As he cried. As the Lord called to them by the prophets. Just retri-button fell upon them ( Proverbs 1:24 , etc.; Isaiah 65:12 , Isaiah 65:13 ; Isaiah 66:4 ). So they cried, and I would not hear; rather, so they shall cry, and I will not hear. God will be deaf to their cry, and will give them up to their own ways ( Jeremiah 2:28 ). In the protasis Jehovah is spoken of in the third person, in the apodosis he speaks in the first. read more
Harder than adamant - The stone, whatever it be, was hard enough to cut ineffaceable characters : it was harder than flint . It would cut rocks; it could not be graven itself, or receive the characters of God.This is the last sin, obduracy, persevering impenitence, which “resisted the Holy Spirit” Acts 7:51. and “did despite to the Spirit of grace” Hebrews 10:29. Not through infirmity, but of set purpose, they hardened themselves, lest “they should convert” Isaiah 6:10 and be healed. They... read more
And it came to pass - that is, this which God had said, “As He cried and they heard not, so shall they cry and I will not hear, saith the Lord of hosts.” God had often said this. “It shall be too late to cry for mercy, when it is the time of justice.” So Wisdom had said by Solomon; “then, that is, when distress and anguish cometh upon them, they shall call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, and they shall not find Me” Proverbs 1:27-28. So by Isaiah, “When ye spread forth... read more
Zechariah 7:9-12. Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts Or did speak, that is, to your fathers, and thus he speaks to you now; Execute true judgment I often put your fathers in mind that judgment and mercy were more acceptable to me than fasting, or any external performances; (see the margin;) and I repeat the same admonition to you of the present age. And let none of you imagine evil against his brother, &c. Neither think ill of, nor wish ill to, nor plot evil against one another. But... read more
Zechariah 7:13-14. Therefore On this very account; as he cried As I, by my Spirit in my prophets, called, warned, entreated, and urged them to repent, obey, and live, but they would not; so they cried In their deep distress, and amidst their overwhelming calamities; and I would not hear Would not answer, or regard their prayer. But I scattered them Cast them out of their habitations, and dispersed them through distant countries; with a whirlwind Suddenly and irresistibly; among... read more
7:1-8:23 A QUESTION ABOUT CERTAIN FASTSMourning over the past (7:1-14)In captivity the Jews had instituted four fasts to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem. One fast was in the tenth month, which was the month the Babylonians laid siege to the city. One was in the fourth month, to mark the day eighteen months later when the Babylonians broke through the walls and invaded the city. Another was in the fifth month, to mark the destruction of the temple. The other was in the seventh month, to mark... read more
the law. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 20:0 , &c.), App-92 . in = by. Hebrew. ruach . App-9 . read more
"And it is come to pass that, as he cried, and they would not hear, so they shall cry, and I will not hear, said Jehovah of hosts."The change of persons here, "He cried... I will not hear," both having reference to Jehovah, is a source of perplexity to some students; this is due only to the fact that the prophets simply did not write like other people. This switch from one person to another, and such things as the scrambling of tenses, along with the failure always to form complete sentences,... read more
12. hearts . . . adamant— (Ezekiel 3:9; Ezekiel 11:19). Lord . . . sent in Spirit by . . . prophets—that is, sent by the former prophets inspired with His Spirit. therefore . . . great wrath— (2 Chronicles 36:16). As they pushed from them the yoke of obedience, God laid on them the yoke of oppression. As they made their heart hard as adamant, God brake their hard hearts with judgments. Hard hearts must expect hard treatment. The harder the stone, the harder the blow of the hammer to break it. read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 7:12
They made their hearts as an adamant stone. They made their hearts as hard as a stone which could receive no cutting or engraving; no message from God could find entrance; and this from their wilful obstinacy. The word rendered "adamant," shamir, probably means "diamond," a stone so hard, says Jerome, as to break all metals to pieces, but to be itself broken by none; hence it is called adamas, "unconquerable." Ezekiel ( Ezekiel 3:9 ) notes that it is harder than flint (comp. Jeremiah... read more