Day 264: Fasts of Feasting (Zechariah 8:19)

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.” —Zechariah 8:19

Through the Bible: Zechariah 5-9

December 7 is an odd day for me.

On one hand, many people hear “December 7,” and immediately remember of Franklin Roosevelt’s speech to the nation following the attack on Pearl Harbor. They think of it as “a day which will live in infamy.” But it also happens to be my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding anniversary. And soon after that, it became my grandson’s birthday.

The longer we live, the more our calendars get filled with momentous days. Often, they jostle for prominence. In my home state of Alabama, state employees get the third Monday of January off as a paid holiday under the name “Martin Luther King, Jr. & Robert E. Lee’s Birthday.” It is up to them and their conscience what they are commemorating that day.

For the exiles returning from Babylon in Zechariah’s day, there were several days of infamy. Each date was marked by a fast day, a day of lament and longing. They had four anniversaries of heartbreak on the calendar, every year.

• The fourth month—when Jerusalem’s walls were breached (see 2 Kings 25:2–4; Jeremiah 39:2; Jeremiah 52:6–7)
• The fifth month—when the temple was burned (2 Kings 25:8–10; Jeremiah 52:12–13)
• The seventh month—when Gedaliah, the governor left behind, was assassinated (2 Kings 25:25, Jeremiah 41:1–3)
• The tenth month—when the siege of Jerusalem began (2 Kings 25:1, Jeremiah 39:1; Jeremiah 52:4; Ezekiel 24:1–2)

In chapter 7, we read that a delegation of returning exiles had come to the priests and prophets in Jerusalem, asking:

“Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years? (Zech 7:3).

They’re asking whether to keep the traditional fasts that commemorated Jerusalem’s destruction and exile. In other words: Now that we’re back from exile and rebuilding the temple, do we still need to keep mourning?

Zechariah’s word from the Lord is, “No! those fasts will become feasts. Those anniversaries of sorrow will be transformed into days of joy and gladness. Their story would not end in grief but in restoration.

And it did. In the centuries that followed, Jewish tradition remembered these very words. The rabbis taught (Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 1:3) that in times of peace the fast days were to be celebrated as days of joy, just as Zechariah promised; only in times of trouble were they kept as mournful fasts. God had built hope right into their calendar.

This is the gospel in miniature: the cross (the darkest day) becomes our reason to sing. The blood of Jesus turns the day of mourning into the day of salvation. Fasts into feasts. Tears into laughter. Ashes into beauty.

But there is a caveat. For a fast day to be transformed into a feast day, a transformation of the heart is required first. In Zechariah 7:9, the Lord calls His people to “render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another.” Without that, fasting is empty ritual. The prophets consistently made this point:

• Joel cried out, “Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God” (Joel 2:13).
• Isaiah thundered, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free?” (Isaiah 58:6).
• Amos adds, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24).

In other words, before God turns sorrow into joy, He insists on turning His people’s hearts back to Him. Don’t just celebrate the feast—live out its reality.

Beloved, whatever day of grief you circle on your calendar—whatever fast you keep in your heart—God promises in Christ to make it a feast. The dates of your pain will one day be the anniversaries of His joy.

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