In Zechariah 7 a delegation came from the Jews in Bethel asking the question: “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”i During the 70 years of exile in Babylon, the Jews had been observing four fasts in memory of the destruction of Jerusalem. The most significant one was in the fifth month on the day the Solomon’s temple was destroyed. Now that a new temple was being constructed and the 70 years of captivity prophesied by Jeremiah were approaching completion, the question would naturally come up.
God answered the question in four messages through Zechariah. Each message is introduced by a statement that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah. This divides the answer as follows:
? 7:7-7 Confronts the motive behind their religious activities.
? 7:8-14 Reminds them of what God has already told them to do.
? 8:1-17 Encourages them in God’s faithfulness to His promises.
? 8:18-23 Predicts the day when all mourning will be turned into rejoicing through Messiah
The corrective portion of the answer is in chapter 7, and the comforting portion of the answer is in chapter 8.
Last week we only had time to deal with two of the three rhetorical questions that God asked His people in Zechariah 7:4-7. Zechariah 7:4: “Then the word of the LORD Almighty came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests.” Here are the three questions beginning in verse 5:
? Question #1: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6
? Question #2: “And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?” Those two questions confront the problem of doing a good thing with the wrong motive. Nothing wrong with fasting. In fact, it can be a very profitable spiritual exercise when done in the right spirit. But God was exposing the fact that these Jews were not pursuing God from their hearts. The motive behind the fasting was self-centered. We dealt with that problem extensively last week. Now in verse 7 we come to the third question that God asks His people.
? Question #3: “Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’” That introduces the remaining verses in the chapter. The “words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets” are summarized in verses 9-10.
The question reminds the inquirers and all the people there in Judah of what God had already told them to do. The NKJV clarifies that implication: “Should you not have obeyed the words which the Lord proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?'" You’re asking about the will of God. But you’re not doing the will God has already revealed in His word. You’re not doing what He has already told you to do.ii The implied message is this: Begin by doing what you have already been told to do. This principle is just as relevant today as it was in Zechariah’s day. If you want direction from God, position yourself to receive that guidance by doing what He has already told you to do. Who sets the agenda for what is important, you or God? Who is running the show? Who is in charge? Whose priorities should be followed?
Christians often make the mistake these Jews were making. We can’t understand why God doesn’t tell us whether to sell our stock or buy more? We’re asking God questions about whether to buy a better car or repair the one we have. We’re asking questions about whether to buy a house or rent. All we get is silence. The message behind that silence is the question: Are you doing what I have already told you to do? Are you living according to the instruction in my word? I already told you to stop gossiping. Are you doing that? I told you to stop being stingy and, instead, give to others. Are you doing that? Is there anything God has already told you to do. Attend to that first. Then clarity will come for the next step.
Like the first two questions, the third question confronts the sincerity of their religion.iii The sincere believer will live in the two great commandments. Jesus quoted them in Matthew Matthew 22:37-38: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself' (NKJV).” The first two questions in Zechariah 7:5-6 deal with the first command regarding our inner love toward God. This third question in Zechariah 7:7 deals with the second great commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.
The way we treat others, gives evidence of the condition of our hearts.iv James tells us that the evidence of our faith is our external behavior. He puts it this way in 2:18: “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (NKJV). Talk is cheap. Religious ritual is cheap. The real test is how we live in relationship with others. James introduced this subject by defining pure religion. James 1:27: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
Now let’s examine the word Zechariah gives in 7:8-14. This is the second phase of God’s four-fold answer. It is introduced in verse 8 with the words: “And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah.” Next comes the admonition God had given through the previous prophets and is being given through Zechariah: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ Verse 11: “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry. 13 ‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’”
We find in that passage
I. REQUIREMENT God gave to Israel (vs 9-10)
II. RESPONSE Israel gave to God (vs 11-12)
III. RESULT that Israel experienced as a consequence of their response (vs13-14).
I. REQUIREMENT God gave to Israel (vs 9-10) applied to Israel prior to the captivity, it applied to God’s people in Zechariah’s day, and it applies to us today. “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’”v
Both Zechariah and James focus on the most vulnerable in society to make their point. The widow and the orphan were particularly vulnerable in those male-dominated cultures. The foreigner was not a second-class citizen. He was not a citizen at all. Then, as always, the poor were not as powerful as the rich. We see this difference play out in court proceedings all the time. These classes of people are still disadvantaged in our day. But there are others who are similarly disadvantaged. Children from broken homes generally have less support than those who grow up in strong, traditional families. Some ethnic groups are discriminated against. Those physically or mentally handicapped are often vulnerable to manipulation and oppression. Con artists often take advantage of elderly people, especially those who do not have a strong, supportive families. The mention of widows, fatherless, foreigners, and the poor is simply referencing those more vulnerable in society. Unscrupulous people often target them because they are easy marks.
The way we treat people who can do nothing for us is a good gage of character. Watch people’s behavior. Do they give attention to the influential and powerful, but avoid the needy? Several years ago, Jeanie and I were getting frustrated with our denominational conventions. Rather than leaving in an edified state, we sometimes left with a heaviness on our hearts. One time we were on our way to such a convention and began to discuss this problem. As we talked about it, God began to enter the conversation and show us what we were doing wrong. Like most of the people there, we were using it as a time to connect with influential people. We justified that as something necessary to function effectively in ministry. But God showed us the selfishness in what we were doing, and we repented of it. When we arrived at the convention, we intentionally gave ourselves to those who needed our ministry, and only interacted the more influential as they pursued us. Most of the time was spent encouraging those with small struggling congregations or those in low-level staff positions. Guess what? We left walking on the clouds. We left strengthen in the Spirit. “He who waters will also be watered himself.” “Give, and it shall be given unto you.”vi
Jesus said, “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39 NKJV). This is a paradox in Christianity. It is counter intuitive. It’s natural for us to live for self; make financial decisions that benefit us with little regard for the needs of others; promote our own reputation and agenda. But in reality, that is a formula for misery. It is only when we give ourselves away to others for the sake of Christ that we truly enter abundant life.vii The pathway to fulfillment is in dying to self and serving others. The fast that God wants from His people is an unselfish lifestyle.
In Isaiah 58 God rejected the self-centered fasting being done by His people. Then He told them what He required in Isaiah 58:6-7. “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” The fasted life God describes here is an other-oriented life. It is responding to the needs of others with compassion. Sometimes people need spiritual help. They need people who walk close enough to God to break their spiritual yokes, to set them free from spiritual oppression. At other times they need help with physical needs like food and shelter. Verses 9-10 shed more light on what God wants in His people: “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk [Are your words kind and edifying or are they judgmental and harsh], 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed.” The bottom line is this: Do you live a selfish lifestyle or an unselfish lifestyle?
Motive is a big factor just as it was in last week’s message. Are we moved with compassion toward the needs of others? Do we treat them the way we would want to be treated?viii The evidence of our true heart condition is found in how we treat other people.
Now consider the promise God makes to those who will live the fasted life. He promises in Isaiah 58:8-9: “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear [Do I want health and strength in body so I can use it for my own pleasure or am I desiring that health so that I can serve others]; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”
Contrast that last statement with Zechariah 7:13: “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty.” Notice both groups claim to be God’s people. This is not referring to pagans who do not know God. This is church-going people who cannot get answers to their prayers. For them God says, “when they called, I would not listen.” The difference is profoundly significant. In contrast to those who would not listen, God says to those who live unselfishly in obedience to Him: “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I” (Isa. 58:9). By our lifestyle choices, we decide which group we will be in.
In Isaiah 58:11 God expands His promise to those who live unselfishly: “The Lord will guide you always [Can you see the relevance to Zech. 7?]; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame [There again is another reference to health. There are keys to divine health in this passage]. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
All those promises were given by the prophets prior to the exile. Of course, those hearing the message wanted the blessings. But they did not want to abandon their selfishness. This is the problem God is addressing through Zechariah. This is the problem we must address in our own lives. God uses the example of the Jews prior to the exile to correct those in Zechariah’s day. And this reference is a warning for us today (1 Cor. 10:6). Now let’s look at the response of the Jews to God’s call to the fasted life.
II. RESPONSE Israel gave to God (vs 11-12): “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.”
Four statements are made about their response to God’s word.
(1) “They refused to pay attention.” With the internet people have a lot of choices as to where they will give their attention. Will I tune into this news forecast or a particular teaching video? Will I read a book or follow someone’s blog? Never were there so many options. One way we refuse of pay attention is to simply avoid the word of the Lord. Failure to read and study the Bible is one way we make this mistake.ix Avoiding sermons that step on our toes is another.
In 2 Timothy 4 Paul told Timothy to “Preach the word.” Then he warned in verse 3, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” There are many church people today who “will not endure sound doctrine.” They successfully avoid teaching that confronts their selfish lifestyle.
It was happening in Isaiah’s day. That prophet wrote, “For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. 10 They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things [Keep it positive; entertain us with messages that don’t confront our selfish ways], prophesy illusions.x 11 Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!’”(Isa. 30:9-11). It’s “the Holy One” that they don’t want to be confronted with. They don’t mind you talking about “the Gracious One” or “the Loving One.” But holiness is a subject they would prefer to avoid. Peter did not avoid it when he quoted Leviticus 11:45 saying, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Pet. 1:15-16).
Paying attention (Zech. 7:11) means we would both listen and do. It means we would take heed to the instruction and do what God tells us to do in His word. We are to not only be hearers of the word but doers of that word as well. There is a deception in hearing without doing (James 1:22). The NKJV translates Zechariah 7:11, “But they refused to heed.”
(2) “Stubbornly they turned their backs.” The imagery is of an ox turning away from the owner in opposition to the yoke being placed on him for service.xi Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you.”xii But these people wanted no constraints. They certainly did not want to give their energy in service to another.xiii (3) “And covered their ears.” “Literally, the phrase says that the people ‘made their ears heavy.” It is the same Hebrew construction found in Isaiah 6:10 where God told that prophet to “Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.”xiv
A rebellious response to God’s word produces dullness of hearing. The ability of the person to hear and understand diminishes. The more truth is rejected, the more closed the person becomes to true understanding. Hearing truth is more of a moral issue than intellectual. There are many people with a high IQ whose hearing is so dull that truth makes no sense to them. It is a consequence of rejecting previous light. Hearing without doing has that effect on people. (4) “They made their hearts as hard as flint.”xv The progression goes from not paying attention to a heart that is “hard as flint.” It is a dangerous thing to delay repentance. It is presumptuous to think you can later repent on your own terms anytime you want. By then the heart may be so hardened through the deceitfulness of sin that there is no desire to repent.xvi I have sat with people who knew they would be dead by the next morning, but still refused to repent.
To resist God is to harden the heart. At least five times during the plagues we are told that Pharoah hardened his heart against God.xvii But then in Exodus 9:12 we are told that the Lord hardened Pharoah’s heart. God not only accepted Pharoah’s decision but reinforced it. Make a right decision for God and He will reinforce it. Harden yourself against God’s word, and at some point God accepts and affirms the choice made. God was longsuffering with Pharoah, but there came a day when the man had made his decision. And the judgment on that decision was a further hardening of the heart. Romans 1 describes a similar hardening process that culminates in God giving them up to their own choices (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28).
Zechariah 7:12 says, “They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.” Their response began with a refusal to listen and is summarized with the words, “and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.”
Two aspects of biblical inspiration are addressed in that statement. First, it is “the words that the Lord Almighty . . .sent by his Spirit.” That is the divine side. Then the human side is that God’s words came “through the earlier prophets.” Peter said, “For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21). Judging the refusal to hear would not have been severe had it only been man’s words. But it was God’s words coming through those men that made it weighty.
My spirit is grieved when I hear people say the Bible is just the work of men. If it is, then pay no attention to it. But if it is truly inspired by the Spirit of God, you had better pay attention to it. You had better heed its instruction. Once the devil convinces a person that this word is merely the words of man, then there is no limit to the deception he can impose on that person. The individual has abandoned the standard for identifying lies.xviii Look at the text in Zechariah 7:12 closely and you will be reminded of the authority of the Lord Almighty behind his prophets. God holds people accountable for how they respond to “the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.”
So in this history lesson, we see the Response of Israel to God’s Requirements. They turned a deaf ear to God, hardened their hearts, and went their own way. The lesson Zechariah is preaching is found in the consequences of their response.
III. RESULT of this response (vs 13-14). The result actually begins at the end of verse 12: “So the Lord Almighty was very angry” God is slow to anger.xix But once His anger is aroused, it is a serious matter. We see that in the next two verses. This information is given as a warning to Zechariah’s generation. It also is given as a warning to our generation.
The recorded result is threefold.
(1) 13 ‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty.
(2) 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers.
(3) The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’”
(1) God would not listen or answer their prayers.
The prayers referenced in Zechariah 7:13 were not prayers of repentance. God hears the sinners’ prayers that come from a truly repentant heart.xx They were just prayers asking relief from the consequences of bad choices. These people had resolutely refused to hear God’s words to them. Their rebellion was confirmed over and over until their hears were “hard as flint.”
God makes a shocking statement in Proverbs 28:9: “If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.” Here as in other biblical passages, we are told that God does not honor the petitions of the wicked: those who resolutely refuse the hear His instruction. In Ezekiel 8 God showed Ezekiel the sin going on in the elders at Jerusalem. Then in verse 18 God said, “though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them” (NKJV). Jeremiah 11 talks about Israel’s disobedience and refusal to listen to God’s words. Then in verse 11 God says, “I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.”xxi
Many people think God is somehow obligated to hear their prayers no matter how they live. They zealously defend their own rights, but do not acknowledge the rights of the creator. When they get into trouble, they want God to intervene and fix the problem. But there is no surrender of the life unto God. They simply want God to help them go their own way. They are sometimes baffled when God will not cooperate. When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen.”
This unwillingness to answer the cry is in contrast to the mercy God shows to the ignorant in Psalms 107: 19, 28 and in Jonah 3:9. There is a difference between the sinning of uninformed people versus the hardened heart of one who has refused reproof over and over (Prov. 29:1; Lk. 12:48). There is a difference between simply crying out to God for deliverance from the consequences of one’s sin versus sincere repentance from the sin itself.xxii
(2) God “scattered them with a whirlwind [a storm of judgment] among all the nations, where they were strangers.”xxiii To be strangers in a land meant there was no one there to take up your cause or defend you.
There are many passages where God talks about the scattering of the Jews among the nations as a judgment on their unfaithfulness. In Zechariah’s day there was a regathering of a remnant. But as we see in this chapter, the repentance was incomplete. Therefore, the restoration was only partial. At Christ’s Second Coming the repentance will be complete. Then the full restoration will be granted.
At the First Advent, opportunity was given to the nation to repent and receive Messiah. Had that happened, the Millennial blessings would have immediately followed. Although God knew in advance what their decisions would be, it was nevertheless a genuine offer. The judgment on their refusal to hear God’s words in that generation was similar to what happened when Nebuchadnezzar plundered Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and scattered the Jews.xxiv It was not until our generation that the regathering has begun.
(3) “The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’”
Once a land flowing with milk and honey. Once a “pleasant land.” Now so desolate that people don’t even travel through it, let alone settle down there to live. The question is: What brought on that dramatic change? Was it global warming? Was it a mismanagement of the ecological system? No, it was the sin of the people who lived there. Many in our society do not understand or refuse to acknowledge this principle. Wickedness brings desolation of the land. Godliness brings blessing and increase in the land.xxv
God warned Israel about the way the inhabitants’ lifestyle would affect the environment. In Deuteronomy 11:13-15 He gave this positive promise: “So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.” Notice there the contingency, “if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you . . . .” This is confirmed in Deuteronomy 28:1-2: “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.” Verse 12 specifically addresses the condition of the land: “The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.” In contrast to that,
Deuteronomy 28:15 introduces the consequence of disobedience: “However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you.” Verses 22-24 describe the ecological impact of sin: “The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. 24 The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.” You can recycle until you’re blue in the face. But if you’re slaughtering innocent unborn babies, your ecology plan will not work.
There is a wisdom in being good stewards of the environment. We should manage the earth’s resources responsibly. But God’s ecological plan focuses on our obedience to His moral commandments. Everything else is secondary. So why is this history rehearsed? It is a warning for Zechariah’s generation. It is a warning for you and me. Superficial religion is no substitute for loving God and loving our neighbor. God looks on the heart. He discerns our motives and intentions. We cannot compartmentalize our religious service from our lifestyle. Both must reflect a heart of devotion toward the Lord and His people. The true condition of our hearts and our love for the Lord is evidenced by the way we treat other people. The Apostle John put it this way: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” (1 John 4:20-21).”xxvi
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New International Version (2020) unless indicated otherwise.
ii “They want new directions. They need the old, i.e., the words of the former prophets” (emphasis Leupold’s). Leupold, Exposition of Zechariah, 135.
iii All three questions “probe the real issue. The Lord is asking, ‘Have you learned the lesson that the exile was intended to teach’”Iain M. Duguid, A Study Commentary on Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, (Leland, England: Evangelical Press, 2010), 127.
iv Cf. James 2:18.
v Cf. Jer. 22:3
vi Prov. 11:25 NKJV: Luke 6:38 KJV
vii Cf. Matt. 20:28; 2 Cor. 12:15
viii Cf. Matt. 7:12; 14:14.
ix Cf. Deut. 11:18-20; Josh. 1:8; 1 Tim. 4:13; Heb. 2:3
x Cf. Jer. 6:14
xi Cf. Unger, Zechariah, 128.
xii Matt. 11:29
xiii Cf. Jer. 2:20-25
xiv Merrill, 197. The same idiom is used in Neh. 9:29.
xv “It is not quite certain what stone is meant by shamir, but it was harder than flint (Ezek. 3:9). In Jer. Xvii.1 it is rendered ‘diamond.’ It was hard enough to cut ineffaceable characters; it would cut rocks, but could not be graven itself or receive the characters of God.” Baron (quoting Pusey), Zechariah: A Commentary on His Visions and Prophecies, 221.
xvi Cf. Heb. 3:3
xvii Cf. Ex. 7:22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7. Cf. W.C Kaiser, Jr., P. H. Davids, F. F. Bruce, and M. T. Brauch, Hard Sayings of the Bible (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 142-143.
xviii Cf. Isa. 8:20; Jer. 8:9. John 12:47-50; Acts 2:42; 1 John 2:24; Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019), 133-145.
xix Cf. Neh. 9:17; Ps. 103:8; 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Nahum 1:3; 2 Pet. 3:9.
xx Cf. Ps 51; John 12:13-14.
xxi The fast of the fifth month in Zechariah’s day was ineffectual because it was not accompanied with true repentance.
xxii The situation in Zechariah 7:13 is also very different from prayers that God does not answer because they are not in the best interest of His children. In 2 Corinthians 12 God heard Paul’s prayer for the removal of the thorn in the flesh. But it was not in his best interest for that to be removed. God answered by telling him “No.” He even explained to Paul why that was the answer. Sometimes God tells His children “no” for their own good. That’s a very different situation than the one in Zechariah 7:13.
xxiii Cf. Lev. 26:14-43; Petersen, 294.
xxiv Cf. Richard W. Tow, Rapture or Tribulation: Will Christians Go Through the Coming Tribulation? (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2022).17-30, 136-140.
xxv “Though the desolation of the land was brought about through the judgment of God, ultimately it is viewed here as having been so brought to ruin because of the fathers.” Feinberg, God Remembers, 98-99.
xxvi Cf. Tow, Authentic Christianity, 206-217, 292-308.
