The Bible Dept. Podcast

Host: Dr. Manny Arango
Episode: Day 247: Zechariah 7–8
Date: September 4, 2025

Episode Overview

In Day 247, Dr. Manny Arango explores Zechariah chapters 7 and 8, focusing on how Israel’s religious life evolved after exile, the deep meaning behind ritual fasting, and the difference between ritual and true worship. Dr. Arango explains the historical context, unpacks the people’s question about whether to keep fasting, and highlights God’s response that centers on justice, compassion, and transformed motives—rather than ritual compliance. The themes powerfully connect ancient questions to our present-day motives in faith practice.

Context Clues: Setting the Stage

[03:18]

• Historical Placement:
  The oracles in Zechariah 7–8 take place nearly two years after the visions in chapters 1–6. Specifically, December 7, 518 B.C. ("Fourth day, ninth month of the fourth year of Darius I").
• Post-Exile Normalcy:
  By this time, the Jewish temple has been rebuilt, and sacrificial rituals and feasts have resumed. “The ritual life of the Jewish people has therefore returned to normal.”
  Quote (05:03):
  "The exile of the people of Israel to Babylon permanently changes Judaism forever."
• Shift from Sacrifice to Scripture:
  70 years without a temple led Judaism to center on Torah (the book) and teaching rather than animal sacrifice. The origins of synagogues and rabbis come from this period.
  • “Prior to exile, there are no rabbis. The focus is not teaching… Exile is going to force Judaism to morph, to evolve, and it's going to evolve into a religion that's centered around a book as opposed to… animal sacrifice.” [06:37]
• Delay in Rebuilding:
  After return, rebuilding was not a priority—after 70 years without a temple, there was a 16-year delay before Haggai and Zechariah urged the people to build again.

The Central Question: Ritual Fast or Real Worship?

[09:55]

• The People's Query:
  The leaders ask whether they should continue the mourning fasts of the exile now that the temple is rebuilt.
  • “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month as I have done for so many years? That’s it. Simple.”
• Why Fast in the First Place?
  There were four fasts (months 4, 5, 7, 10), each marking tragic milestones of the Jerusalem siege and exile:
  • 10th month: Siege begins (2 Kings 25:1)
  • 4th month: Wall breached (Jer. 52:6–11)
  • 5th month: Temple destroyed (2 Kings 25:8–11)
  • 7th month: Gedaliah assassinated (Jer. 41:1–11)
• “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.” [11:36]
• Fasting = Mourning:
  Fasting here is deeply tied to collective grief for the nation’s loss and displacement.

Zechariah’s Response: Not What They Expected

[13:20]

• Instead of a simple yes/no, Zechariah channels God’s larger response.
  • “Zechariah could give a simple yay or nay. That is not what happens. Yo, they're about to get hit with two chapters of an explanation… Zechariah does not answer. He never answers the question.” [10:42]

God’s Counter-Question: “Was It Really For Me?”

[15:42] – Zechariah 7:5

• “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past 70 years, was it really for me that you fasted?”
• Instead of external compliance, God asks about inner motive: Were you fasting for Me, or for yourself (comfort, coping, ritual)?
  • “Did you actually fast for me? Or did you fast as a way to cope with your own feelings? Was it worship?” [18:08]

Key Instructions from God

[17:09], [31:33] – Zechariah 7:9–10; 8:16

• Justice, mercy, and compassion are God’s touchstone for real worship:
  • Zechariah 7:9:
    “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.” [19:33]
  • Zechariah 8:16:
    “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.”
• Worship measured by horizontal relationships:
  “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.” [32:10]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On missing the point of ritual:
  “Bruh. All we did was ask you about fasting. Yo, we just asked you about fasting, bro. How we get a sermon?” [16:43]
• On the interconnectedness of love for God and others:
  “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.” [20:57]
• On heart transformation:
  “Fasting is just a tool to transform your heart. 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.” [36:36]
• On joy replacing mourning:
  "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." [34:46]

Timeless Truth: Motivation Matters

[38:00]

• The heart behind our spiritual practice is everything:
  Dr. Arango reflects on how easy it is, even today, to let our “good” actions drift from healthy motives—serving God out of habit, pressure, or a desire for reward rather than love.
  • “Nobody knows your motives but you and God… Sometimes our motive gets revealed when the thing we were doing it for doesn’t happen.”
  • “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.” [40:35]

Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Historical Context & Exile’s Impact | 03:18–07:45 | | The People's Question & The Four Fasts | 09:55–13:30 | | “Was it really for me?” – God’s Core Challenge | 15:42–18:30 | | Key Justice and Mercy Instructions | 17:09–19:33 | | Notable Quotes & Scene “How we get a sermon?” | 16:43 | | Fast Becomes Festival; Joy Replaces Mourning | 34:46–36:45 | | Timeless Truth & Application for Today | 38:00–41:00 |

Summary & Takeaways

• After decades of ritualized fasting for loss and exile, the remnant wonders if such practices still matter now that life is “back to normal.”
• God doesn’t answer with ritual rules, but instead probes the heart: True worship is judged not by ritual but by justice, compassion, and community care.
• The shift: When your heart is transformed, both fasting and feasting become acts of joyful worship—not mournful duty.
• Modern echo: We should regularly ask ourselves, “Is this for God?” and look for fruits of love and justice in our personal spiritual life.

Next Episode Preview:
Day 248 will cover Zechariah’s “wackiest, weirdest, strangest” apocalyptic visions—don’t miss it!

Selected Notable Quote:
"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.” (Dr. Manny Arango, 32:10)