Zechariah 7:5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

I am sure most people are familiar with WWW in the context of the World Wide Web. Here my intension is to relate the Who, the Where and the Why of scriptures. Each is important to the understanding of any particular scripture and it’s relevance to our studies and personal attachment. I say personal attachment because there is the ability within us to take on an emotional attachment that may or may not be meant for us personally.

Who is speaking? How much do you know about the character and history of the speaker? Is he a prophet or King? Is he a priest or a messenger? Is he a man at all? What are his genetics? Is he raised up or called into the position he holds? Is there any historical record of his achievements or is this the only record of his involvement? Knowing a person gives more creditability to his words. As an example we know little if anything about Job’s friends Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite save where they were from. Even in that what does that say about them? Should we give credence to their words?

Where is more than a city or region but also a time frame for history. Historical significance changes over time because of rulers, culture, relationships and personal experience. As an example Babylon was a much different place after Israel’s captivity. They influenced Babylon and Babylon influenced them? The returning Jews were different than the Jews that were not led into captivity. History shows a significant attitude towards those who did not live through that seventy year captivity. Do you know the where because it influences the speech?

The why is perhaps the most important W of all.