God responds to inquiries about fasting, reminding the people that outward rituals are meaningless without justice, mercy, and compassion. True worship is expressed through righteous living and care for the oppressed. The chapter calls the nation to align their hearts with God’s will, not mere ceremonial observance.
Two years after Zechariah’s earlier visions, a delegation comes from Bethel to ask the priests and prophets whether they should continue fasting as they had done during the years of exile. On the surface, it seems like a sincere question but God exposes the deeper issue: their fasting had become routine, not relational.
These people seemed zealous in religious observance, yet they lacked the heart of devotion. Their question was not about pleasing God but about keeping a tradition. The danger of formal religion is that it often substitutes ceremony for sincerity.
God answers through Zechariah, asking: “When you fasted and mourned… was it really for Me?” Their fasting was self-centered, not God-centered. They sought comfort or favor, not communion. It’s a warning for all who may pray, give, or serve without affection toward God.
External acts of worship are empty when they are done for ourselves rather than for God. True fasting humbles the heart, not merely the body. God values obedience and love more than outward ritual.
The Lord reminds them of what He had spoken long before through the prophets; that He desired justice, mercy, and compassion more than ritual. True worship is lived out through right relationships. God’s people were commanded to defend the oppressed, care for the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the poor and to harbor no evil in their hearts toward one another.
Practical holiness and social compassion are the best expressions of piety. The essence of religion lies in doing good to others out of love for God. He who neglects mercy cannot claim to know grace.
But the people refused to listen. They turned stubborn shoulders and made their hearts like stone. As a result, when they cried out to God, He did not listen: their rebellion brought judgment, scattering, and desolation upon the land.
The same Word that could have healed them became the reason for their ruin, because they resisted it. When we stop our ears to God’s voice, we silence heaven’s help. Sin always separates, not because God stops speaking, but because we stop responding.
Zechariah 7 is a heart check. It reminds us that God is not impressed by performance; He is moved by purity of heart. Fasting, praying, and giving all have value only when they flow from love and humility. The greatest act of worship is obedience; doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).
God desires authentic devotion, not empty duty. He wants our hearts before our habits, compassion before ceremony, and obedience before offering. When we live out His love toward others, we reflect true worship.
Lord, deliver me from empty religion and lifeless routine. Teach me to worship You in spirit and truth, with a heart that listens, loves, and obeys. Help me to walk in mercy, justice, and humility, and let my life be true worship before You. Amen.