J. Albrecht…Trinity 13…Aug. 30^th, 2026…Zech. 7:4-10…What Good has the Lord for our Good Works?

⁴Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, ⁵ “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? <sup>6</sup> `When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? ⁷ `Should you not have obeyed the words which the LORD proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?'” <sup>8</sup> Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, <sup>9</sup> “Thus says the LORD of hosts:`Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother. ¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.‘

To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you, Amen.

INJ Who has shattered the pride of our heart with His law, but who has healed such wounds through His own blood and has committed us to lives of righteousness, DFR:

Wouldn’t you agree there is a difference between something that is done and something done with the right attitude? For example: A child cleans their room. Good? What if mom had to yell at them five times before they begrudgingly go and do it. Rather, when a child cleans their room before mom or dad has to ask, that is good and their joy. Take Valentines Day or Anniversary Days: flowers and gifts are good, but if they are gotten only because that is the “expectation,” or to make up for you forgetting, it is received much differently than when given out of self-less love for your spouse. It all comes down to the attitude behind the things we do – and especially the attitude of our heart.

The same is true with God and our good works. Our theme for this morning has a double meaning: What Good Has God with Our Good Works? On the one hand, none at all. There is no work or gift that we could possibly give to God who already has the whole universe as His possession. Beyond that, even the “works” we do are often dead and not good because by nature, our heart is dead to God, selfish, and deceitful above all else. These works are nothing in God’s eyes.

On the other hand, God has a great deal of good with our good works. He is greatly pleased to see by our good works that His saving Word and grace have actually changed our hearts and made them new. He is greatly delighted to see His justice and mercy reflected in our lives as His true children, even as His joy is to make us at last perfectly like Him.

Let us pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance as we examine our hearts this morning: May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer, Amen.

In the verses leading up to our text, men from Bethel were sent to inquire of the LORD

whether they should continue the fast, which for seventy years had been observed by the Jews, or not. These fasts commemorated the day of the burning of the Temple and of Jerusalem in August 586 B.C. It was now 518 B.C., the 4^th year of King Darius who had allowed the Jews to return from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild their city. They were two years into rebuilding the temple and it would be another two years before they finished. It was a slow, sluggish process. Nevertheless, through the encouragement of Nehemiah and Zechariah, the temple was near completion and Jerusalem was rising out of the ashes. This prompted the question whether they should continue the fasts they had set up.

It’s important to understand these fasts were not set up by God, but by the people. Not only that, but they put a lot of weight into theses fasts – as if it were a big problem whether or not to keep going on with them. What these men, and the people as a whole, did not realize is what truly mattered to the LORD. The short answer to their question? It was an indifference to the LORD if they continued a man-made fast or not.

The full answer gets to the heart of the issue. ⁵ “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?

The people were under the impression that these were righteous works that would change the Lord’s heart. In reality, it was an attempt at self-righteousness. Think about how you might do more chores than you were asked to do, not because you wanted to show love or respect to your parents, but by it, you hope to gain extra favor and receive something in return for it. God sees right through this faux piety and makes it plain, that if that was their intention, it failed miserably.

Might we fall into a similar blindness of heart? How often do we treat going to church as a means to check a box and satisfy God in order to gain His blessing rather than what it ought to be: a time to receive His unending grace? Maybe it’s not as obtuse as that. What about days like Thanksgiving – a day of feasting not required in Scripture, but nevertheless, a day set apart to thank God for all His abundant blessings. But do our hearts mean it as that? Or is the Lord’s name invoked at the prayer and then all our attention is given to the food, the football, or the deals on Black Friday? Are Christmas and Easter burdens to make it to church, but you do so anyway just to satisfy your obligation and return home for gifts.

As Christians – what portion of our lives has become self-appointed righteousness and our hearts grow obtuse to the importance of our identity with Christ? So often we, like the Jews in Zechariah’s day, like to pick up the LORD here, but not there. Have Him now-and-then, but not all the time. God becomes nothing more than one with whom we can barter with rather than the Almighty God and our Salvation. It’s a different era, different work before the LORD, but the same, sinful heart.

In verse 7, the LORD asks a third question: ⁷ `Should you not have obeyed the words which the LORD proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?'”

Before the Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed and its people taken into exile, the Jews had God’s Word via the prophets! The prophets warned them exactly what would happen if they continued to be stubborn of heart. But they were also given the means to avoid God’s judgment. The Prophet Joel wrote in chapter 2:3, “So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.”

In ancient times, to show a sign of great grief, distress, or repentance, one would rend your outer garment – tear it in two. It would often get replaced by sackcloth and ashes. But is that what obtains the grace and mercy of God? Not rent clothing, but a rent heart! A broken and a contrite heart – these, O God, you will not despise. God cares nothing for the outward action so long as the heart still rages in pride and self=righteousness. He wanted the people to understand beyond anything else – their sin brought about their exile. Their refusal to hear the Word of the LORD and keep it led His presence to depart from them. No amount of fasting or beating of the breast would take that punishment away. The only solution was that God’s anger against them be satisfied.

So God repeats again what He is concerned about: ⁹ “Thus says the LORD of hosts:`Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother. ¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.‘

The difference between the fasts established by the Jews and these commands from the LORD is the power behind them. The Jews were relying upon their own strength. But these works commanded by God are done by the strength God provides. They are the marks of true godliness in a heart changed by faith in the Savior.

When the prophet Jonah preached to the people of Ninevah. They were known for everything but true justice, mercy and compassion. Jonah warned that judgment was coming upon them, but that the LORD would relent if they repent of their sins. It was the same message given to God’s own people! But the hearts of the people of Ninevah were changed to the LORD. They repented of their sin, and sought out God’s grace as Jonah had preached to them. And they found it. Then, when the people put on sackcloth and ashes as a sign of their repentance, it was a good work, pleasing to the LORD, because it flowed from a heart changed by God’s grace.

This is the change that takes our otherwise dead works and makes them good in the eyes of God. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Spiritually, we are like a tree. A tree with a rotten root is unable to produce any fruit because it is unable to gather the nutrients necessary for growth. By nature, we are rotten to the core. But Jesus is the one who heals our disease of sin. By faith, He grafts us into Himself so that His perfect and healthy root is your base. That is, His righteousness is your righteousness. His death on the cross is your death on the cross. And His resurrection is your resurrection to a new life in Him and eternal life forever.

The only way the punishment over the people of Judah could be removed was if God’s anger against them was satisfied. The only way the punishment over your sin and mine can be avoided is if God’s anger against them is satisfied. Jesus satisfied God’s wrath over your sin on the cross. There is nothing left.

The LORD has a great deal of good for your good works because they show your heart has truly been changed by His grace to love and serve Him in all you do. Good works are a constant reminder that everything we do is driven by His love. The way we act justly towards one another in patience, mercy, and compassion. The way our hearts do not think evil towards another, but seeks to befriend and be of service to friend or foe.

And God delights in these good works because they show the world the power of His love in our Savior Jesus. Good works have this three-fold benefit. 1. They remind the doer of their Savior works in them both to will and to do according to God’s good pleasure. 2. They exercise the faith that is in you, causing it to grow stronger. 3. They serve as a witness of God’s justice and mercy to the world around us. As Jesus said, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

How do we make sure our hearts always do good works and not self-righteous works? Go back to the source that produces a right heart: Daily contrition and repentance. While we have this sinful flesh, we must put it to death every day – asking God for His forgiveness and grace. A broken and contrite heart will always be met with God’s love and forgiveness for, a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench, until He brings justice to victory. And, along with that, God instills in the heart of the child of God the power to do the works He sets before you – being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Amen.