Zechariah 7:11-14
7:11 a Your ancestors refused to listen: They ignored God’s commands (see Jer 11:10 b).• stubbornly turned away (or set a defiant shoulder): The idiom signifies haughty stubbornness (see Neh 9:29 c).
• Put their fingers in their ears places full responsibility upon the people for their obstinacy (cp. Isa 6:10 d). The same expression is used of Pharaoh when he “became stubborn” (or “hardened his heart”) against God and refused to release the Hebrews (Exod 8:32 e).
7:12 f To make one’s heart as hard as stone is to steel one’s will against the will of God (see Jer 17:1 g; cp. Ezek 3:9 h).
• Instructions (Hebrew torah) refers to God’s laws and commands as taught and interpreted by the prophets.
7:14 i As with a whirlwind, I scattered them: The scattering of the Hebrews among the nations was one of the curses for violating the Mosaic covenant (Deut 28:36-37 j, 64 k).
• The pleasant land was the land of God’s covenant promise (Ps 106:24 l; Jer 3:19 m).
• Their land became ... desolate through divine judgment on their covenant unfaithfulness and idolatry (Jer 12:10 n).
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