THE MESSAGE OF ZECHARIAH
Number 14
LISTENING TO GOD
Zechariah 7
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THE next two chapters of Zechariah are teaching in nature, and arise out of a question of fasting. There was only one fast appointed under the law of Moses, and this was in connection with the day of atonement, and was in nature an aspect of the action and worship of the day, rather than an end in itself. After the destruction of Jerusalem other fasts grew up in the life of Israel, which arose out of the suffering of the people in exile, and were for the purpose of seeking, in repentance, the favour of God again. However these fasts became in time ends in themselves, and considered as religious works to gain the favour of God. Chapter 7 answers questions raised about these fasts, and chapter 8 goes on to tell the people these fast were not necessary, and that God was purposing blessing for his people. In fact, concerning fasts, these two chapters indicate that at times of special repentance and seeking God, fasting may be engaged in as a support to repentance and to give time to seek the Lord, but are not supposed to be permanent and are not laid down as obligatory by the Lord.

It is in verse 13 that we have a thought which draws together the words of revelation given to Zechariah in this chapter.

GOD SPEAKS TO HIS PEOPLE.

The grand truth which is revealed in verse 13 is that God speaks to his people, and communicates with them. This is an act of rich grace on the part of God that he should speak to us sinful people, and make his wishes and his blessing known to us. If God did not speak to us what a hopeless condition we would be in. We would indeed be without hope and without God in the world. It is only in God that we know life and joy. Without God there is only existence of untold misery. Graciously God speaks to us. As the writer to the Hebrews opens his letter, God has spoken in these last days in his Son, Jesus Christ. We live in these last days, and so we have this great speaking of God which is heard in the gift of Jesus and all that he is and has done for us.

LISTENING TO GOD.

The great tragedy of our world is that God speaks, and more often than not he is not listened to, but rather he is ignored. This is not only dishonouring to God, but it is our tremendous loss. The great tragedy of the people of Israel was that they did not listen to God. God speaks to us today through his Word the Bible and through Jesus who is the subject of the Bible, and by the Holy Spirit who interprets the Bible to us. In the Old Testament times God spoke through his prophets, by visions or direct communication, and we have example of this in this chapter, where in verses 4 and 8 Zechariah tells us the word of the Lord came to him. This was an act of grace and love that he spoke through his prophets. The sin of Israel was that they did not listen to what God spoke to them, but rather ignored and slighted that word. The trouble was aggravated because even when the people sought for God to speak to them, as they did here in the opening of this chapter, they did not really listen to what God said to them, or accept his word.

GOD'S CHALLENGE.

The people came to Zechariah to ask him to enquire of the Lord whether they should continue the fasting in which they had engaged during their exile now that they were back in Jerusalem, and the temple had been rebuilt. Mourning over sin and God's judgement was the reason for fasting, and this seemed inappropriate now the exile had finished, and God had brought them back to their land.

In reply God challenged his people. He challenged them concerning their sincerity, and whether they truly wished to listen to him and do his will. Zechariah is told by God to ask the Jews to search their hearts to see if their fasting was done with the right intentions. Did they really fast for God, or was their fasting for their own benefit. The challenge was this. Israel had fasted, not under the pressure of true repentance and sorrow before God for their sins, but had fasted to gain comfort for themselves, to quieten their consciences, and seek to gain favour with God by engaging in a work which they thought God would be pleased with. Their fasting may have commenced with genuine sorrow for sin, but it had degenerated into a mere outward act of ritual which was thought to gain favour with God just by the doing of it. In fact God had not placed any burden of fasting on his people. The fasting was of human origin.

It is the first stage in truly beginning to listen to God when we are prepared to be honest with ourselves, and face what we are truly like, and the folly and sinfulness of our actions or nature.

THE NATURE OF REAL LISTENING TO GOD.

 God speaks to Israel of what it means to listen to him. Real listening to God is revealed when we obey God and live according to his word. In verses 9 and 10 God speaks through Zechariah and tells Israel that the only evidence of listening that is real is when our lives conform to the ways of God. Israel had kept their religious life intact, but their hearts were far from God. This was shown because they acted in ways which were offensive to God. So God challenges his people to show they were listening to him by  acting justly and showing mercy and compassion to their fellow Jews. God challenges them to reform the way they lived and to stop oppressing the widows and the poor. It all boiled down to the state of their hearts. God says to his people "In your hearts do not think evil of each other".

Here is the crux of true listening to God. Listening is not just hearing the words. Nor is it simply approving the word with the mind. True listening is when the heart is touched by the word of God, and with the whole of our affection, and our will, we desire to obey what God is telling us, and live it. Further this desire to obey must be done, not simply to be good, but because we want to please the Lord. There is no satisfactory listening to God without this faith revealed in obedience.

WARNING FROM THE PAST.

God's word through Zechariah had a warning from the past. This is found in verses 13 and 14. God calls his people to consider the past and what happened then. Israel continually shut their minds to what God was saying to them through his prophets. The history of Israel was a mournful record of God speaking, but his people just refusing to listen or heed what God said. They refused to heed the warning of judgement. Also they refused to believe that God's threatenings were ever going to be fulfilled. What was the result? God's judgement fell on his people. Nebuchanezzar came down and destroyed Jerusalem, and the Jews were carried off into captivity in Babylon.

The warning that comes from the past is that when people disregard his word, specially those who claim to be his people, then God's just anger is the result. This is something the church needs to heed today in particular. There is thinking in the church today that says it is entirely wrong and false to suggest that God is angry when his people disregard his word, and that he will punish his people for their sins. The history of Israel is a dismal but powerful denial of any thought that God never will be angry with us however much we disregard his word to us.

APPLICATION.

From all this let us first of all realise and acknowledge the graciousness of the Lord in that he he speaks to us. God has given us his precious word the Bible in which he has revealed to us his grace and love, and in which he calls us to faith and obedience so that we know his blessing. God has further given us Jesus Christ, who is the subject of the Bible through whom he speaks to us of his great provision of salvation and acceptance and blessing. On top of all this, in Jesus Christ, God has poured out his Spirit so that the Bible may be a book that is open to us, and we may understand its message and know the mind of God. In all this God has leant over in his determination to be gracious to us, and bestow upon us his love.

We need to appreciate how blessed we are that God speaks to us, for in ourselves we do not deserve that he should ever speak to us. We have rebelled against God, yet God has put himself out to communicate to us, and to promise salvation and blessing if we will hear, believe and obey.

Let us consider the fact that if God in grace speaks to us, it is for our blessing, and that to listen to his word to us and receive it, is to know the blessed life purposed for us when God created us. To listen to God in this life may be, and often is, difficult, but it is the life of purpose and joy in spite of the difficulties. To listen to God in this life and to belong to him means that we are laying up treasure in heaven, so that when this life is over we inherit a place in God's eternal glory, and enjoy eternal happiness.

We need also to face the consequence of not listening to God. Firstly, we need to appreciate how our refusing to listen to God appears to God and is experienced by God. We may commence with our own experience. When we come to someone and wish to communicate good news and be friendly, and that person turns away from us and ignores us, how do we feel? How hurtful it is to us when we seek to be friendly with someone and go out of our way to show love to them and they then turn away from us and reject every movement of friendship we offer. Our ignoring of God must have a similar but greater effect before God, specially as God has been offended by us because of our sins, and his speaking to us is a matter of grace only. How insulting to God for us to shut our ears to his word, and go on shutting our ears even as he pleads with us to listen.

We need also to take on board that although God is slow to anger and of great kindness, his patience is not unlimited. We have an indication of this in this passage. When Israel over 100's of years refused to heed the message of God sent by his prophets, we are told that God was very angry (v.12), and this resulted in the end with God allowing Babylon to defeat Israel and carry the people off into captivity in Babylon.

What is much worse is the truth God reveals through Zechariah in verse 13. It is the truth that if we shut our ears to God, he will shut his ears to us. Many people complain, when they are in trouble, that God does not answer their prayers. They grow angry and accuse God of heartlessness, They do not consider the fact that they have ignored God all along until the moment they wanted some help. Then they demand his attention and blessing, and demand it with no desire to change their attitude to God, and turn in repentance and start listening to God and living according to his word. Is it surprising if God does not respond?

Even those of us who believe, we so often take the blessings of salvation for granted, and live our lives for ourselves, and then when God does not seem to answer our cry when we are in need, we grow angry rather than being sorry for our neglect of him. It is a salutary thought to remember that God is speaking through Zechariah to his people, and the people that he had blest by bringing them back from exile, and yet still they were not listening to him. It is the sad state of the church today that it can be seen and said that we also are refusing to heed the word of God, and live in the light and truth of it. We complain that the church is declining, but what is the reason. Perhaps it is the fact that God is not listening to us because we are not listening to him.

CONCLUSION.

This chapter calls us to consider our personal attitude to God, and examine our lives and our attitude to his word, and be ready to repent and cry to God for his forgiveness. The church needs to look again at its life and practice, and face squarely an examining of its life in the light of God's word. However this needs to be done with honesty and truth. Much of God's shutting his ears to his people today is because those who pride themselves on upholding God's truth are really the ones who are not listening to the whole of God's word, and in pursuit of morality have let love and mercy fly out of the window. The fault of the Pharisees in Jesus day was their self righteous attitude outwardly, and their lack of true love for God in their hearts. All of us need to be repentant. All of us need to listen to God without prejudice.