Should you not obey

“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?” - Zechariah 7v7

Israel really thought they had it figured out and that they were doing it all right. They were praying and fasting on a regular basis for several years. When it didn’t seem to them like this was all “working” they came to the priests and asked them. They didn’t have an answer so they went to the prophet Zechariah. He did have an answer, but it might not be what they wanted to hear.

“Who are you fasting for?” Sometimes fasting can be misdirected. It is possible that we can fast for our own benefit, so that we feel like we are doing our duty, or even to have a goal that we want accomplished. There is a “feel good” factor to our fasting if we are not careful. The test of whether or not our fasting is proper is here in verse seven – “Should you not hear the words which the Lord has cried out?” Hearing God’s word implies obedience. There can be no doubt that God desires our prayer and fasting, but even more than that He wants our obedience.

We read in another place that to obey is better than sacrifice, from this passage we read that to obey is better than fasting.

Let us examine ourselves as we fast. The answer is not to stop fasting, but to always obey with our fasting.