointed them, made up the want by the solemn fasts which God's
providences called them to; or by those that had returned, but lived in the
country, as some rather incline to think, because they are called the people
of the land, v. 5. But, as to that, the answer given to the
messengers of the captive Jews might be directed, not to them only, but to all
the people. Observe,
1. Who they were that came with this enquiry--Sherezer and Regem-melech,
persons of some rank and figure, for they came with their men, and
did not think it below them, or any disparagement to them, to be sent on
this errand, but rather an addition to their honour to be, (1.) Attendants
in God's house, there to do duty and receive orders. The greatest of men are
less than the least of the ordinances of Jesus Christ. (2.) Agents for God's
people, to negotiate their affairs. Men of estates, having more leisure than
men of business, ought to employ their time in the service of the public,
and by doing good they make themselves truly great; the messengers of the
churches were the glory of Christ, 2 Cor. viii. 23.
2. What the errand was upon which they came. They were sent perhaps not with
gold and silver (as those, ch. vi. 10, 11), or, if they were,
that is not mentioned, but upon the two great errands which should bring us
all to the house of God, (1.) to intercede with God for his mercy. They were
sent to pray before the Lord, and, some think (according to the usage
then), to offer sacrifice, with which they offered up their prayers.
The Jews, in captivity, prayed towards the temple (as appears Dan. vi. 10);
but now that it was in a fair way to be rebuilt they sent their
representatives to pray in it, remembering that God had said that his house
should be called a house of prayer for all people, Isa. lvi. 7. In
prayer we must set ourselves as before the Lord, must see his eye
upon us and have our eye up to him. (2.) To enquire of God concerning his
mind. Note, When we offer up our requests to God it must be with a readiness
to receive instructions from him; for, if we turn away our ear from hearing
his law, we cannot expect that our prayers should be acceptable to him. We
must therefore desire to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our
life that we may enquire there (Ps. xxvii. 4), asking, not only,
Lord, what wilt thou do for me? but, Lord what wilt thou have me to do?
3. Whom they consulted. They spoke to the priests that were in the house
of the Lord and to the prophets; the former were an oracle for ordinary
cases, the latter for extraordinary; they were blessed with both, and would
try if either could acquaint them with the mind of God in this case. Note,
God having given diversities of gifts to men, and all to profit with, we
should make use of all as there is occasion. They were not so wedded to the
priests, their stated ministers, as to distrust the prophets, who appeared,
by the gifts given them, well qualified to serve the church; nor yet were
they so much enamoured with the prophets as to despise the priests, but they
spoke both to the priests and to the prophets, and, in consulting both, gave
glory to the God of Israel, and that one Spirit who works all in all.
God might speak to them either by urim or by prophets (1 Sam.
xxviii. 6), and therefore they would not neglect either. The priests and the
prophets were not jealous one of another, nor had any difference among
themselves; let not the people then make differences between them, but thank
God they had both. The prophets did indeed reprove what was amiss in the
priests, but at the same time told the people that the priest's lips
should keep knowledge, and they must enquire the law at his mouth,
for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts, Mal. ii. 7. Note, Those
that would know God's mind should consult God's ministers, and in doubtful
cases ask advice of those whose special business it is to search the
scriptures.
4. What the case was which they desired satisfaction in (v. 3): Should
I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many
years. Observe, (1.) What had been their past practice, not only during
the seventy years of the captivity but to this time, which was twenty years
after the liberty proclaimed them; they kept up solemn stated fasts for
humiliation and prayer, which they religiously observed, according as their
opportunities were, in their closets, families, or such assemblies for
worship as they had. In the case here, they mention only one, that of the
fifth month; but it appears, by ch. viii. 19, that they observed four
anniversary fasts, one in the fourth month (June 17), in remembrance
of the breaking up of the wall of Jerusalem (Jer. lii. 6), another in the
fifth month (July 4), in remembrance of the burning of the temple
(Jer. lii. 12, 13), another in the seventh month (September 3), in
remembrance of the killing of Gedaliah, which completed their dispersion,
and another in the tenth month (December 10), in remembrance of the
beginning of the siege of Jerusalem, 2 Kings xxv. 1. Now it was very
commendable in them to keep those fasts, thus to humble themselves under
those humbling providences, by which God called them to weeping and
mourning, thus to accommodate themselves to their troubles, and prepare
themselves for deliverance. It would likewise be a means of possessing their
children betimes with a due sense of the hand of the Lord gone out against
them. (2.) What was their present doubt-whether they should continue these
fasts or no. The case is put as by a single person: Should I weep?
But it was the case of many, and the satisfaction of one would be a
satisfaction to the rest. Or perhaps many had left it off, but the querist
will not be determined by the practice of others; if God will have him
continue it, he will, whatever others do. His fasting is described by his weeping,
separating himself. A religious fast must be solemnized, not only by
abstinence, here called a separating ourselves from the ordinary lawful
comforts of life, but by a godly sorrow for sin, here expressed by weeping.
"Should I still keep such days to afflict the soul as I have
done these so many years?" It is said (v. 5) to be seventy
years, computed from the last captivity, as before, ch. i. 12. The
enquiry intimates a readiness to continue it, if God so appoint, though it
be a mortification to the flesh. [1.] Something is to be said for the
continuance of these fasts. Fasting and praying are good work at any time,
and do good; we have always both cause enough and need enough to humble
ourselves before God. To throw off these fasts would be an evidence of their
being too secure, and a cause of their being more so. They were still in
distress, and under the tokens of God's displeasure; and it is unwise for
the patient to break off his course of physic while he is sensible of such
remains of his distemper. But, [2.] There is something to be said for the
letting fall of these fasts. God had changed the method of his providences
concerning them, and returned in ways of mercy to them; and ought not they
then to change the method of their duties? Now that the bridegroom has
returned, why should the children of the bride-chamber fast? Every
thing is beautiful in its season. And as to the fast of the fifth month
(which is that they particularly enquire about), that, being kept in
remembrance of the burning of the temple, might seem to be superseded rather
than any of the other, because the temple was now in a fair way to be
rebuilt. But, having long kept up this fast, they would not leave it off
without advice, and without asking and knowing God's mind in the case. Note,
A good method of religious services, which we have found beneficial to
ourselves and others, ought not to be altered without good reason, and
therefore not without mature deliberation.
II. An answer given to this case. It should seem that, though the question
looked plausible enough, those who proposed it were not conscientious in it,
for they were more concerned about the ceremony than about the substance;
they seemed to boast of their fasting, and to upbraid God Almighty with it,
that he had not sooner returned in mercy to them; "for we have done it these
so many years." As those, Isa. lviii. 3, Wherefore have we
fasted, and thou seest not? And some think that unbelief, and distrust
of the promises of God, were at the bottom of their enquiry; for, if they
had given them the credit that was due to them, they needed not to doubt but
that their fasts ought to be laid aside, now that the occasion of them was
over. And therefore the first answer to their enquiry is a very sharp
reproof of their hypocrisy, directed, not only to the people of the land,
but to the priests, who had set up these fasts, and perhaps some of
them were for keeping them up, to serve some purpose of their own. Let them
all take notice that, whereas they thought they had made God very much their
debtor by these fasts, they were much mistaken, for they were not acceptable
to him, unless they had been observed in a better manner and to better
purpose.
1. What they did that was good was not done aright (v. 5): You
fasted and mourned. They were not chargeable with the omission or
neglect of the duty, though it was displeasing to the body (thy fasts were continually
before me, Ps. l. 8), but they had not managed them aright. Note, Those
that come to enquire of their duty must be willing first to be told of their
faults. And those that seem zealous for the outside of a duty ought to
examine themselves faithfully whether they have the regard they ought to
have to the inside of it. (1.) They had not an eye to God in their fasting: Did
you at all fast unto me, even to me? He appeals to their own
consciences; they will witness against them that they had not been sincere
in it, much more will God, who is greater than the heart and knows all
things. You know very well that you did not at all fast to me; in fasting
did you fast to me? There was the carcase and form of the duty, but none
of the life, and soul, and power of it. Was it to me, even to me? The
repetition intimates what a great deal of stress is laid upon this as the
main matter, in that and other holy exercises, that they be done to God,
even to him, with an eye to his word as our rule, and his glory as our end,
in them, seeking to please him and to obtain his favour, and studious by the
sincerity of our intention to approve ourselves to him. When this was
wanting every fast was but a jest. To fast, and not fast to God, was to mock
him and provoke him, and could not be pleasing to him. Those that make
fasting a cloak for sin, as Jezebel's fast, or by it make their court to men
for their applause, as the Pharisees, or that rest in outward expressions of
humiliation while their hearts are unhumbled, as Ahab, do they fast to
God, even to him? Is this the fast that God has chosen? Isa. lviii. 5.
If the solemnities of our fasting, though frequent, long, and severe, do not
serve to put an edge upon devout affections, to quicken prayer, to increase
godly sorrow, and to alter the temper of our minds and the course of our
lives for the better, they do not at all answer the intention, and God will
not accept them as performed to him, even to him. (2.) They had the same eye
to themselves in their fasting that they had in their eating and drinking (v.
6): "When you did eat, and when you did drink, on other days
(nay, perhaps on your fast-days, in the observation of which you could, when
you saw cause, dispense with yourselves, and take a liberty to eat and
drink), did you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? Have
you not always done as you had a mind yourselves? Why then do you now
pretend a desire to know the mind of God? In your religious feasts and
thanksgivings you have had no more an eye to God than in your fasts."
Or, rather, it refers to their common meals; they did no more design the
honour of God in their fasting and praying than they did in their eating and
drinking; but self was still the centre in which the lines of all their
actions, natural, civil, and religious, met. They needed not be in such care
about the continuance of their fasts, unless they had kept them better.
Note, We miss our end in eating and drinking when we eat to ourselves and
drink to ourselves, whereas we should eat and drink to the glory of God
(1 Cor. x. 31), that our bodies may be fit to serve our souls in his
service.
2. The principal good thing they should have done was left undone (v.
7): "Should you not hear the words which the Lord has cried by the
former prophets? Yes, that you should have done on your fast-days; it
was not enough to weep and separate yourselves on your
fast-days, in token of your sorrow for the judgments you were under, but you
should have searched the scriptures of the prophets, that you might
have seen what was the ground of God's controversy with your fathers, and
might have taken warning by their miseries not to tread in the steps of
their iniquities. You ask, Shall we do as we have done, in fasting? No, you
must do that which you have not yet done; you must repent of your sins and
reform you lives. This is what we now call you to, and it is the same that
the former prophets called your fathers to." To affect them the more
with the mischief that sin had done them, that they might be brought to
repent of it, he puts them in mind of the former flourishing state of their
country: Jerusalem was then inhabited and in prosperity, that
is now desolate and in distress. The cities round about, that are now
in ruins, were then inhabited too and in peace. The country likewise
was very populous: Men inhabited the south of the plain, which was
not at all fortified, and yet they lived safely, and which was fruitful, and
so they lived plentifully. But then God by the prophets cried to
them, as one in earnest, and importunate with them, to amend their ways and
doings, or else their prosperity would soon be at an end. "Now,"
says the prophet, "you should have taken notice of that, and have
inferred that what was required of them for the preventing of the judgments,
and which they did not, is required of you for the removal of the judgments;
and, if you do it not, all your fasting and weeping signify nothing."
Note, The words of the later prophets agree with those of the former; and,
whether people are in prosperity or adversity, they must be called upon to
leave their sins and do their duty; this must still be the burden of every
song.
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Wilful
Disobedience of Israel; Consequences of Disobedience.
B. C. 520.
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8 And the word of the LORD
came unto Zechariah, saying, 9 Thus speaketh the LORD
of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions
every man to his brother: 10 And oppress not the widow, nor the
fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil
against his brother in your heart. 11 But they refused to
hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they
should not hear. 12 Yea, they made their hearts as an
adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD
of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a
great wrath from the LORD
of hosts. 13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he
cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith
the LORD
of hosts: 14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the
nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no
man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
What was said v. 7, that they should have heard the words of the
former prophets, is here enlarged upon, for warning to these
hypocritical enquirers, who continued their sins when they asked with great
preciseness whether they should continue their fasts. This prophet had
before put them in mind of their fathers' disobedience to the calls of the
prophets, and what was the consequence of it (ch. i. 4-6), and now
here again; for others' harms should be our warnings. God's judgments upon
Israel of old for their sins were written for admonition to us Christians (1
Cor. x. 11), and the same use we should make of similar providences in our
own day.
I. This prophet here repeats the heads of the sermons which the former
prophets preached to their fathers (v. 9, 10), because the very same
things were required of them now. "Thus does the Lord of hosts speak
to you now, and thus he did speak to your fathers, saying, Execute true
judgment." The duties here required of them, which would have been
the lengthening of the tranquillity of their fathers and must be the
restoring of their tranquillity, are not keeping fasts and offering
sacrifices, but doing justly and loving mercy, duties which
they were bound to by the light and law of nature, though there had been no
prophets sent to insist upon them, duties which had a direct tendency to the
public welfare and peace, and which they themselves would be the gainers by,
and not God. 1. Magistrates must administer justice impartially, according
to the maxims of the law and the merits of the cause, without respect of
persons: "Judge judgment of truth, and execute it when you have
judged it." 2. Neighbours must have a tender concern for one another,
and must not only do one another no wrong, but must be ready to do one
another all the good offices that lie in their power. They must show
mercy and compassion every man to his brother, as the case called for
it. The infirmities of others, as well as their calamities, are to be looked
upon with compassion. Hanc veniam petimusque damusque vicissim--This
kindness we ask and exercise. 3. They must not bear hard upon those whom
they have advantage against, and who, they know, are not able to help
themselves. They must not, either in commerce or in course of law, oppress the
widow, the fatherless, the stranger, and the poor, v. 10. The
weakest must not be thrust to the wall because they are weakest. No thanks
to men not to deny right to those who are in a capacity to demand it and
recover it; but we must, not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake,
give those their own who have not power to force it from us. Or it intimates
that that which is but exactness with others is exaction upon the widows and
the fatherless; nay, that not relieving and helping them as we ought is, in
effect, oppressing them. 4. They must not only not do wrong to any, but they
must not so much as desire it nor think of it: "Let none of you
imagine evil against his brother in your heart. Do not project it; do
not wish it; nay do not so much as please yourself with the fancy of
it." The law of God lays a restraint upon the heart, and forbids the
entertaining, forbids the admitting, of a malicious, spiteful, ill-natured
thought. Deut. xv. 9, Beware that there be not a thought in thy Belial
heart against thy brother.
II. He describes the wilfulness and disobedience of their fathers, who
persisted in all manner of wickedness and injustice, notwithstanding these
exhortations and admonitions frequently given them in God's name; various
expressions to this purport are here heaped up (v. 11, 12), setting
forth the stubbornness of that carnal mind which is enmity against God,
and is not in subjection to the law of God, neither indeed can be. They
were obstinate and refractory, and persisted in their transgressions of the
law purely from a spirit of contradiction to the law. 1. They would not, if
they could help it, come within hearing of the prophets, but kept at a
distance; or, if they could not avoid hearing what they said, yet they
resolved they would not heed it: They refused to hearken, and looked
another way as if they had not been spoken to. 2. If they did hear what was
said to them, and, as it seemed, inclined at first to comply with it, yet
they flew off when it came to the setting to, and, like a bullock
unaccustomed to the yoke, they pulled away the shoulder, and would
not submit to the easy yoke and the light burden of God's
commandments. They gave a withdrawing shoulder (so the word is); they
seemed to lay their shoulder to the work, but they presently withdrew it
again, as those Jer. xxxiv. 10, 11. They were like a deceitful bow, as that
son that said, I go, sir, but went not. 3. They filled their own
minds with prejudices against the word of God, and had some objection or
other ready wherewith to fortify themselves against every sermon they heard.
They stopped their ears, that they should not hear, as the deaf adder
(Ps. lviii. 4), and none are so deaf as those that will not hear, that make
their own ear heavy, as the word is. 4. They resolved that nothing which
was said to them, for the enforcing of these injunctions, should make any
impression upon them: They made their hearts as an adamant-stone, as
a diamond, the hardest of stones to be wrought upon, or as a flint,
which the mason cannot hew into shape as he can other stone out of the
quarry. Nothing is so hard, so unmalleable, so inflexible, as the heart of a
presumptuous sinner; and those whose hearts are hard may thank themselves;
they are of their own hardening, and it is just with God to give them over
to a reprobate sense, to the hardness and impenitence of their own hearts.
These stubborn sinners hardened their hearts on purpose lest they should
hear what God said to them by the written word, by the law of Moses,
and by the words of the prophets that preached to them; they had Moses
and the prophets, but resolved they would hear neither, nor would they
have been persuaded though one had been sent to them from the dead. The words
of the prophet were not regarded by them, though they were words which
the Lord of hosts sent and directed to them, though he sent them immediately
by his Spirit in the prophets; so that in despising them they
affronted God himself and resisted the Holy Ghost. Note, The reason
why men are not good is because they will not be so; they will not consider,
will not comply; and therefore, if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear
it.
III. He shows the fatal consequences of it to their fathers: Therefore
came great wrath from the Lord of hosts. God was highly displeased with
them, and justly; he required nothing of them but what was reasonable in
itself and beneficial to them; and yet they refused, and in a most insolent
manner too. What master could bear to be so abused by his own servant? Such
an implacable enmity to the gospel as this was to the law and the prophets
was that which brought wrath to the uttermost upon the last
generation of the Jewish church, 1 Thess. ii. 16. Great sins against the
Lord of hosts, whose authority is incontestable, bring great wrath
from the Lord of hosts, whose power is irresistible. And the effect was,
1. As they had turned a deaf ear to God's word, so God turned a deaf ear to
their prayers, v. 13. As he cried to them in their prosperity
to leave their sins, and they would not hear, but persisted in their
iniquities, so they cried to him in the day of their trouble to
remove his judgments, and he would not hear, but lengthened out their
calamities. Those that set God at defiance, in the height of their pride,
when pangs came upon them cried unto him. Lord, in trouble have they
visited thee. But God has said it, and will abide by it, He that
turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an
abomination, Prov. xxviii. 9; i. 24, &c. Iniquity, regarded in the
heart, will certainly spoil the success of prayer, Ps. lxvi. 18. 2. As they
flew off from their duty and allegiance to God, and were of desultory and
unsettled spirits, so God dissipated them and threw them about as chaff
before a whirlwind: He scattered them among all the nations whom they
knew not, and whom therefore they could not expect to receive any
kindness from, v. 14. 3. As they violated all the laws of their land,
so God took away all the glories of it: Their land was desolate after
them, and no man passed through or returned. All that country that was
the kingdom of the two tribes, after the dispersion of the remaining Jews,
upon the slaughter of Gedaliah, was left utterly uninhabited; there was not
man, woman, or child, in it, till the Jews returned at the end of seventy
years' captivity; nay, it should seem, the very roads that lay through the
country were deserted (none passed or repassed), which, as it had an
intimation of mercy in it (though they were cast out of it, yet it was kept
empty for their return), so for the present it made the judgment appear much
the more dismal; for what a horrid wilderness must a land be that had been
so many years uninhabited! And they might thank themselves; it was they that
by their own wickedness laid the pleasant land desolate. It was not
so much the Chaldeans that did it. No; they did it themselves. The
desolations of a land are owing to the wickedness of its inhabitants, Ps.
cvii. 34. This came of their wilful disobedience to the law of God. And the
present generation saw how desolate sin had made that pleasant land, and yet
would not take warning.
