The word of the Lord comes to Zechariah, preparing him to deliver God's response to the inquiry about fasting\u2014a response that will transform the question into a teaching about God's actual concerns regarding the community's conduct and motivations. The formula the word of the Lord came establishes that God is directly addressing the question that the community has raised. The expected response would be a direct answer about whether to continue the fast, but God instead will challenge the assumptions underlying the question and call the community toward deeper understanding of what God truly requires.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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