Zechariah 7:5

Disobedience And Fasting

⁴ Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, ⁵ “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? ⁶ When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves?

People of the Land

Seventy Years

Zechariah 1:12

Then the angel of the Lord said, “O Lord of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?”

Isaiah 1:11-12

“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”
Says the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.

Zechariah 7:3

speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”

2 Kings 25:23

When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.

Isaiah 58:4-6

“Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.

Jeremiah 25:11

This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Jeremiah 41:1-4

In the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. While they were eating bread together there in Mizpah,

Zechariah 7:6

When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves?

Zechariah 8:19

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’

Matthew 5:16-18

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 6:2

“So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Matthew 6:5

“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Matthew 6:16

“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Matthew 23:5

But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

Romans 14:6-9

He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

Romans 14:17-18

for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 5:15

and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,