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Zechariah Chapter 7

The people of Bethel decided to send a committee of folks to ask the priests and prophets a logistics question.  “Now that things are turning around, do we still need to keep doing the annual fast we started when the temple got destroyed?  Can we stop that?”  It is like a committee asking leadership, “Now that we’ve recovered, do we still have to do it?”

In this instance, God does not give them a simple answer.  He says, “During these 70 years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in early autumn, was it really for me that you were fasting?  And even now in your holy festivals, aren’t you eating and drinking just to please yourselves?”  His point??  The sad and the happy days had become about their own experience, not the actual relationship with Him.

In this passage, the prophet Zechariah offers some generalized instructions for how we are to treat others but also gives a very specific command – “Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners and the poor”.

To oppress means to take advantage or victimize.  Way back then it was usually the strong and powerful who oppose the weak and powerless. Based on these actions, God’s response was reciprocal in a way.  “As I called and they wouldn’t listen, so they called and I wouldn’t listen.  The result was a scattered nation and an empty wasteland that nobody could even walk through.

If God spelled out every kind of moral infraction in the Bible, it would be millions of pages long.  Instead, he commands us to practice general fairness and honesty in all we do.  And in those cases when we have power or authority over others, we must take extra care to make sure we treat them as God wants us to.

Religious performance is not a substitute for character.  You can nail every tradition, every fast, every service, and still miss the entire point if it is disconnected from how you treat the vulnerable and whether your heart is still soft enough to take correction.

As we go forward, we must keep all this in mind.  We all have ‘power and authority’ or someone who may be ‘weak and powerless’.  Whether it is an employee, a child, a spouse, a sibling, a parent or someone completely else.  We may not feel like we are POWERFUL or that someone is POWERLESS in certain relationships, but the point is like so many other times, we don’t always and truly know what is going on in someone else’s mind or lives.  And because of that, God is simply trying to remind us to treat EVERYONE as He wants us to.  It is hard.  It may seem impossible at times.  But there are truly no excuses.  He sent his Son to die for all of us on the cross.  Every ‘excuse’ we could ever have was thrown out the window a very long time ago.  From now on, try and think thrice before we fall guilty to becoming the oppressor.

Amos 5 is a sobering call for Israel to repent, seek God, pursue justice, and reject empty religion. God warns that outward worship means nothing when people’s lives are marked by injustice and sin.

Amos begins with a lament over Israel, describing the nation as though it has already fallen. Israel may still appear strong, but judgment is approaching because the people have turned away from God.

Yet God still offers a path back:

“Seek Me and live.” — Amos 5:4

The people had continued visiting religious centers such as Bethel and Gilgal, but God tells them that religious activity is not the same as genuinely seeking Him. Their worship had become disconnected from obedience.

A major theme of the chapter is justice. Israel’s powerful people were exploiting the poor, accepting bribes, and denying justice to the vulnerable. Amos tells them:

“Seek good and not evil, that you may live.” — Amos 5:14

God desires a society where righteousness is evident in everyday conduct:

“But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” — Amos 5:24

The Day of the Lord

Interestingly, the Israelites were looking forward to the Day of the Lord, believing God would defeat their enemies. Amos warns them that because of their own rebellion, that day would instead bring judgment upon them. It would be darkness rather than light.

God Rejects Empty Worship

One of the strongest messages in Amos 5 is that God rejects worship that is disconnected from righteous living. God says He despises their religious festivals, offerings, and songs because their lives contradict their worship.

God is not looking merely for religious activity—He desires genuine repentance, obedience, justice, and righteousness.

Amos 5 challenges us to ask: Does the way I live Monday through Saturday reflect the God I worship on Sunday?

The chapter’s message can be summarized in three commands:

Seek God.
Seek good.
Practice justice.

When worship and obedience are separated, worship becomes empty. But when we genuinely seek God, His character should increasingly shape how we treat others—especially those who are vulnerable or easily overlooked.

Proverbs 21

Is it a joy for you to live justly? When I think of justice, I immediately am reminded of athletics. Many years ago, there was a commercial running by The Foundation for a Better Life promoting the #PassItOn sportsmanship campaign. A youth basketball team is in the championship game and the ref calls an incorrect turnover but Alex, the player who actually hit it out, tells his coach “I touched it”. His teammates start ragging on him to get him to quiet down, but he knew the just thing to do. He went and told the ref and had the call reversed.

You see in these silent situations, our character is tested. Are you going to do the right thing or quietly do the thing you know you ought not do. I think of situations in school when the innocent loner is getting relentlessly bullied. If you say something, the crosshairs are now on you. Are you going to do the right thing and step in or quietly allow the injustice to continue? Maybe you are at work and you find the paper trail of a coworker stealing money from the company. Do you stay quiet or do you do the just thing and turn them in? “But It’s a huge corporation! The rich just always get richer! They won’t notice it’s even gone!” How would you like it if someone took it from you? Treat others as you would want to be treated.

Not only is it a joy to live justly, but it’s a joy to not come to destruction as the workers of iniquity do. Sin must be punished. The question is who is going to pay the punishment? If you don’t trust in Jesus, the one who bought you at a price by paying for your sin on the cross, then you will pay the just punishment by spending eternity in Hell. The beautiful thing about Jesus is that God’s mercy and justice cross perfectly in His atoning work. Sin is punished while we don’t get what we deserve. His grace is shown by offering us the free gift of salvation by trusting in Him. I want to leave you with Proverbs 21:3, “To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” God wants your heart more than He wants your religion. Continue to abide in Him.

Today’s Reading: Psalms 97

“Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 

Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around. 

His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. 

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. 

The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭97‬:‭2‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The imagery that is conveyed in this psalm is so spectacular. It shows the full power and majesty of God. It also shows his power over all creation. 

There is a beginning of many prayers that also reflects God‘s majesty and raining over everything. 

 Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, which translates to Lord our God, King of the Universe.  

This is the beginning of many Jewish prayers.  It reminds us of the excellence and awesome and awe-inspiring nature of God. The psalms and the prayer beginning reconnect us with God’s place in nature and how he has created everything.

So many times we see these big amazing works of God and then God also shows his majesty in smaller works.  

Just a couple days ago. I had a patient who came in and was ecstatic about the news that he had received from his physician.  Over the last several months, he’s been coming to the pharmacy and picking up medications. Each time he comes, we chat and discuss his plan for his overall health. This past week he came in ecstatic, he had lost over 50 pounds in a couple of months. The physician decreased his blood pressure medication and also stopped using his insulin.  He reset his diet and his exercise plan and went from about 500 pounds down to 450 pounds. 

If I was a typical Pharmacist, this would be a point of congratulations and move on. But God has shown me that he still reigns in “the small things”.  It is not by coincidence that this gentleman has reset his life and has reset his future. God has allowed me to be in his life to encourage him and to give him tough love. This patient has in response has changed the trajectory of his future.  Now this patient can walk several miles without becoming winded, when only a couple of months ago he couldn’t walk to the door without being winded . He can stand at the counter and not have to hold onto the counter for support. His face is beaming with happiness and joy. 

He informed me that so many people in his life have passed away and he has not had that connection. He has found a connection through me. But God has given me the opportunity to be there in his life.  God is showing me how he reigns in everyday life. This is a monumental miracle similar to that of the mountains being melted.

I see  the reflection of God’s reign in seeing my daughter play softball two months after she had a traumatic injury. She was able to play a game this past weekend with the full stamina and energy and resilience that she had two months before. She showed God‘s radiance. God is performing miracles daily. God is showing that he still reigns in everybody’s life daily.

Sometimes it doesn’t have to be a big spectacle to see how God is moving in your life. If we are opening up our minds and our spirits to receive God‘s blessings, then we are able to recognize the miracles that are happening in our daily life.  

Be blessed

Psalm 72

We are right to be wary of kings. Samuel warned Israel that kings take: they take sons and daughters, fields and vineyards, servants and livestock, only  to increase their own power. Kings often make rules that benefit themselves while burdening the people (1 Samuel 8:10–18).

Psalm 72, however, gives us a picture of a different kind of king.  This King we would gladly embrace.

He is filled with righteousness.
He rules with justice.
He brings prosperity to the people.
He defends the poor.
He delivers the needy.
He crushes the oppressor.
His dominion has no boundaries.
He subdues his enemies.
Other kings bow before him.
He rescues the weak because their lives are precious to him.
Under his reign, the land flourishes.
His name endures forever.
Through him, all nations are blessed.

Israel asked for a king like the nations. Psalm 72 teaches us to long for a King unlike any the nations have ever known.  A King of kings.

We have that King. His name is Jesus.

In 2 Samuel 12, the prophet Nathan confronts King David after his adultery with Bathsheba and the arranged death of Uriah. Nathan’s parable exposes David’s sin, and David immediately responds, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13, NKJV).

This chapter reveals that God’s justice and mercy are never in conflict—they work together. God’s justice requires that sin be exposed and addressed. David, though king, is not above God’s law. He experiences painful consequences for his choices, reminding us that forgiveness does not always remove earthly consequences.

At the same time, God’s mercy shines brightly. Nathan declares, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” David deserved judgment, yet God spared his life because of His grace. David’s genuine repentance opened the door to forgiveness, even while discipline remained. Justice upheld God’s holiness; mercy restored David’s relationship with Him.

The cross of Christ is the fullest expression of this same truth. God’s justice against sin was satisfied through Jesus’ sacrifice, allowing His mercy to be freely extended to all who repent and believe. We never have to hide our failures from God. Like David, we can confess honestly, receive forgiveness, and trust God to redeem even the most broken parts of our lives.

Reflection: How does God’s justice and mercy meet in this passage? God’s justice confronts and disciplines sin because He is holy, while His mercy forgives and restores the repentant because He is loving. Both reveal His perfect character and point us to the grace found in Jesus Christ.