“Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you
fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years,
did you really fast for Me – for Me?’”
According to scripture, God ordained specific days for
feasts and one day for a fast. For example:
* Feast of Passover – Leviticus 23:4-5; 14th day of first
month (Nisan)
* Feast of Unleavened Bread – Leviticus 23:6-8; 15th day of
Nisan; a week-long celebration, shows purity to walk in after the blood
deliverance
* Feast of Firstfruits – Leviticus 23:9-14; the day following
Passover’s Sabbath
* Feast of Pentacost/Feast of Weeks – Leviticus 23:15-21; 50
days after the Feast of Firstfruits; at the completion of the wheat harvest
* Feast of Trumpets – Leviticus 23:23-25; Rosh Hashanah; first
day of 7th month (Tishri 1); trumpets blown to gather God’s people for a holy
convocation
* Day of Atonement – Leviticus 23:26-32; 10th day of 7th month
(Tishri 10); a fast; a time of humble recognition of one’s sins and the need
for atonement
* Feast of Tabernacles – Leviticus 23:33-44; 15th day of 7th
month (Tishri 15); rejoice in God’s deliverance and provision for Israel in the
time of the wilderness wandering
The feasts were times of remembrance, a time to ponder all the
wonderful things God has done for His people.
The only fast for these people to keep that was ordained by God was the
Day of Atonement. It was a solemn time
to remember sins, a time to recognize that the wages of sin is death.
But the people had created their own fasts for their own
purposes. The exiles were mourning the
destruction of Jerusalem, the destruction of Solomon’s temple, and the massacre
of men. During their time of captivity,
they continued to mourn on these days so that it became a ritual, a
tradition. Over their seventy years of
captivity, this tradition became a part of their religion. This was always a part of worship for the
younger generation. It became “the way
it has always been done.”
Thankfully, one day after the captives were freed, a group
of people sent a delegate “to ask the
priests who were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and the prophets, saying,
‘Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?’” (Zechariah
7:3) Oh blessed be the day when people
ask why they are doing some ritual. If
we prayerfully seek the answer from scripture, we will get the truth directly
from God. Precious truth. If we find it is ordained by God and the
reason and purpose, then the next time we experience it, it will have greater
meaning and bring us to an entirely new depth of worship.
God had not called a fast after the destruction of Jerusalem
and the temple. The fast was something
the people established because they were sad, because they wanted God to make
it better again. They hoped God would
hear their plea and fix things. The
people were not fasting for God, but for themselves – and God called them on
it. God explained through Zechariah that
the people had been in captivity not because they did not fast, but because
they and their fathers did not heed his instruction to “Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his
brother. Do not oppress the widow or the
fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let
none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.” (Zechariah 7:9-10)
God explained what he wanted from the people, and what is
described is a decent, loving and caring society that lives in awe of God. Instead the people “refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so
that they could not hear. Yes, they made
their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD
of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of
hosts.” (Zechariah 7:11-12)
I have to admit, this sounds familiar. Have you ever noticed some people that go to
church and carry on with traditions and still have the hardest of hearts? It would seem that these hard hearted folks
would rather have their heart burned up by the heat of the sun than have it
melted to serve in one act of kindness for their brother and sister in Christ –
much less to love the unsaved.
Rituals and tradition do not bring peace. They are empty, unfulfilling. Only a personal relationship with our Creator
can bring peace. And a personal
relationship is what He wants. Stop and
think about the things any of us do in the name of worship, whether at church,
home or elsewhere. Test these things
against scripture. To be blunt, if it is
not in scripture, it is not something God ordained and therefore not something
in which He will delight. The amazing
God of the universe wants you to have a personal relationship with Him, not
with unscriptural traditions or rituals.
Scripture is showing that if God has not ordained it, He is not
listening to it. “’Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not
hear, so they called out and I would not listen,’ says the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 7:13) If this verse was all you read, it would break
your heart. But we know from the
previous verses that the people were calling out for themselves. They were crying out to God when they had,
all the while, refused to hear or keep God’s commandments.
What traditions are we keeping? Take some time to contemplate them for
yourselves. Even if it is ordained by
God, knowing the answer, He will still ask are you doing it “for Me – for
Me?” Below are just a few traditions to
consider:
Passover – Ordained by God. We first see it in Exodus 12:11, then also in
Exodus 34:25, Leviticus 23:5 and much more.
We see Jesus keeping the Passover in Matthew 26:17-20.
Lent – This ritual/tradition is not in scripture.
Lord’s Supper – Ordained by God. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper in the
upper room as described in Matthew 26:26-30.
He said “do this in remembrance of
Me.” (Luke 22:19b)
Baptism – Ordained by God. Evangelism and baptism were commands from
Jesus in Matthew 28:19. Jesus Himself
was baptized by John the Baptist, “Then
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.”
(Matthew 3:13)
Friends, rituals cannot save you. Fasting has its place but it does not save
you. We do good deeds because of what
was done for us. Only by faith in the
cleansing blood of Jesus through the grace of God can you be saved. Do you want to please God? Do you want God to hear your prayers? Then be obedient to Him. Jesus summed it up for us “The first of all the commandments is:
‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your
strength.’ This is the first
commandment. And the second, like it, is
this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than
these.” (Mark 12:29-31)
God has put it as simply as He can for us. We must trust in the saving grace of Jesus
Christ for eternal salvation. If we want
to live in the love of Jesus, Jesus said “If
you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My
Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” (John 15:10)
If we want to show Jesus how much we love Him, He told us: “If you
love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) It is a very consistent message.
“Jesus always emphasized the worshiper’s heart. He felt disgusted by those who displayed
their ‘devotion’ in a pompous, attention-getting manner. Whether it is praising, giving thanks,
singing, praying, or giving financially, the issue always comes down to
motivation. Fulfilling your purpose of
worshiping Him satisfies your very being, and it helps you build intimacy in
your relationship with Him.” (Charles Stanley)
It is so incredible that Almighty God wants intimacy with each of
us. Do not let anything or anyone come
between you and that intimacy with Him. Jesus
tells us “But the hour is coming, and now
is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for
the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” (John 4:23)
May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
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