Contemplative Bible Reading

Zechariah 7:4-6 (New International Version 2011)

⁴ Then the word of the LORD Almighty came to me: ⁵ “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? ⁶ And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?

The LORD had His people fast and feast several times a year. Each of these, especially the feasts, were to be celebrations of the LORD. Well, no big surprise here, but the celebrations were often not celebrations of the LORD. Instead, they were celebrations of all sorts of other things.

This brings the question to mind, when we celebrate today,

are we celebrating the LORD or celebrating some thing?

I once heard a radio sermon in which the speaker defined idolatry:

Idolatry is worshiping the gift, not the giver.

Oooops. Am I celebrating something I did? Am I celebrating that God gave me the ability to do something? There is a slight but huge difference.