Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Zechariah 7:8-14
God Calls The People To Righteous Living Rather Than Religious Zeal and Warns of the Consequences of Refusal (Zechariah 7:8).
What Zechariah is saying is now expressed in more depth.
‘And the word of YHWH came to Zechariah saying, “Thus has YHWH of Hosts spoken, saying ‘Give true justice, and show mercy and compassion every man to his brother. And do not oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, nor the stranger, nor the poor. And let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.” '
‘Thus has YHWH of Hosts spoken.' He had spoken through the former prophets as now He speaks through Zechariah. Thus the words of Zechariah carry all the weight of those of the former prophets.
Here the importance of true justice is brought out. We are reminded how earlier ‘swearing falsely' had specifically been picked out as a failure of the times (Zechariah 5:4). If society is to prosper, fair and honest dealing in the means of obtaining justice must be an essential.
The attitude of men and women towards each other is then emphasised. They should demonstrate concern and love towards each other, and a willingness to understand and to forgive. They should be considerate and thoughtful towards one another. It should not be every man for himself, but every man for his brother.
The needs of the vulnerable are also stressed. The society may be struggling but it must not lose sight of its weaker members. Those who have no one to protect or care for them should be given full consideration and not be taken advantage of; the widows, left alone to fend for themselves; the fatherless, who have no father figure to protect and care for them; the stranger with no wider family to look to; the poor, who can wield no influence and struggle to survive. These should be treasured as giving an opportunity for showing love to God.
And finally warning is given of the danger of nursing grievances, of fostering envy, and of imagining evil in the heart. How often distress and disharmony are the result of hidden thoughts of the heart of which no one is aware, and how easily these grow until they take possession of a man's ways and actions, often without a genuine cause.
‘But they refused to listen and pulled away the shoulder and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yes, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the Law and the words which YHWH of Hosts had sent by his Spirit by the hands of the former prophets, therefore came there great wrath from Yahweh of Hosts.'
But the people had refused to listen to the former prophets. They had ‘pulled away the shoulder.' They had ceased to be willing to put in any effort. The picture may be of the oxen who refuses the yoke. Alternately it may be translated, ‘turned the shoulder' i.e. behaved stubbornly.
They ‘stopped their ears.' They were not even willing to give the message of the former prophets consideration. They did not want to hear. They ‘made their hearts as an adamant stone.' They hardened their own hearts, always a sign of men going beyond the line past which repentance becomes very difficult. An adamant stone is a stone of especial hardness.
‘Lest they should hear the Law -- and the words of the former prophets.' Already we are getting that distinction which would later become firm, ‘the Law and the prophets', the word of God. But we must remember that the Law (or ‘Instruction') is comprised of God's own personal demands on His people to Whom He has shown His favour, not just a set of regulations set up as a standard to live by.
‘The words which YHWH of Hosts had sent by His Spirit --'. The Spirit of YHWH had spoken directly to and through the former prophets, and refusal to hear their words was therefore a direct refutation of the Spirit of YHWH.
‘Therefore there came great wrath from YHWH of Hosts.' This was why the people had suffered so greatly, because their offence had been so great. They had been given every chance, and had not only refused it but had deliberately set their hearts against it. There can be no doubt that Zechariah is here saying to his hearers and readers that this is a lesson and a warning to which they must pay great heed, for, if they take the same attitude as their predecessors did, worse could happen to them. The wrath of God is still revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Romans 1:18).
‘And it happened that as he cried and they would not hear, “so shall they cry and I will not hear,” said YHWH of Hosts.'
Note the change of person indicating personal conversation in the last part of the sentence.
‘In the same way as He cried and they would not hear.' It was they who had started the process of not hearing. Up to that time God had been only too willing to hear. But they had closed their ears and refused to listen to Him.
“So shall they cry and I will not hear.” In the end God's response is also to turn a deaf ear. They prayed, they fasted in the fifth month, but their prayer and fasting was superficial and not real. Had they become real at any time God would have heard. But real prayer results from repentance and a change of heart, from a true returning to Him. And this they would not, and in the end could not, do. It is one of the presumptions of man that God is always there whenever he deigns to call on Him. But here God Himself tells us that is not true. If we keep on dilly dallying when God is speaking to us there comes a time when He stops hearing us, and we stop being able to make a true response to Him. ‘How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?' (Hebrews 2:3).
“But I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they have not known.” Thus the land was desolate after them with the result that no man passed through or returned, for they laid desolate the pleasant land (the land of desire).'
The result of God ceasing to hear was devastating. The rebellious and disobedient people were scattered among the nations. Among ‘all the nations whom they have not known.' Peoples afar off and not close neighbours. They were transported, never themselves to return, and the land became desolate to such an extent that no one wanted to return and no one even wanted to pass through it. This is a slight exaggeration, but it establishes the point. So complete was the working of God's wrath that it had rendered the land undesirable. Yet as we have seen earlier it was limited indignation. There was still a future for their descendants because the God of the covenant had not forgotten His promises.