Tag Archives: Zechariah 7-10

Daily Bible Study

September 30, 2023 Bible Study — Do We Practice Our Religion for God? Or for Ourselves?

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 7-10.

When we go to church on Sunday, or any other time, are we really doing that for God?  Or, are we doing it for ourselves?  When we celebrate Christmas and Easter, is that for God, or for us?  When we do those things they are supposed to remind us of what God really wants from us.  He wants us to show mercy and compassion to each other.  God wants us to show His love to those around us.  Let us not be as those who saw visions which are lies and recount dreams that are false.  If we love truth and seek God, He will do good for us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 30, 2022 Bible Study — Do Not Be Afraid

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 7-10.

Zechariah writes what God had asked of His people through the prophets who preceded him…and as I have read through the Bible I have seen that this was indeed what those prophets had said.  God had called on them to administer true justice, show mercy to one another, and not oppress the fatherless, the widow, the foreigner, or the poor.    Then Zechariah writes that the people should not be afraid because God once more intends to do good for them, for us.  All that He asks is that we speak the truth to each other, render true and sound judgment, do not plot evil against each other, and do not swear falsely.  So, God’s message did not change.  If we do as God commands, people from all nations will join us in seeking the Lord and we will need have no fear.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 30, 2021 Bible Study — Our Worship Rituals Should Remind Us To Show Compassion To Each Other

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 7-10.

When some of the Returned Exiles came and asked if they should continue to fast and mourn the destruction of the Temple now that the Temple was being rebuilt (that last part is my understanding of the unstated context of the question), Zechariah asked them if that fasting and mourning was really for God?  Or was it more for themselves?  Zechariah’s answer from God tells us that God did not establish the feasts and fasts for the sake of those events.  Those events were established to remind us to show mercy and compassion to each other and to administer justice.  All of our worship rituals should serve that purpose.  If we start to view them as ends in themselves, they have become idols and we have become idolaters.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 30, 2020 Bible Study Use Our Scarce Resources To Serve The Lord

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 7-10

I am going to start with paraphrasing the first part of this passage: When we celebrate Christmas and Easter, when we give things up for Lent, are we really doing it for God?  If we are honest with ourselves we will realize that, for the most part, these celebrations and fasts are for ourselves, not out of obedience to God.  God’s message to us is, instead of those celebrations of our own wants and desires, let us show kindness to one another.  Instead of buying things made by what amounts to slave labor to give to each other, let us feed the poor (and I don’t mean ask our government to feed the poor).  Let us stop scheming against each other, seeking how we can trick people into giving us more power.  If we do not listen to God when He tells us these things, He will not listen to us when we call out to Him in desperation.

That first part is scary, but Zechariah goes on to give a message of hope.  He tells the people that when they started work on the Temple their resources were slim, but they listened to the prophets God sent them and started the work anyway.  Now God promises that He will reward them by bringing them plenty.  The same is true today.  We should do God’s work, even when it seems like  doing so will take resources we need to survive.  God does not call us to serve Him out of our spare time and spare resources.  He calls us to serve Him with time and resources we think we need for other things.  If we do this, He will be faithful and provide us with what we need in abundance so that we can serve Him more.

Daily Bible Study

September 30, 2019 Bible Study — Are Our Church Services For Us, Or For God?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 7-10

Zechariah asks an important question.  When we take part in religious activities and events, both celebratory and mournful, are we doing so for God, or for ourselves?  How we feel about and treat others who also take part in such activities will tell us the answer to that question.  God calls us to show mercy and kindness, and to love justice.  Let us not snark at those who are not “up to our standards” at a worship service or other religious activity.  Let us not do anything to make them feel out of place.  Instead let us honor them for their attempt to serve and worship God.  That does not mean that we do not instruct those who act inappropriately, but let us make sure that we do so out of love for them and not out of our own selfish pride.  There is a lot more to be learned from this passage, but I am going to stop here for today.

 

Daily Bible Study

September 30, 2018 Bible Study — Our Worship Services and Events Are Not About What We Get Out Of It

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 7-10.

    In light of the rebuilding of the Temple, some of the people asked Zechariah whether they should continue fasting in commemoration of its destruction. Zechariah calls them out for making their religious rituals, festivals, and events about them rather than about worshiping God. In verse 9 & 10 Zechariah sums up what God wants from us:

Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. 10 Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.

This theme is echoed in James 1:27. All too often we allow the world to corrupt us and begin to see our worship services as being about what WE get out of them.

    Shortly after giving the people the message calling them to task for being more concerned with what they got out of their religious activities, both fasts and festivals, Zechariah praises them for listening to the other prophets and restarting the work on the Temple. Despite having no surplus to spend on the Temple, they had sacrificed to restart the work on rebuilding it. As a result, God is as determined to bless them as He was determined to punish their ancestors. Before the fall of Jerusalem, the prophets condemned the people for their sins and called on them to repent, but declared that they would not. Now Zechariah once more calls on the people to repent of their sins and do what is right, but this time he declares that they will indeed do so. They will do so because God is determined that they will. God will provide them with the strength and wish to do right and because they do right they will draw other people to Him. When our desire to do right is about serving God and doing His will, the blessings will follow. When our desire to do right is about what’s in it for me, we are missing the point and will receive few blessings. Fortunately, God is good. If we truly do what is right, even if for the wrong reasons, God will bless us by changing our hearts.

Daily Bible Study

September 30, 2017 Bible Study — Judge Fairly and Show Mercy

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 7-10.

    A couple of years after his first vision some of the returned Exiles came to Zechariah and asked if they should continue to hold a ceremony of mourning for the destroyed Temple now that rebuilding had begun. Zechariah’s response was that they were not, and had not been, fasting for God, but for themselves. The same thing was true of their feasts and celebrations. While Zechariah was chastising them, I do not think he was telling them they had been doing wrong in doing this. It is not enough to hold the ceremonies of worshiping God…for that matter the ceremonies are for us. But if we want to truly worship God, there are other things we need to do, things which these ceremonies are supposed to remind us to do. Zechariah gives us a list which pretty much sums up what God wants from us: “Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.” A little later Zechariah gives us another similar list of things God requires of us: “Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace. 17 Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth.” If we do these things, we will not be far off no matter what else we do.

    I usually avoid writing about applying the passages I am reading to current political issues, but this is one where some well meaning people use this passage to support their position without having looked at all of the ways in which it applies. The phrase “Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor” (and other similar passage from elsewhere in the Bible) is brought up from time to time in the discussion about illegal immigration in the United States. It is appropriate for Christians to consider this passage when they think about how they deal with immigrants. The argument is usually made that deporting illegal immigrants is oppressing the foreigner. There is some merit to this argument, although I do not think that I agree. What is generally overlooked by those who make that argument is the degree to which illegal immigrants are routinely oppressed in this country. Those who employ illegal immigrants often pay them substandard wages and otherwise treat them badly. The evidence I have seen suggests that lax enforcement of immigration laws does not alleviate this abuse, but actually makes it worse. One of things that many of those who make the argument I am speaking against typically overlook is that many of their allies in the campaign for lax enforcement of immigration laws are also campaigning against allowing more immigrants to enter the country legally. This issue is a difficult one for me as a Christian, because I do believe that we need to be caring for the poor and downtrodden and illegal immigrants are among the poorest in this country. On the other hand, I also believe that failing to enforce the law leads to injustice, which as a Christian I also oppose. This is one of the reasons that I believe that as a Christian I cannot be involved in politics.

Daily Bible Study

September 30, 2016 Bible Study — Are We Doing It For God? Or For Ourselves?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 7-10.

    After the rebuilding of the Temple got under way some of the people came to Zechariah to ask if they should continue to hold days of fasting and mourning to commemorate the destruction of the Temple. Zechariah’s answer was to ask them if it was really for God that they were fasting. Further, he asked them if they were really holding their feast days for God. Weren’t they really doing that because they enjoyed it? That is the question we need to ask ourselves when we conduct the various ceremonies/sacraments we have. When we take Communion, are we doing it for God, or for ourselves? When we baptize new believers, who are we really doing it for?

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    When we conduct ceremonies/rituals/sacraments we need to remember that none of them have value to God in and of themselves. Their value to God lies in the degree to which they remind us to judge fairly and treat each other with mercy and compassion. If we get the ceremonies, rituals, and sacraments exactly right, but oppress the fatherless, or widows, or foreigners, or the poor, we would have been better off to not have even tried in the first place. When we take Communion, when we baptize new believers, when we do any of the other religious observances we follow, let us remember to think about showing mercy and compassion to those around us. If in any way the performance of our religious observances make us feel better than others, we are not listening to God, and therefore He will not listen to us.

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    I almost stopped after that, but I have to comment on the fact that Zechariah emphasizes the lesson of Haggai from a different perspective. Haggai told the people not to wait until every thing else was taken care of before doing God’s will. Zechariah reminds us to keep on doing God’s will. He reminds the people that before they started on doing God’s will (rebuilding the Temple) there were no jobs and no money. No one was safe because there were bandits everywhere, people were turned against each other. Once they started to do God’s will people became unified and prospered. When we do God’s will, we will find that all of our efforts prosper.