The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 7:2-3,
"The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, 'Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?'"
Following the Jewish remnant's return to Jerusalem after their seventy year captivity in Babylon, the folks at Bethel wanted to know if they should continue in certain "religious" activities. They wanted to know if they should continue to observe two fasts, one in memory of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and the other in memory of the murder of Gedaliah at Mizpah that we read of in Jeremiah 41.
These two fasts had become annual "religious" observances that were not on the Lord's calendar, but nevertheless adopted by the Israelites. Where the original intent by the Jews with these two fasts might have been sincere - with a view toward remembering the things of the Lord, they eventually became occasions where the focus drifted from the Lord and the holidays became opportunities for the Israelites to indulge themselves.
The Lord responded by saying "When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?"
Does this kind of thing sound familiar to us today? Does the church do the same kinds of things? How about Fat Tuesday? How about Lent? How about Christmas and Easter? Are these holidays observed in sincere devotion to the Lord, or are they simply opportunities for us to celebrate and enjoy ourselves apart from consideration of the things of the Lord?
The ways of the past never seem to change and the hearts of people certainly don't.
The Lord responded with what the folks in Bethel should have been giving themselves to, "Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other." Verses 9-10.
"The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, 'Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?'"
Following the Jewish remnant's return to Jerusalem after their seventy year captivity in Babylon, the folks at Bethel wanted to know if they should continue in certain "religious" activities. They wanted to know if they should continue to observe two fasts, one in memory of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and the other in memory of the murder of Gedaliah at Mizpah that we read of in Jeremiah 41.
These two fasts had become annual "religious" observances that were not on the Lord's calendar, but nevertheless adopted by the Israelites. Where the original intent by the Jews with these two fasts might have been sincere - with a view toward remembering the things of the Lord, they eventually became occasions where the focus drifted from the Lord and the holidays became opportunities for the Israelites to indulge themselves.
The Lord responded by saying "When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?"
Does this kind of thing sound familiar to us today? Does the church do the same kinds of things? How about Fat Tuesday? How about Lent? How about Christmas and Easter? Are these holidays observed in sincere devotion to the Lord, or are they simply opportunities for us to celebrate and enjoy ourselves apart from consideration of the things of the Lord?
The ways of the past never seem to change and the hearts of people certainly don't.
The Lord responded with what the folks in Bethel should have been giving themselves to, "Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other." Verses 9-10.
How might our calendars look, and how might the way we celebrate, if we were to place the things of the Lord as the priority in our lives?
Something to consider here: observing the things of the Lord or just having fun for ourselves? Not that the two cannot go hand-in-hand, just that for many, one of the hands appears to be missing.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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