In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo: “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty. Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors? “Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.’” Zechariah 1:1-6
“That the prophets despite their faithful zeal used tact and grace is also indicated by the employment of the polite particle na’ (“if you please” or “please”) with the imperative. Return (repent), please.
There was authority of divine command, but there was also the urging constraining love of the Spirit in their stern utterances to the people to forsake sin manifested in their evil ways and evil deeds.
Their evil ways constituted the common everyday “course” of their lives, their general “manner of living.” The Hebrew word derek means a “road,” a “way,” or a “path.” Here it is used figuratively of the “road of life” or “path walked in everyday activity.”
Merrill F. Unger in Zechariah: Prophet of Messiah’s Glory (UBC; Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2014) 14.
Zechariah served as contemporary to Haggai and prophesied a similar message. We won’t go through the entire book like we did with Haggai as it is 14 chapters, but we will hit some highlights from it.
We must not miss two key nuances associated with his call to return to the Lord. Unger notes them for us. It has a gracious “please” tone and it refers not to outrageous activities but to everyday “practices.”
The Lord saw the behavior and choices of the past generation and beckoned His people through Zechariah with a gracious tone to “turn” from the path they were on which ignored God.
Unger helps us drill down and see that their practices were not so much ugly and horrible, but rather simply like the “manner of living” of the world around them.
On both levels, this oracle also relates to us.
The Lord sees our stewardship and generosity or lack thereof and wants us to handle money like His Word teaches not because we have to but as a gracious invitation to take hold of life and to experience related blessings.
So, to abandon evil practices comes into view not so much as ceasing unspeakable sins, but simply as choosing the path of obedience which amounts to living differently from the world.
The Lord wants us to live, give, serve, and love for Him.