Hearts of Flint

The Lord Remembers - Message 9 - Hearts of Flint. In Zechariah 7 and 8 we read an account of a delegation traveling from Bethel to Jerusalem in order to question the priests and prophets regarding the observance of annual fasts in the nation of Judah. All throughout their captivity they had observed four fasts, each commemorating a specific date in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon. One of these fasts, on the 7th day of the 5th month, remembered the destruction of the Temple. Now that a new Temple was being built and worship was about to be restored the people asked if they could stop holding these fasts. They were ready to move on and find closure from the remembrances and memorials of their time in captivity. The Lord provided Zechariah with four answers to the question to be addressed to all the people. The first answer was given in the form of a question (7:4-7). The Lord asked the people, “When you fasted…did you really fast for Me – for Me?” The answer demonstrated that the people had been using the fasts as a superstitious ritual, believing that if they went through the motions then God would remember them and rescue them. The celebrations and memorials had become meaningless and self-serving. The second answer was a statement (7:8-14) wherein the Lord told the people that He had sent His Word to them through the former prophets and they should have heeded His Word. This was a reminder that the true reason for the fasts was not the fall of Jerusalem, but the sin and hard heartedness that led to this judgment from the hand of God. The people cared more about the consequences of sin than the sin itself.