When Tradition Is Meaningless

I’m currently studying Zechariah, chapter 7 in the course of teaching through the Minor Prophets on Wednesday nights. We’ve been covering these dozen books in leaps and bounds, but sometimes I am forced to slow down and really camp out in a shorter passage of Scripture. Such is the case here.

Zechariah is a preacher with a message of encouragement to Israel in a time when the nation was struggling to rebuild their ruined city after the end of the Babylonian exile. Governor Zerubabbel and High Priest Joshua have had a difficult time motivating people to stay involved in the hard work ahead. Discouragement was on every hand, so God sent Zechariah to say, “God is for you - get to work!”

In chapter seven, Zechariah attempts to get the people to see one of the errors of their fathers - the confusion of tradition with faithfulness. “Have we not fasted at all the appropriate times?” They saw the religious calendar as highly important in their walk with God. I, too, believe that a disciplined regimen of faithfulness to God’s commands is essential to our spiritual growth. But what happens when we stare at the religious “to do list” and ignore people?

Zechariah has two huge questions for us to ask ourselves today… Why do you do what you do? and What should you be doing that really matters? He cuts through the facade of rituals and gets to the heart of the matter. Be truth-tellers. Serve people. Uphold justice. Look out for the poor. Shouldn’t these be the results of our fasting and prayer?

So, in your life, why do you do the things you do? And what should you be doing that really matters? Money and prestige are temporary, but people last forever.

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