Zechariah 7:9-10
" “Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’"
The entire book of Zechariah was written to record the prophecy - the prophecy was spoken to encourage the people of God to keep building the temple for God and to keep living for Him. Even though they had spent seventy-years in captivity, they were tempted, upon return, to repeat the sins of the past. In the past they had rejected God and followed the evilness of their own hearts. The above verses are spoken to remind them of what the essential requirements of God are all about and how to keep walking in His ways. Certain leaders in the nation had come to Zechariah and asked if they should keep fasting, now that they had returned to Jerusalem and started to build the temple. God rebukes them through the prophet because He knew they were not fasting in their hearts - hoping for the holiness of God to be revealed in them - but, they were fasting as a form of religion. The prophet tells them that the way to reflect the Law and to do what God wants was simple: Do right to all those you come across by showing kindness and compassion on every brother you see, even the lowly, and do it in a just like manner. The reason that becomes a theme of the prophets (see also Micah 6:8) is because that is who God is!! God is compassionate and kind on us. Note in the beginning of the book, when Zechariah was stumbling about the meaning of all the visions he was seeing. God sent His angel to speak a word that would "comfort" him (Zechariah 1:13). God is about being compassionate and comforting. He is about being just. He doesn't just forgive to simply forgive to show His big heart. He forgives in a just manner by taking the wrath, intended for us, and placing on His Son, who pays our penalty. Now, having the penalty paid, He can truly forgive us. You can't have justice without payment and you can't have payment with love and compassion. We are to reflect that character of God in all that we do. The nation had wanted to practice religion. God's Word was sent to encourage them to practice compassion measured and balanced by justice.
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