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"But they refused to heed"

Text: Zechariah 7:11

WOULD THERE BE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE?

Inquiries were made as to how God would respond to the practice of weeping and fasting on the fifth and seventh months. The Lord’s reply was not what the delegation wanted to hear. This was a response that was not totally unexpected.

“But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders,
and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.
Yes, they made their hearts like flint,
refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent
by His Spirit through the former prophets.
Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.”
Zechariah 7:11-12

1. Rejection of what the LORD said:

a) This was not atypical of Israel.

i) This was sadly all too common.

ii) This response may be traced all the way back to the days of Moses.

iii) It continued through the centuries.

b) The features noted:

i) They refused to heed.

ii) They shrugged their shoulders.

iii) They stopped their ears so that they could not hear.

c) Underlying reasons noted:

i) They hardened their hearts like flint.

ii) They refused to hear what the Lord had said.

iii) There was whole-sale rejection of the Scriptures and the word of the Lord.

d) Ignoring the work put in:

i) By the Spirit of God working in their hearts.

ii) By the former prophets.

2. Great wrath from the LORD God was to be expected.