Who Do You Love More?

In the first 6 verses of Zechariah 7 God asks the people if their fasts were about Him or about them. He then describes what should have been the results of fasts and prayers and of lives lived in a way that is God centered. What should have happened if they were about God? They should have obeyed what God told them to do when they were still on their land and still blessed with all God had given them. In essence, God is saying here, “If you love Me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

Israel was blessed because God loved them. He asked them to return that love and described what this should look like. Jesus has given the gift of salvation because God loves us (John 3:16). All He asks is that we love Him in return. This means believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, which is how we get saved. It also means keeping His commandments which is the outflowing of a heart that loves the Lord.

So, who do you love more? How you live reveals the answer.

“Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me?

Zechariah 7:5

God Delights In Mercy, Even in the Old Testament

It’s a conversation I’ve had many times and it usually starts with the statement, “The God of the Old Testament seems so different from the God of the New Testament.” The person making this statement usually goes on to talk about how God seems so judgmental and harsh in the Old Testament and so forgiving in the New Testament. They point to times when people died for sinning against God, like in 2 Samuel 6:6-8 when Uzzah touched the ark and was immediately struck down. Even David was a little ticked off about that one. While it’s a little confusing to say that the God who forgives would do such a thing, the fact is that it is the same God. Therefore, we must reconcile these acts of judgment with the forgiveness that is found throughout the New Testament, lest we misunderstand the true nature of our God.

Who is a God like You,

Pardoning iniquity

And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?

He does not retain His anger forever,

Because He delights in mercy.

Micah 7:18 (NKJV)

Micah believed that the God of his time (in the Old Testament) was a God who forgave sins. Micah describes God as one who “delights in mercy.” Other translations use the words “Grace,” “steadfast love” and “loving-kindness,” Some even use both “mercy” and “loving-kindness” together. In Micah’s eyes the God of the Old Testament was more like what we think of about the God of the New Testament.

Keep in mind that Micah wrote this after prophesying of the judgment which was to fall upon Judah and Israel (Micah chapters 1-3), so the prophet was not overlooking the fact that God at times will unleash His anger upon those who sin against Him. But Micah also understood the fact that God is a just God and that the people of his nation had earned their sentence of death because of their iniquities. That being said, Micah trusted that God would have compassion and would cast their sins into the sea (verse 19).

Micah’s God was the God of the Old Testament. His God was also a God of mercy and compassion who loves His people and forgives them of their sins. This same Old Testament God gave His Son as a sacrifice for our sins because He loved the world (John 3:16) and while at times it may be difficult to accept, God has not changed. He is Lord in every book of the Bible. He was a God of mercy in the Old Testament and He is a God of mercy in the New Testament. And right now He wants to show you how much He loves and cares about you.