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Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango and I'm your host for the Bible Department podcast. Powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan and join the journey. Let's be honest, a lot of us are still treating digital ministry like it's a backup plan from 2020. But discipleship isn't just happening on Sundays anymore. People need gospel centered connection every day of the week. And if you're stuck juggling five different platforms, one for giving, another for sermons, something else for events, it's no wonder engagement feels off. That's not ministry. That's a mess. Subsplash changes that one platform. Everything you need. Media, giving, events, messaging, your app, your website built specifically for churches. No hacks, no workarounds, just clarity and simplicity. Because every day you wait, families scroll past your sermons, new guests click away from clunky sites, and real people miss real moments with Jesus. Don't waste another summer stuck in digital survival mode. Use it to get ahead, simplify, upgrade. Get back to what matters. Head to subsplash.combible-dept and schedule a free no pressure demo. And let this be the summer your church gets focused and fully equipped. Family. Welcome to day 247. We are continuing our trek through the Book of Zechariah. We're in zechariah today. Chapter 7 and 8. Just two short chapters. If you've already done the reading, then you're going to have tons of context for everything that we are going to talk about in this episode. But if you have not done the reading, you're going to maybe want to stop the video, pause the audio, go do the reading. So seriously, you can get it done really, really, really quickly. It's just not a ton of reading. The chapters aren't very long. You can get all the reading done in a couple of minutes. So without further ado, let's jump into Zechariah chapter 7 and 8. Like always, I'm gonna give you context. Then we're gonna break down as many nerdy nuggets as we have time for. And I'll always leave us off with a timeless truth. That's how we close every episode. All right, let's dive into the context clues of Zechariah chapter 7 and 8. The context of these next oracles are almost two years later than the previous one. So for Zechariah chapters one through six, we have had the exact same context for all six chapters, but now we are two years into the future. Chapter seven, verse one tells us that these oracles take place on the fourth day, the ninth month of the fourth year of Darius the First, which translates into December 7, 518 B.C. okay, 518 B.C. this means that by this time the temple is not only rebuilt, but has settled that the Jewish people have settled into everyday routines of the Jewish religion. Okay? So sacrifices, feasts, et cetera have now all been set up and followed. The ritual life of the Jewish people has therefore returned to normal. Okay, Things have returned to normal. And also maybe there's this lingering question, question in your mind, which is why in the world do the people wait so long to rebuild the temple? Well, it's because they've been in exile, and the entire time they've been in exile, they haven't had access to a temple. Okay? The, the exile of the people of Israel to Babylon permanently changes Judaism forever. All right? So in exile they don't have a temple, but what do they have? They have the Torah. And so the Jewish religion becomes a religion centered around the book instead of religion centered around animal sacrifices. And so for 70 years they can't practice animal sacrifices, so they become their worship, their ritual life. Their religion really begins to center around the meditation and the teaching of the book of the law, of the, of the word of God. This is where synagogues are going to come from. Okay, synagogues today, like even today, if you go to a synagogue today, it's a place where you can learn Torah, learn instruction from a rabbi. So prior to exile, there are no rabbis. The focus is not teaching. You got prophets and you got priests prior to exile, and you're going to have both of those after exile as well. But exile is going to force Judaism to morph, to evolve, and it's going to evolve into a book. It's not going to evolve into a book. It's going to evolve into a religion that's centered around a book as opposed to a religion that's centered around animal sacrifice. So, all right, the reason that the people, you know, are kind of taking their time to rebuild the temple is because they haven't had one. They haven't had one for 70 years. So they come back into the land and they take a 16 year break in building the thing. And Haggai and Zechariah got to, you know, get them motivated to build because it's just building the temple is not a priority because they've already gone 70 years without one. Okay, and. And so now they're back in the land and they need to hear from the prophets. No, this is a priority. Do not delay. I know that you've been in Babylon for 70 years without a temple, but God needs you to build a temple. Okay? All right, so that's all the context that we really need. And I thought that was a loose. Maybe a loose strand from some previous days, and I wanted to kind of just help with some understanding. All right, so. So let's dive into our nerdy nuggets, okay? Let's actually break down what's happening in chapter seven and chapter eight because it can be a little confusing. Okay, Chapter seven, verse one. We'll just launch from chapter seven, verse one. It gives us the year, gives us the date. The word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day, ninth month in the month of Kislev. Okay? The people of Bethel had sent and regame Melek together with their men to entreat the Lord by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets. So here's the question. That big, long setup for this, okay? The people are wondering, should I mourn and fast in the fifth month as I have done for so many years? That's it. Simple. Zechariah could give a simple yay or nay. Okay, yes, you should. No, you shouldn't. That is not what happens. Yo, they're about to get hit with two chapters of an explanation as a response in, you know, you know, plot twist. Zechariah, don't answer the question. Okay? Spoiler alert. Zechariah does not answer. He never answers the question. Now, he says a bunch of things so that they could figure out an answer, but he doesn't actually give a direct answer. So that's the thing they want to know. Should we keep fasting? Now maybe you're wondering, why were they fasting in the first place? Like, what was this fasting? All right, so they're actually. The full list of the fasts are going to get given in chapter eight, verse 19. But I'll just go ahead and tell you, there are four fasts, okay? There was one in the fourth month, one in the fifth month, one in the seventh month, and one in the tenth month. So month 4, 5, 7, and 10, there were fasts associated with those months. So what's going on here? They're fasting as a way to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. And so essentially, they're saying the Temple is no longer Destroyed. We rebuilt it. We're back from exile. We were kind of fasting because, you know, we were in exile. We were fasting because we were mourning the destruction of Israel and Jerusalem and the Temple. And it seems like it's fixed now. Do we keep on doing these fasts? That's what they're wondering. Okay, together, these fasts, I want to even break down more. Like, understanding these fasts told the story of the fall of Jerusalem. Okay, based on the months. So the 10th month is when the siege began. You can find this in 2 Kings 25:1. The fourth month is when the wall was breached. You can find this in Jeremiah 52, 6, 11. The fifth month is when the temple was destroyed. You can see this in Second Kings, chapters 25, 8, 11. And the seventh month is when Gedaliah was assassinated. You can find this in Jeremiah 41, 1, 11. So again, month 4, 5, 7, and 10. Each of these months are actually commemorating a stage in the process of the destruction of Jerusalem, the destruction of Israel and the exile of the people. And so they're fasting on months 4, 5, 7, and 10, almost as a retelling, as a narrative retelling of the story of the exile. And for anyone who's never heard this before, fasting is a way to mourn. Jesus actually says this in the New Testament. He says, oh, you know, you should rejoice now because you have the bridegroom with you. There's going to be a day where you'll fast and you're going to mourn because I'm no longer with you. So fasting and mourning is actually linked. You. You can see that here. They're mourning, they're grieving because they've lost the temple, Jerusalem, they're going into exile. So they are fasting to commemorate the fall or to mourn the fall, the destruction of Jerusalem. And so now that you know Jerusalem is getting rebuilt and the Temple is getting restored and the exiles are back, they just got the natural question, hey, should we keep doing. Should we keep fasting? Or, like, are we still mourning? Like, hey, Zechariah, what's going on? And man, who. They triggered, the prophet, man, they. They didn't know. They didn't. They didn't realize. So verse 5, the word of the Lord Almighty came to me. And then verse five, ask all the people of the land and the priests, when you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past 70 years. So they've been doing this for 70 years. Was it really for me that you fasted. Oh, boy. And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? Okay, so the rhythm has been feasting and fasting, Feasting and fasting. Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled and. Okay, they. Now, who does not? I mean, the question has really triggered Zechariah. And here we go. Verse 11. Sorry, verse 8. And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah. This is what the Lord Almighty said. Administer true justice. Show mercy and compassion one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other. Bruh. All we did was ask you about fasting. Yo, we just asked you about fasting, bro. How we get a sermon? We just asked you a simple yes or no question, man. Should we be fasting? Should we keep fasting? Like, is it. Is it good, bad? What should we do? Zechariah's like, administer true justice, bro. We didn't ask you about justice. We didn't ask you nothing about justice. Administer true justice. Show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner, the poor. Do not plot evil against each other. Okay, drop down to verse 13. Actually, you just drop all the way down to chapter eight. Okay, this is going to keep going for two chapters. Chapter eight, verse six. This is what the Lord Almighty says. It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me? Declares the Lord Almighty. Keep going. Verse 16 of chapter 8. These are the things that you are to do. Speak the truth to each other and render true and sound judgment in your courts. Do not plot evil against each other and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this. Declares the Lord. The word of the Lord Almighty came to me. Verse 19. This is what the Lord Almighty says. The fasts of the 4th, 5th, 7th, and 10 months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore, love, truth and peace. And, I mean, and then it keeps going on and on and on and on and on and whew, the ant. The question never gets answered. I don't know if you ever had, like, a pastor like that that you, like, asked them a question and it. It triggered something in them, and they just started going off about something that seemed totally unrelated. This is one of those moments. However, it's actually not unrelated. And the key here is the question that Yahweh asks right up at the top, and that's Zechariah 7, 5. Here's the question. This is also setting us up for Jesus in the New Testament because he's rarely going to answer questions. He's going to ask more questions. He's going to respond to a question with a question. Okay, so Zechariah, chapter seven, verse five. Okay? The people have asked Zechariah, should we keep fasting or not? We've been doing this for 70 years. It seems like it's no longer relevant. You know what I'm saying? Can we stop Zechariah? Zechariah 7:5. Was it really for me that you fasted? That's God's question. Was it really for me? Because if it was, then that is going to actually give you the answer that you need. Was it really for me? Did. Did you. Did you actually fast for me? Or did you fast as a way to cope with your own feelings? Did. Did you. Were you fasting for me? Or were you fasting for your own mental and emotional health? Were you. Was it from me? Was it worship? Because here's how I know if it's worship. I know if it's worship if it causes you to treat other people who bear my image with honor and dignity and respect. That's like the teach of the law, saying, lord, you know, I follow the commands. And Jesus saying, what, what, what are all the commands? What are the greatest commands? And he goes, oh, love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. And the man, of course, has this iconic question, who's my neighbor? And Jesus is like, oh, let's talk about that, okay? Because you can't say you love God and you don't love others. You can't say you obey God and you don't obey others. You can't say you honor God and you don't honor others. And so God has a. The key to unlocking this whole two chapters is, did you do it for me? Was it really worship? Did you do it with me in mind? Or did you do it out of ritual? Did you do it out of religion? Like, did you do it for me? Was it really worship? Because if it was really worship, then worship is always gonna cause you to act with the utmost amounts of love and compassion and empathy and honor and respect and justice towards others. Family. The wait is over. My brand new book, Crushing Chaos, is out now and available everywhere. Books are sold literally today I walked into a Barnes and Noble and I signed a bunch of copies at a physical location. So you can grab this book at a physical Barnes and Noble or you can go to a Books a Million or Amazon or anywhere books are sold and grab a copy. If you enjoy reading the Bible from an ancient perspective, if you understand that the beauty of scripture is actually knowing it in context, then you'll love this book. And if there's any chaos in your personal life, I think that reading the Bible from an ancient perspective can actually help to crush the chaos in your life. I think this book is going to be a New York Times bestseller. I really do. I think we wrote a good one. I think you should get a copy today. All right, back to the episode. Hey, are you looking for a really cool gift or just solid tools to support your faith and daily Life? Check out Mr. Pen. They've got no bleed Bible pens and highlighters that actually work on thin Bible pages. Journaling Bibles, Bible tabs and faith based journals. Even school supplies for for parents, teachers and students. Mr. Penn was started by Christian teachers in Louisiana on a mission to serve the schools in their local community. And now They've got over 100,000 five star reviews on Amazon. I'm a huge fan of their Bible highlighters and pens. Super smooth and gentle enough to write notes in the margin of your Bible. Whether you're digging into scripture or stocking up for back to school. Mr. Penn has you covered. Shop the best Bible journaling supplies on the market and fantastic gifts for the ladies in your life@mrpenn.com that's M r p e n dot com. And guess what? Our audience here at the Bible Department gets a special discount. Use code department10 at checkout to get 10% off your entire order. And so look at the two things that God is going to say. Okay, let's go to chapter seven, chapter seven, verse nine. Administer true justice. I said that? Funny. Administer true justice. Show mercy and compassion on one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other. That's the way that God's gonna know if it was actually done for him is that you started treating widows and the fatherless and the foreigner better. And then go to chapter 8, chapter 8, verse 16. These are the things you are to do. Speak the truth to each other and render true and sound judgment in your courts. Do not plot evil against each other and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this, declares the Lord. I'll Know whether or not it was really worship, because worship is never just about you and God's personal relationship. Worship always encapsulates how we treat other people. This is brilliant. Actually, it can be aggravating. Like when people don't just respond to your question. But the reason that rabbis and leaders in an Eastern world or in the Jewish world don't just respond to the question is because they're trying to respond to the question behind the question. And the real question is the one posed by Yahweh. Oh, tell me about your motives. Were you really fasting for me? Was it? Was it really unto the Lord? Was it for me? Was it for y'? All? Like what? Like, why were you actually doing this? And then God actually says, hey, verse 19. This is what the Lord Almighty says. Those fasts that happen in the 4th, 5th, 7th, and 10 months will become joyful. They'll become joyful because a relationship with God is not designed to be endured. It's designed to be enjoyed. Will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Wait a second. How in the world can a fast also be a festival? Those are actually total, complete polar opposites. And God says, because when you really fast, it creates heart transformation. And when your heart's transformed, not really about whether or not you're fasting or feasting, because both are actually worship. The feasts are designed to be worship. The fasting is designed to be worship. And whether you're fasting or feasting, it's going to create joy and gladness, and it's going to create happiness. Therefore, love, truth, and peace. Because the reality of the situation is God's not concerned with fasting or festivals. He's concerned with the transformation of the human heart. And when your human heart actually begins to transform, you no longer need the tool that was transforming it. Feasting is just a tool to transform your heart. Fasting is a tool to transform your heart. And God says, my goal is to transform your heart. And the way that I'll know that your heart is transformed is that the fruit will be in how you treat other people. And I'll know. I'll know whether or not you are doing it for me. Because you'll love truth and you'll love peace. This is profound. And this leads effortlessly into our timeless truth. You know, I ask myself the question all the time, are we recording these episodes for the Lord? Like, is this for God, man? Do we record courses on the armor platform? Do we do that for God? In our preaching, our singing, our work, like, is it for the Lord? Is it really for the Lord? Because it's so easy to start doing things from motives that just have nothing to do with really pleasing God. And that's not just a challenge for Zechariah's day. That's not just a challenge in 518 B.C. that's real for us right now. It's so easy for us to do things that on the surface looks like it's for God. But really, when you start to dig, you're doing it for all kinds of motives. And here's the reality. Nobody knows your motives but you and God. Like, I can't look at you and say, hey, you're praying for the wrong motive, or you're fasting for the wrong motive, or you're going to church for the wrong motive. You know, the motive of your heart. And here's the reality. Sometimes our motive gets revealed when the thing we were doing it for doesn't happen. So if I'm fasting so that me and my wife can get pregnant and we never get pregnant, now, I resent the fact that I was fasting and I. And now I got fasting has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Or if I was fasting because my pastor told me to, now fasting is something I don't want to do. And I think we need to, like, ask, like, especially with spiritual disciplines that we've been turned off by. Well, what was the intention? Was it for the Lord? Or was it just because it's January and that's when Christians fast? Like, why did you do it? Did you do it to try to spiritually manipulate God into blessing you? Like, why did you do it? And if the answer is I did it for the Lord, then the fruit of that is inner transformation. Like, your heart begins to change, and there's love that begins to overflow out of your heart and spills over to your human relationships. And that's not just true for Zechariah. That's true for you, that's true for me. That's a timeless truth. All right, tomorrow we've got day 248. We're gonna get into the wackiest, weirdest, strangest, oddest part of the Book of Zechariah. We're going to really dive into some apocalyptic vision content. And so that starts tomorrow. Super excited about it. How about you meet me right here for day 248? It's going to be awesome. We're going to continue our trek through the Book of Zechariah. I'll see you tomorrow right here the day 248. Love you peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department Podcast. You can find us online and learn more about the show@thebibledepartment.com and on Instagram hebibledepartment. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of courses@thebibledepartment.com we'll see you back here tomorrow.