Rituals, Motives, and a Side of Justice: Zechariah 7 Has Questions

Today I read Zechariah 7, and it raised some uncomfortable questions.

The chapter starts with a delegation arriving to ask the priests and prophets whether they should continue observing a specific fast. On the surface, it’s a simple question about religious ritual. But instead of giving a direct answer, the text pivots. God (through Zechariah) responds by questioning the sincerity of the people’s past fasts: “During those seventy years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in early autumn, was it really for me that you were fasting?” (Zechariah 7:5, NLT).

Going Through the Motions—or Just Going?

That question lands hard. It shifts the focus from the act itself to the motivation behind it. Were they genuinely mourning? Or was the ritual just something to perform out of habit, or maybe even social pressure?

It made me wonder how often actions—especially repeated or traditional ones—become disconnected from their original intent. Zechariah 7 seems to suggest that going through the motions, even if they are culturally or religiously significant, might not hold much value if the heart behind them is missing.

When Fasting Meets Ethics

What I found especially challenging was the follow-up: “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.” (Zechariah 7:9-10, NLT).

The answer to the question about fasting becomes a commentary on justice and ethics. It seems the concern isn’t just whether the ritual was done, but whether the society behind the ritual was living according to its deeper values. If people were fasting but still exploiting the vulnerable, what did the fast mean?

Traditions With (or Without) Teeth

This part of the text pushed me to think about modern parallels. Are there ways that collective traditions today, even ones tied to mourning or reflection, risk becoming hollow? What would it look like to evaluate not just the form, but the social impact behind those forms? And how do you even begin to measure that without falling into judgment or defensiveness?

The desire to preserve meaningful practices while also staying alert to when they no longer serve their original purpose. Zechariah 7 doesn't resolve that tension neatly, but it does expose it.