Overview
Sherezer was dispatched as an envoy from Bethel to consult with the priests and prophets in Jerusalem about whether the people should continue their customary fasting. His question prompted Zechariah to deliver a significant prophetic word addressing the true nature of worship and the Lord's priorities regarding obedience and justice over external religious practices.
Key Scriptures
"Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord" (Zechariah 7:2, ESV).
"When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?" (Zechariah 7:5, ESV).
"Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another" (Zechariah 7:9, ESV).
Application
Sherezer's inquiry reminds us to examine whether our religious practices reflect genuine devotion to God or merely external observance, and to prioritize obedience and compassion over ritualism.