เศคาริยาห์ 7:13 วิจารณ์

We have done with the visions, but not with the revelations of this book; the prophet sees no more such signs as he had seen, but still "the word of the Lord came to him." In this chapter we have, I. A case of conscience proposed to the prophet by the children of the captivity concerning fasting, whether they should continue their solemn fasts which they had religiously observed during the seventy years of their captivity (Zac 7:1-3). II. The answer to this question, which is given in this and the next chapter; and this answer was given not all at once, but by piece-meal, and, it should seem, at several times, for here are four distinct discourses which have all of them reference to this case, each of them prefaced with "the word of the Lord came," (Zac 7:4-8 and Zac 8:1, Zac 8:18). The method of them is very observable. In this chapter, 1. The prophet sharply reproves them for the mismanagements of their fasts (Zac 7:4-7). 2. He exhorts them to reform their lives, which would be the best way of fasting, and to take heed of those sins which brought those judgments upon them which they kept these fasts in memory of (Zac 7:8-14). And then in the next chapter, having searched the wound, he binds it up, and heals it, with gracious assurances of great mercy God had yet in store for them, by which he would turn their fasts into feasts.

INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 7 This chapter treats concerning the nature and use of certain fasts kept by the Jews, on account of the destruction of the temple, and other things; and concerning the message of the former prophets to them, and the effects of it. The occasion of the former was an embassy sent by the Jews to the priests and prophets, to know whether they should continue the fast of the fifth month; upon which the prophet was sent by the Lord unto them. The time of the prophecy is noted, Zac 7:1. An account of the embassy is given, of the persons that were sent, and to whom, and upon what account, Zac 7:2. The answer of the Lord to it by the prophet, showing the usefulness of fasts to him, and putting them upon hearkening to his voice by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was in great prosperity, Zac 7:4 and then they are exhorted by him, in the ministry of the present prophet, to acts of righteousness, several species of which are mentioned; and which were the same they had been exhorted to by the former prophets, but had neglected, and hardened their hearts against all exhortations and instructions, Zac 7:8 and were the reason of their captivity and desolation, Zac 7:13.

(Verses 8 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears in order not to hear. They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. And it came to pass as he had spoken, and they did not hear: so shall they cry, and I will not hear, saith the Lord of hosts. And I scattered them throughout all the kingdoms which they did not know; and the land was desolate from them, because there was no one who passed by or returned; and they made the pleasant land a wilderness. LXX: And the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, saying: Thus saith the Lord Almighty, saying: Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassion every man to his brother: and oppress not the widow, and the orphan, and the poor man: and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your hearts. And they were unwilling to pay attention, and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear, says the Lord of hosts, and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate. I wanted these things more, I sought those things that you, not doing, are handed over to captivity; and not the fasting of the fifth and seventh month of desolation and death. Judge a just judgment, so that you may not hear in the Psalms: How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Judge for the orphan and the widow; justify the humble and the poor (Psalm 81:2, 3), lest Isaiah also speak to you: Those who justify the wicked for bribes and take away the justice of the righteous (Isaiah 5:23); and because of you, let Habakkuk make a complaint to God on behalf of those who are oppressed: Judgment has been done against me, and the judge accepts bribes; therefore the law is useless and justice does not reach its end, because the wicked oppress the righteous (Habakkuk 1:3, 4). Nor should we consider this commandment of God to be something new; once upon a time, He had given these instructions through Moses: 'You shall judge great as small: you shall not show partiality to anyone, and you shall not have pity on the poor in judgment, for it is the judgment of God' (Deuteronomy 1:17). Each person shall also show mercy and compassion towards their brother. After the severity of judgment, let mercy follow for all, especially towards brothers, whom we perceive to be of the same blood or of the same faith as us. Also see the widow and orphan, of whom it was commanded to us: Be a father to the orphans and a husband to their mother; judge the orphan and justify the widow (Eccl. IV, 10). And do not slander the stranger and the poor, for one is made a foreigner by travel, the other is made lowly by poverty. And let not a man think evil of his brother in his heart, as it is said in the Septuagint: And let everyone not remember the wickedness of his brother in his heart (Luke X). But we must accept our brother and neighbor, or all kinds of people; because we are all generated from one parent, or those who are of the household of faith, according to the parable of the Gospel, which wants all people to be understood as neighbors, not just those who are blood relatives. And whatever anger should be resolved before the sun sets, and all the evil that we have suffered from others should be erased from memory, and we read this in many places, especially in Jeremiah, who speaks in the voice of God: And let each one not remember the malice of his neighbor in your hearts. When I commanded them to do these things, they refused to pay attention and turned their back, despising my orders, disregarding the posture of my body. For we are accustomed, when we wrinkle our forehead and contract our nostrils, to show disdain, to turn our back, according to that which is written: They turned their back to me, and not their face (Jeremiah 2:27). And they have made their ears heavy, so they could not hear, like the deaf adder that stops its ears, which will not hear the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful they might be. For they have made their ears heavy, that they may not hear, and their heart they have turned away, that they may not understand the law of God. Hence, Isaiah, threatening them, says: The heart of this people is fat, and with their ears they have been heavily affected, and their eyes they have closed, lest perhaps they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. Moreover, what is said according to the Hebrew: And they have placed their heart as adamant (or as adamant), signifies the hardness of heart, and a stony heart, that they have not been willing to receive the words of God. For indeed, the diamond is the strongest stone, which in Hebrew is called Samir, so hard that it breaks all metals and it itself is not broken by any. Hence, it is called indomitable by the Greeks. Pharaoh's heart was hardened by this diamond, so that he would not let the people of God go (Exod. 7 et seq.). And because they had, or rather they set their hearts like a diamond, willingly taking on the hardness of heart, they did not listen to the words of the Lord, which he sent in his spirit, that is, in the Holy Spirit through the hand of the prophets of old, Isaiah, Hosea, and the others, who had clean hands, as it is evident from before the captivity: therefore, great anger was brought about by great sins, and the words of the Lord have been fulfilled, in accordance with the principle of like for like, that just as they walked towards him in wickedness, so he would walk towards them in wickedness, and he would not listen to the words of those calling out, because they too had disregarded the words of the Lord with a deaf ear. Therefore, he scattered them throughout all the kingdoms that they did not know, the kingdoms of the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Medes, Persians, and other nations that were subject to these empires, and in whose lands they were scattered. And all of Judah became desolate, because it had no inhabitant, and there was no one passing through or returning. And the land, which was a honeycomb among all lands and flowed with milk and honey abundantly, they turned into a wilderness. Can we apply these things to those who, in the Church, as delinquents, were cast out from the land of confession, because they refused to hear the Lord, and turned their back on Him departing, and made heavy their ears, and hardened their heart like adamant. And the indignation of the Lord came upon them, and they were scattered throughout all the kingdoms of vices, and their land was deserted, either in soul or body, having no indwelling Lord, nor a returning spirit within themselves. And the once desirable land, which was the dwelling place of the Trinity, has been turned into a desert, the abode of dragons. Let us quickly pass over those things which are clear, so that there may be room for discussing obscure matters: for we are not writing lengthy and flourishing treatises in which eloquence plays a pleasing role, but rather we are writing commentaries, whose duty it is to pass over obvious things and discuss obscure matters.

Some Jews being sent from those who remained at Babylon to inquire of the priests and prophets at Jerusalem whether they were still bound to observe those fasts which had been appointed on occasion of the destruction of Jerusalem, and kept during the captivity, the prophet is commanded to take this opportunity of enforcing upon them the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy, that they might not incur such calamities as befell their fathers. He also intimates that in their former fasts they had regarded themselves more than God; and that they had rested too much on the performance of external rites, although the former prophets had largely insisted on the superior excellence of moral duties, Zac 7:1-14.

II. DIDACTIC PART, SEVENTH AND EIGHTH CHAPTERS. OBEDIENCE, RATHER THAN FASTING, ENJOINED: ITS REWARD. (Zac 7:1-14) fourth year of . . . Darius--two years after the previous prophecies (Zac 1:1, &c.). Chisleu--meaning "torpidity," the state in which nature is in November, answering to this month.

he cried--by His prophets. they cried--in their calamities. I . . . not hear--retribution in kind (Pro 1:24-26; Isa 1:15; Mic 3:4).

This wrath is described in Zac 7:13, Zac 7:14. Zac 7:13. "It came to pass: as he cried and they did not hear, so will they cry and I shall not hear, said Jehovah of hosts. Zac 7:14. And I will scatter them with a whirlwind over all nations, who did not know them, and the land is laid waste behind them, so that no one passes to and fro. And thus they made the choice land a desert." The form of the address changes in Zac 7:13. Whereas in the protasis the prophet is still speaking of Jehovah in the third person, in the apodosis he introduces Jehovah as speaking (so will they cry, and I, etc.) and announcing the punishment, which He will inflict upon the rebellious and has already inflicted in their captivity. This address of God is continued in Zac 7:14 as far as וּמשּׁב. The opinion, that the address terminates with לא ידעוּם, and that והארץ commences the account of the accomplishment of the purpose to punish, is not so much at variance with the circumstance, that in that case the last two clauses of Zac 7:14 would say essentially the same thing, as with the fact that והארץ וגו cannot, from its very form, be taken as an account of the accomplishment of the divine purpose. The perfect nâshammâh in this clause does not preclude our connecting it with the preceding one, but is used to set forth the devastation as a completed fact: the land will be (not become) waste. The infliction of the punishment is expressed in Zac 7:13 in the form of a divine talio. As they have not hearkened to the word of God, so will God, when they call upon Him, namely in distress (cf. Hos 5:15), also not hear (cf. Jer 11:11), but whirl them like a tempest over the nations. The form אסערם is the first pers. imperf. piel for אסערם or אסערם, and Aramaic (cf. Ges. 52, 2, Anm. 2). On the nations whom they do not know, and who will therefore have no pity and compassion upon them, compare Jer 22:28; Jer 16:13. מעבר וּמשּׁב (cf. Zac 9:8), that not one goes to and fro in the desolate land; lit., goes away from a place and returns again (cf. Exo 32:27). In the clause ויּשׂימוּ וגו the result of the stiff-necked obstinacy of the fathers is briefly stated: They have made the choice land a desert ('erets chemdâh, as in Jer 3:19 and Psa 106:24), so that they have brought upon the land all the calamity which is now bewailed upon the fast-days.