Zechariah 4-7

“Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor” (7:9).  The people who had resettled in Judah wondered which rituals they should continue (7:3).  Through Zechariah, God said that the people were missing the point: He didn’t rescue them from Babylon so that they could practice religious rituals. 

God’s purpose was to form a people who practiced kindness and justice, as signs of His love on earth.  And He promised to do it “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit” (4:6).