This passage begins with a feature typical of later Jewish life—the priests in "the house of the LORD" to define proper Jewish observance. (This function would later be taken over by learned laymen called "rabbis.")
Apparently during the period of the exile the Jews in Babylon had adopted the custom of fasting during the fifth month to commemorate the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple in 587 B.C. and the seventh month to recall the later assassination of the governor Gedeliah—see 2 Kings 25:25. A delegation now comes to the temple to inquire whether the abstinences memorializing this double tragedy should continue. The LORD's answer comes to the prophet Zechariah on December 7, of 518 B.C.
His answer is typical of prophetic utterances, exulting the importance of genuine faith and repentance over outward observances. The people's fasting is like their eating and drinking, the prophet tells them—it is for themselves that they fast and not for the LORD (7:6). The discipline of fasting, though good in itself, easily degenerates into hypocrisy when it is practiced without feeling. What God cherishes are the concrete practices of everyday justice and integrity—"Render true judgments," he tells his people: "show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; do not devise evil in your hearts against one another" (7:9-10). These are what God commands—not fasts and abstentions. This was the message the former prophets gave them, Zechariah tells the people, a message which Israel ignored—to their great sorrow. That is the reason that the LORD has "scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known" (7:14), and left the Land of Promise desolate.
But in spite of the unfaithfulness of his people, God has remained faithful, and now his "great jealousy" for Zion, his city, has been rekindled (8:1). This jealousy for Zion is coupled not with "great wrath" against the nations that despoiled her, but with determination to see Jerusalem rebuilt. The giving of a new name in the Bible often accompanies a changed purpose or identity. Now Jerusalem will be renamed "faithful" and the mountain of the LORD "holy" (8:3) because henceforth God will dwell there in a special way. The prophet paints a charming picture of domestic tranquility in a restored city—in the future "old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of their great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets" (8:4-5). It may seem impossible for the "remnant of this people in these days" to imagine this future, but nothing is impossible for the LORD. He is able to gather the Jews from all the far places where they have been scattered, and bring them back to Jerusalem, where he will rule over them "in faithfulness and in righteousness" (8:8).They will be his people and he will be their God.
This word about a glorious and peaceful future comes as encouragement to a vulnerable city that is still largely a ruin. "Let your hand be strong," says the LORD (8:9). Zechariah reiterates this word of support which other prophets—like Haggai—gave the returned exiles when the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple (8:9). Before that foundation was begun there had been no safety and security in the land and discord reigned. But now the LORD has determined to renew his covenant and deal with his people "as in the former days" (8:11). This new order will be reflected in the world of nature; the weather will be benevolent, the rains will come, and the land will flower and prosper. The "remnant of this people" will possess a land blessed with peace and prosperity.
As once the LORD "proposed to bring disaster" upon their ancestors and "did not relent," so now God is about "to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah"; therefore the people should "not be afraid" (8:13). Instead they should live lives of integrity in response to the call of God, speaking the truth to each other, rendering justice impartially--which makes for peace in the community-- loving "truth" (819), and cherishing "no false oath" (8:17).
Returning to the original question regarding fasting, through his prophet the LORD commands that the fasts which had heretofore commemorated the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple should continue to be observed, but not as fasts but as feasts--"seasons of joy and gladness, and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah" (8:19). The people should rejoice because Jerusalem once destroyed will be rebuilt more splendid than before. To that restored Jerusalem the nations shall stream in to "entreat the favor of the LORD" (8:22). Verse 23 is one of the very rare instances where the word "Jew" is used in the Old Testament. Here "Jew" means one who lives in Jerusalem and worships the God of Israel. In the days to come these Jews shall be grasped by non-Jews who wish to "go with" them to worship in the temple, for they "have heard that God is with" the Jews (8:23).
The attitude toward non-Jews in the Old Testament is always ambivalent, however. This next section of Zechariah constitutes what is called an "oracle" or a "word of the LORD" against the nations. It is in fact a condemnation of Israel's traditional enemies in the region—a familiar subject found in the oracles of other prophets like Nahum. It predicts the ultimate triumph of Israel and its God over the nations. One by one they are named and dispatched.
The LORD, the divine warrior, moves first against the powerful and wealthy Phoenician city-state of Tyre; he will "hurl its wealth into the sea, and it shall be devoured by fire" (9:4). The Philistine city-states will fare no better: Ashkelon, Gaza, and Ekron shall be left uninhabited and "a mongrel people shall settle at Ashdod" (9:6). What exactly the ultimate fate of humiliated Philistia will be is unclear. It seems possible that in the future they will be "a remnant for our God"—like one of the tribes of Israel (9:7). And "Ekron shall be like the Jebusites"—their capital city became Jerusalem, the special habitation of the Most High. But in any case the threat they posed to the People of the Promise will be eliminated, and God "will encamp at [his] house as a guard" (9:8), to protect his people and his holy city.
This next portion of Zechariah is echoed in the gospel account of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem (see Matthew 21:2-7 and John 12:14-15.) The prophet looks forward to the day when the Messiah, the divine king and anointed one, will enter the city "triumphant and victorious." He does not enter the city riding a warhorse—an image of force, pride, and coercion—but "humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (9:9)--a mount symbolic of a peaceful king rather than a ruthless conqueror. This Davidic king, whose reign is based upon the LORD's subjugation of Israel's enemies, will himself "command peace to the nations" (9:10) and rule over a greatly extended kingdom. The "River" mentioned in verse 10 is the Euphrates River. The "dominion" of the messianic king is greater than the mighty Persian Empire.
The covenant God makes with his people is sealed with blood—see Exodus 24:8--and blood sacrifices in the temple confirm that covenant. The followers of Jesus, mediating on Old Testament verses like 9:11, saw the shedding of Jesus' blood on the cross as sign of a the new relationship established in Christ between God and all of humankind—see Hebrews 9:11-22. The "prisoners of hope" are those who have nothing left but their trust in the faithfulness of the LORD (9:12). But they will not be disappointed. They will return to their stronghold—Jerusalem—and in the restoration of the city they will receive back double for all they lost in exile.
Greece (9:13) was the sworn enemy of the Persian Empire and a rising power in the ancient world during this period. Even before the conquests of Alexander the Great, the Greeks were menacing the western provinces of the Persian Empire. The LORD—the divine warrior-- promises to use Judah and Ephraim—the name of the long vanished northern kingdom of Israel—and a bow and arrow to fight against this new threat to the peace of Zion (9:13). The Divine Warrior "will sound the trumpet" and march forth to protect his people. The Law of Moses definitively forbids the drinking of blood, human or animal, but in verse 15 the blood mentioned may refer symbolically to the blood gathered from animal sacrifices which is smeared on the four corners of the altar. In other words, the invading Greek army shall be sacrificed to the glory of the warrior God as animals were sacrificed in the temple.
The violence of this imagery may be off-putting to a modern reader, but the point that the text makes is that God, the Shepherd of Israel, is prepared to act definitively to save "the flock of his people" (9:16). Under his protection they will flourish with renewed life; the beauty and strength of their youth will be a reflection of his (9:17).
And it is the LORD who gives renewed life to the whole earth; his restorative grace is symbolized by the "showers of rain" he makes fall upon the thirsty land (10:1). It is futile to seek help or guidance elsewhere. The "teraphim" were household gods that represent powerful deceased ancestors. It is a common practice to pray and sacrifice to them in times of trouble—a practice routinely condemned by the prophets as worse than useless. (See Jeremiah 14:14.) The teraphim give nothing but "utter nonsense" (10:2). Seers, psychics, and false prophets also deceive and "give empty consolation" (10:2). It is because the people lend credence to such as these, the people "suffer for lack of a shepherd."
The "shepherds" against whom the LORD's anger burns hot are the leaders of "the house of Judah," because they do not care for the people as he does (10:3). The indifference of the leaders will be punished, but The LORD promises to make of his people a "proud war horse" (10:3), a "cornerstone," a "tent peg," and a "battle bow"—images of strength and dependability. They shall be victorious in battle because "the LORD is with them" (10:5).
The restoration of Judah and "the house of Joseph"—another name for Israel—shall be complete and lasting—"they shall be as though [the LORD] had not rejected them" (10:6). They shall be as numerous as they were before they were scattered among the nations (10:8-9). In the far countries into which they have been dispersed they will "remember" the LORD, and they will "rear their children and return" to the Land of Promise from all the far-flung places where the People of Israel have been scattered—from Egypt and Assyria and still further abroad.
They will be settled in an enlarged kingdom—an echo of what is going on in Israel today—in the territories of Gilead and Lebanon which were never traditionally part of the Land of Promise (10:10). And in order for this new Exodus to take place, God will do wonders as he did before. He will act marvelously so that they shall "pass through the sea of distress" and "all the depths of the Nile [will be] dried up" before them (10:11). The power of Israel's enemies will be finally and definitively broken, and the people will be made "strong in the LORD" in order that they may "walk in his name" (10:12).
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