1.
And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;
1. fourth year of . . . Darius—two
years after the previous prophecies (, &c.).
Chisleu—meaning
"torpidity," the state in which nature is in November,
answering to this month.
2.
When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,
2. they . . . sent unto . . . house
of God—The Jews of the country sent to the house of God
or congregation at Jerusalem. The altar was long since reared (), though the temple was not completed till two years
afterwards (Ezra 6:15). The
priests' duty was to give decision on points of the law (Deuteronomy 17:9;
Matthew 2:4). Beth-el is here
used instead of Beth-Jehovah, because the religious
authorities, rather than the house itself (designated "Beth-Jehovah"
in Zechariah 7:3), are intended. The
old Beth-el had long ceased to be the seat of idol-worship, so that
the name had lost its opprobrious meaning. "The house of the
Lord" is used for the congregation of worshippers headed by
their priests (Zechariah 3:7; Hosea 8:1).
MAURER makes the "house
of God" nominative to "sent." HENDERSON
makes "Beth-el" so.
Sherezer—an Assyrian
name meaning, "Prefect of the treasury."
Regemmelech—meaning,
"The king's official." These names perhaps intimate the
semi-heathen character of the inquirers, which may also be implied in
the name "Beth-el" (Hebrew for "house of God"),
so notorious once for its calf-worship. They sent to Jehovah's
house as their forefathers sent to old Beth-el, not in the
spirit of true obedience.
pray before the
Lord—literally, "to entreat the face of," that is, to
offer sacrifices, the accompaniment of prayers, to conciliate His
favor (1 Samuel 13:12).
3.
And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?
3. Should I weep in the fifth
month—"I" represents here the people of God (compare
Zechariah 8:21). This rather favors
MAURER'S view, taking "the
house of God," the congregation, as nominative to "sent."
Their hypocrisy appeared because they showed more concern about a
ceremony of human institution (not improper in itself) than about
moral obedience. If, too, they had trusted God's promise as to the
restoration of Church and State, the fast would have now given place
to joy, for which there was more cause than for grief [PEMBELLUS].
to the prophets—Haggai
and Zechariah especially. The tenth day of the fifth month was
kept a fast, being the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem
(Jeremiah 52:12-14). They
ask, Should the fast be continued, now that the temple and
city are being restored?
separating myself—sanctifying
myself by separation, not only from food, but from all defilements
(compare Joel 2:16) as was usual
in a solemn fast.
4.
Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,
5.
Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
5. Speak unto all—The question
had been asked in the name of the people in general by Sherezer and
Regemmelech. The self-imposed fast they were tired of, not having
observed it in the spirit of true religion.
seventh month—This fast
was in memory of the murder of Gedaliah and those with him at Mizpah,
issuing in the dispersion of the Jews (2 Kings 25:25;
2 Kings 25:26; Jeremiah 41:1-3).
did ye . . . fast unto
me?—No; it was to gratify yourselves in hypocritical
will-worship. If it had been "unto Me," ye would
have "separated yourselves" not only from food, but from
your sins (Isaiah 58:3-7).
They falsely made the fast an end intrinsically meritorious in
itself, not a means towards God's glory in their sanctification. The
true principle of piety, reference to God, was wanting: hence
the emphatic repetition of "unto Me." Before settling
questions as to the outward forms of piety (however proper, as in
this case), the great question was as to piety itself; that being
once settled, all their outward observances become sanctified, being
"unto the Lord" (Isaiah 58:3-23).
6.
And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
6. did not ye eat for
yourselves?—literally, "Is it not ye who
eat?" that is, it is not unto Me and My glory. It tends no more
to My glory, your feasting than your fasting.
7.
Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?
7. Should ye
not hear the words—rather, "Should ye
not do the words," as their question naturally was as to
what they should do (Zechariah 7:3);
"hearing" is not mentioned till Zechariah 7:3. The sense is, It is not fasts that Jehovah requires of you,
but that ye should keep His precepts given to you at the time when
Jerusalem was in its integrity. Had ye done so then, ye would have
had no occasion to institute fasts to commemorate its destruction,
for it would never have been destroyed (Zechariah 7:3) [MAURER]. Or,
as the Margin, "Are not these the words"
of the older prophets (Isaiah 58:3;
Jeremiah 14:12) which threatened a
curse for disobedience, which the event has so awfully confirmed. If
ye follow them in sin, ye must follow them in suffering. English
Version is good sense: Ye inquire anxiously about the fasts,
whereas ye ought to be anxious about hearing the lesson taught
by the former prophets and verified in the nation's punishment;
penitence and obedience are required rather than fasts.
the plain—southwest of
Jerusalem. They then inhabited securely the region most unguarded.
8.
And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,
9.
Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
9. speaketh—implying that
these precepts addressed to their ancestors were the requirements of
Jehovah not merely then, but now. We must not only not hurt,
but we must help our fellow men. God is pleased with such loving
obedience, rather than with empty ceremonies.
10.
And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
10. imagine evil—that is,
devise evil. The Septuagint takes it, Harbor not the desire of
revenge (Leviticus 19:18). "Devise
evil against one another" is simpler (Psalms 36:4;
Micah 2:1).
11.
But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
11. pulled away the
shoulder—literally, "presented a refractory shoulder";
an image from beasts refusing to bear the yoke (, Margin).
stopped . . . ears—
(Isaiah 6:10; Jeremiah 7:26;
Acts 7:57).
12.
Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.
12. hearts . . . adamant—
(Ezekiel 3:9; Ezekiel 11:19).
Lord . . . sent in Spirit by
. . . prophets—that is, sent by the former prophets inspired
with His Spirit.
therefore . . . great wrath—
(2 Chronicles 36:16). As they pushed
from them the yoke of obedience, God laid on them the yoke of
oppression. As they made their heart hard as adamant, God brake their
hard hearts with judgments. Hard hearts must expect hard treatment.
The harder the stone, the harder the blow of the hammer to break it.
13.
Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:
13. he cried—by His prophets.
they cried—in their
calamities.
I . . . not hear—retribution
in kind (Proverbs 1:24-26;
Isaiah 1:15; Micah 3:4).
14.
But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
14. whirlwind—of wrath ().
nations whom they knew
not—foreign and barbarous.
desolate after them—after
their expulsion and exile. It was ordered remarkably by God's
providence, that no occupants took possession of it, but that during
the Jews' absence it was reserved for them against their return after
seventy years.
they laid . . . desolate—The
Jews did so by their sins. The blame of their destruction lay with
themselves, rather than with the Babylonians ().
pleasant land—Canaan.
Literally, "the land of desire" ().