Zechariah 8

To what extent do the traditions of the past have authority over what the church does today? As times change, should customs also change? And who has the authority to change them? Are religious traditions to remain as they’ve always been, or can we drop the old ones and begin some new ones?

These are questions that are challenging churches today and even dividing churches, but these questions aren’t new. Similar questions were asked centuries ago when Sharezer and Regemelech arrived in Jerusalem from Babylon. The Jews in Babylon had sent them to ask the prophet Zechariah about the traditional Jewish fasts. Zechariah used the opportunity to teach the people about true spiritual worship, and then he turned their eyes away from the past to the promises of the future.

The prophets who ministered prior to the fall of Jerusalem had taught the people that their religious observances had to come from the heart. To worship God any other way meant to practice hypocrisy. As far back as the ministry of Samuel, God told the people that He wanted their obedience and not their sacrifices (1 Sam. 15:22), and this truth was also taught in the psalms (50:8–14; 51:16). Isaiah had proclaimed this message (Isa. 1:11–17; 58:1–14), and so did the prophet Micah (6:6–8), but the people didn’t listen. Life was peaceful and secure in those days, and it was much easier to maintain the traditions than to really meet with God and have a “heart experience” of worship.

Zechariah wasn’t condemning traditions as such. He was emphasizing the fact that the true spiritual life can’t be turned on and off at our convenience, so that we serve God one minute and forget Him the next. If we feast, we must do it to glorify God (1 Cor. 10:31); if we fast, we must do it to honor Him. The Lord must be the center of our lives and the reason for our actions. If we keep a fast (or any other religious tradition) just to please ourselves and win the admiration and approval of others, then God is not pleased and the activity was wasted.

God’s final answer was given later (Zech. 8:19): all four fasts will one day be turned into feasts! This would take place during the Kingdom Age when Messiah will sit on the throne, judging with justice and truth. (Isaiah saw the same picture; Isa. 61:2–3; 65:19.) So, instead of living in the past tense and mourning over calamities, why not live in the future tense and rejoice over what God has promised to do for His people?

The rebuke (vv. 8–14). Zechariah reminded the people of the way their forefathers routinely practiced their religion but failed to hear God’s Word and obey it from their hearts. That was the reason Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed. Their “religion” was just a part of their lives; it wasn’t the very heart of their lives. They could go to the temple and piously present their prayers and sacrifices, but then leave the temple to break God’s law, worship idols, and abuse other people.

Through the prophets, the Lord had called the people to practice justice, but the leaders had continued to exploit the people for personal gain. The rulers of the nation had ignored the law of Moses and refused to show compassion toward the poor, the widows and orphans, and the aliens in the land (Ex. 22:22–24; Deut. 10:18–22; Amos 2:6–8; 5:11–12, 21–24). God wasn’t interested in their sacrifices and prayers so much as the obedience of their hearts.

The danger of tradition is that it can easily turn into traditionalism. “Tradition is the living faith of the dead,” wrote theologian Jerislav Pelikan; “traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” Traditionalism means going through the outward motions instead of honoring the Lord from our heart; it means participating in a religious event but failing to have an inner spiritual experience.

Sometimes the only way the Lord can bring us back to reality is to force us to endure suffering. “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I have kept thy word” (Ps. 119:67). When we find ourselves in the furnace of affliction, we turn to God and His promises, because that’s the only hope we have. The Lord had to send the Jewish people into exile before they’d learn to turn from idols and appreciate all the blessings they had because of God’s grace.

The word tradition simply means “that which is passed along.” It comes from a Latin word that means “to hand over.” The basic doctrines of the Christian faith must be handed from generation to generation (1 Tim. 2:2; 1 John 1:1–3; 1 Cor. 11:2; 1 Thess. 2:15; 3:6; Jude 3), but the customs and traditions of the early church don’t carry the same authority as the inspired Word of God. In fact, as times change, some of these customs may be detrimental to the work of the Lord. To institute four fasts because of the tragedies that occurred in Jerusalem, and yet not repent because of the sins that caused these tragedies, was to miss the whole purpose of God’s discipline.

Centuries ago, when the first missionaries went to Moravia, they weren’t allowed to preach in the Slavic language! Why? Because the only “holy languages” the church approved were Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Fortunately, the church leaders had sense enough to revoke this foolish edict; otherwise, evangelism would have been impossible. Believers today who insist that we sing only the psalms in our public worship, accompanied only by an organ or a piano, are captive to traditions that have no biblical basis. City congregations that follow a Sunday time schedule that was tailored for the rural community may be losing opportunities to reach urbanites with the gospel. Over the years, I’ve been privileged to minister in many churches of different denominations, and I’ve seen how dead traditions can become roadblocks to progress.

Churches are like families; each one has its own set of traditions, many of which may be good. The truths of God’s Word don’t change, but changing circumstances reveal new principles and new applications of that Word. The old Youth for Christ slogan said it perfectly: we must be “geared to the times, but anchored to the Rock.”

Jesus dealt with the question of tradition when He was ministering here on earth (Matt. 15; Mark 7). He carefully distinguished between the inspired Word of God that never changes and man-made traditions that are always subject to review and revision. Final authority for faith and practice must rest in the Word of God. “Tradition is a guide and not a jailer,” wrote novelist W. Somerset Maugham, but history reveals that it’s a difficult thing for many people to break with tradition. It’s easier to have a religion of habit than a religion of the heart. Churches, families, and individual believers need to examine their cherished traditions in the light of God’s truth. Perhaps some of our fasts need to be turned into feasts (Zech. 8:18)!

God’s people don’t live on explanations; they live on promises. Faith and hope are nourished by the promises of God given to us in the Scriptures. That explains why Zechariah dropped the discussion of the traditions and delivered a new message from the Lord. In this message, he focused the people’s eyes of faith on the future and shared some wonderful promises to encourage them. Note the repetition of the phrase, “Thus saith the Lord,” which is used ten times in this chapter.

The city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt (vv. 1–6). God affirmed His jealous love and concern for Zion, just as He had done earlier (1:14). He promises that Jerusalem will be rebuilt and become a wholly different city, dedicated to truth and holiness. This promise will be fulfilled when Jesus Christ returns to earth to establish His kingdom (Isa. 1:26; 2:3; 60:14; 62:12).

But the compassionate Lord centers on people and not buildings, particularly the elderly and the children. He describes a city so safe and friendly that the elderly can leisurely sit in the streets and talk, and where the children can play in the streets and not be in danger. In today’s man-made cities, the elderly and the children aren’t safe in the streets or anywhere else! The children are killed before they have a chance to be born, and when the elderly are no longer “useful,” we find legal ways to end their lives. But all of that will change when Jesus returns and righteousness reigns.

The people of Israel will be regathered (v. 7). True to His covenant, God disciplined His disobedient people and dispersed them throughout the world (Deut. 28:63); but one day, He will regather them to their land and to their Holy City (Isa. 11:11–12; 43:5–7; Jer. 30:7–11; 31:7–8). While groups of Jewish patriots have returned from time to time to their land, the kind of worldwide regathering described by the prophets has never yet occurred.

The relationship between Israel and Jehovah will be restored (v. 8). The promise “They will be My people” reminds us that God claimed the people of Israel as His own. When God delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage, He said to them, “Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God” (Jer. 11: nkjv; see Ex. 19:3–5). For a time, God abandoned His people because they abandoned Him, and He called them “Lo-ammi; for you are not My people, and I will not be your God” (Hos. 1: nkjv).

The nation of Israel was punished for her idolatry by being sent into Babylonian captivity. Then she was punished for rejecting her Messiah by being sent into worldwide dispersion. One day, God will summon His sons and daughters from afar, and the streets of a restored Jerusalem will be crowded with His people. “At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes” (Zeph. 3: niv).

The land of Israel will be refreshed (vv. 9–13). Haggai had rebuked the Jewish remnant because the people weren’t faithful to the Lord in their stewardship (Hag. 1). Instead of honoring the Lord and building His house, they built their own houses first, and for this sin, God disciplined them. The weather turned bad, their crops failed, and the economy became worse and worse. God wasn’t being unkind to His people; He was only being true to His covenant (Deut. 28:38–46).

But now the land would be refreshed by the Lord and the crops would grow abundantly. Laborers would get their wages and their money would be sufficient to pay their bills. The Lord would send the promised rain (Deut. 28:11–12), and the other nations would witness the blessing of the Lord on His people. Instead of being a reproach, Israel would become a witness to the glory of the Lord.

While this promise of material blessing was given primarily to the remnant in Zechariah’s day, it has its application to the future regathered and restored nation. God promises that “the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the rose” (Isa. 35:1) in the kingdom of Messiah.

There are two facts about material blessings that we must always keep in mind. First, we don’t obey God just to become wealthy and secure. We obey God because He is God and deserves our loving obedience. Obedience builds character, and when our character is what it ought to be, God can trust us with His blessings. Material blessings aren’t bribes, nor are they rewards. They’re God’s way of saying, “You’re maturing in godliness, and now I can give you more to use for My glory.”

Second, God doesn’t always respond with material blessings, and poverty is not a sign that God has forsaken His people. The experience of Job completely destroys this “commercial” idea of faith and obedience. Job’s friends had a “commercial” view of faith, so they encouraged Job to confess his sins so God could again make him wealthy. Bargain with God! But Job refused to do that, though he didn’t understand what the Lord was working out in his sufferings.

God’s covenant with Israel declared that He would punish them physically and materially if they disobeyed Him, but bless them if they obeyed Him (Deut. 27—28; Lev. 26). However, He has no such covenant with Christian believers today. He promises to meet all our needs (Phil. 4:19) and direct in all our circumstances (Rom. 8:28), but our riches are of a heavenly nature (Eph. 1:3). If God chooses to make some of His people wealthy, it’s that they might use what He gives them to help others (1 Tim. 6:17–19). He blesses us that we might be a blessing. However, riches are no proof of God’s special love, nor is poverty evidence that He’s forsaken us.

The covenant standards will be renewed (vv. 14–19). Whether God is dealing with His people in the Old Testament or the New Testament, His standards don’t change. The church today doesn’t live under old covenant law, but “the righteousness of the law” is still what God wants to develop in our lives (Rom. 8:1–4). “Be holy, for I am holy” is quoted from the Old Testament law for New Testament Christians (Lev. 11:44; 1 Peter 1:15–16).

God reminded His people of their obligations to speak the truth, to practice justice in the courts, to honor His name by not swearing falsely, and to love their neighbors. Of course, all the law is fulfilled in our conduct when we practice love (Rom. 13:8–10). The God of love hates sin! (See Prov. 6:16–19.) God’s dispensations may change, and He can work in different ways at different times, but His character and standards never change. He wants His people to be “a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9). “Therefore love the truth and peace” (Zech. 8:19).

In verse 18, the prophet clearly answered the question about the fasts. The day would come when Messiah would reign and all Israel’s fasts would become feasts! “And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying” (Isa. 65:19). Zechariah and Isaiah were both saying, “Don’t live in the past tense; live in the future tense! Rejoice at the promises God gives you for a joyful future!”

The Gentiles will be redeemed (vv. 20–23). God called Abraham and established the nation of Israel so His people would witness to the Gentiles and lead them to faith in the true God (Gen. 12:1–3). In setting apart one nation, God was seeking to reach a whole world. Many of the great events in Jewish history recorded in Scripture had behind them a witness to “the whole world”: the plagues of Egypt (Ex. 9:16); the conquest of Canaan (Josh. 4:23–24); God’s blessing of the nation (Deut. 28:9–11); and even the building of the temple (1 Kings 8:42–43). When David killed Goliath, he announced that God would give him victory so “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Sam. 17:46).

But Israel failed in her mission to the Gentiles. Instead of the Gentile nations coming to worship the true God of Israel, the Jews forsook Jehovah and worshipped the false gods of the Gentile nations. The “court of the Gentiles” in Herod’s temple became a market where Jews visiting Jerusalem from other countries could exchange their money and buy approved sacrifices. However, before we criticize the Jews too much, we had better examine the track record of the church when it comes to winning the lost at home and taking the gospel to nations abroad.

When Messiah restores His people and establishes His kingdom, the Gentiles will trust the true and living God and come to Jerusalem to worship Him. Isaiah saw a river of Gentiles “flowing” into the city (Isa. 2:1–5), and Micah used the same figure (Mic. 4:1–5). Zechariah describes a scene in which ten men (a Hebrew expression for “many men”) will take hold of one Jew and beg to go with him to the temple!

It’s a wonderful thing when God so blesses His people that others want what God’s people have. “We have heard that God is with you” (Zech. 8:23). This sounds like what should happen in our local churches when an unbeliever beholds our worship of the Lord. “He will