As I got out of bed this morning thought of this old song. I think I heard it sung one time that the sunset is coming but it is sunrise for me when the spirit is free. Of course it works well as an end of life song. Thank the Lord that the Sonrise we'll see.
Cause or Consequence?
Zechariah 7
1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;
2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,
3 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?
4 Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,
5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?
8 And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,
9 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.
13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:
14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
The Scene
The date is now four years after the Jews who had been in captives in Babylon have returned to the land of blessing. For seventy long years before this they had been out of the land and away from the blessings of God, and now they are starting to see for themselves what has been missing and they have a question for the religious authorities, the priests who are trying to rebuild the Temple and obey God. In reality it was a stumper for Joshua and the other priests and it required much more than a technical solution answer, so God Himself sends the prophet with the answer.
On the surface the prophet’s reply may not sound like much of an answer, but it is a a very definite call to plain common-sense deliberation which would make the answer to their question self-evident.and definite. But Zechariah was not out and out telling them the answer, he was only reminding them of what they already knew so they could figure it out themselves.
We need to realize that when they went into captivity they knew very well that they were going from the better to the worse and that it was as punishment sent by God. They may not have admitted that they were to blame, but they knew that it was very severe punishment and that life was not easy because of it. They were slaves to their enemies just like Moses and Joshua had predicted. Their priests and leaders made very sure that they did not forget what God had promised to Abraham and to them, but that they should remember it and tell it to others. And it was likely for that reason that they instituted the time of separation and mourning and of the fifth month, in which they all had faithfully wept and fasted throughout the seventy years of their captivity.
And now as they were free from bondage and back in the promised land and a new sense of duty impressed the remnant that had returned, they began to wonder if the time of weeping was over. Maybe it was time to end the complaining and think about being back again. This prompted the question.
The answer was a question
The prophet’s word from God to the people and the priests was also in the form of a question, a question to get them to think and act positively. He asked if they really thought those seventy years of weeping and keeping the fast was in earnest or only a show. The likely first reaction to this would be that of course they did it so God would hear them and relieve them, but the prophet continued on with his remindings. He reminded them that God had sent former prophets to warn them to heed and obey the laws He had given them. That these warnings were given over and over again and that they did know what would happen if they disobeyed. That the penalty did indeed fit the crime and no amount of weeping or fasting could reverse it. God was fair and just. Remember and think on it.
But, He said, did you really, really fast and weep before God as you should have? Oh yes, you were sorry enough for the slavery and bondage to cry and weep, but something was still lacking. Was the weeping to get right with God or just for a ritual? Can you not see that your fasting and sorrow should have been for the sins that make you guilty before God?
Although Zechariah did not say the words the message he gave was that they should look at the cause instead of the consequences. In the book of Deuteronomy, their Torah, Moses went into great and wordy detail to explain that the laws he expounded on were intimately connected to both good and bad sanctions. Blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience without exception to all of them. Therefore to blame the consequences as their fasting and weeping was doing was not unto God. The lawbreaker and not the law was the problem.
This very graphic answer must have caused both the people and the priests to reflect on their ways and repent. To consider that the consequences are always the result of the cause, that cause which is sin.
An example for us
God’s word tells us that the things that were spoken and happened in the Old Testament were for our example and education that we should not make the same mistakes. From Zechariah chapter seven we learn that God is waiting for us also to deal with the cause, to be sorry for our sins and come back to Him so the results, which are the lawful consequences, will be blessings instead of causes of sorrow. Also consider that weeping for the sorrows that sin brings is not real repentance.
Although the title of this article is formulated as either cause or consequence, that is itself an oxymoron. If there is a cause there will always be a consequence – never one without the other. Never is there a result without a cause, and when we discern and deal with the cause we also guarantee the good consequences.
God doesn’t listen to our complaints when we are sorry we get caught, but He anxiously waits for us to be sorry for what we did.
Don Casselman