Zechariah 7:12, commentary and pictures

They deliberately made their hearts hard as adamant stone so they would not hear the law and the words the Lord of hosts sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. What they would not hear was the command to execute true judgment and show mercy and compassion to every brother, to care for the widow, the fatherless, the stranger and the poor, to oppress them not and to imagine no evil against one another, but they pulled away the shoulder and stopped their ears because it crossed the selfish course they wanted to follow. Because they would not hear when He called, great wrath came from the Lord of hosts so that He would not hear when they cried, scattering them like a whirlwind among nations they knew not and leaving the land desolate. Hearts become as adamant stone by resisting Christ's entreaties and repulsing His wondrous love with indifference and neglect, yet He still pleads with patience and inexhaustible love for sinners to come to Him for refuge. The refusal and its desolation must not be repeated, but be recognized and overcome now by repentance and a changed life, for violating God's law in spirit and in letter shuts out His blessing.

Hardened Hearts and Judgment

The verse means the people deliberately made their hearts hard like adamant stone so they would not hear the law and the words the Lord of hosts sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. That hardened refusal to hear God's law and the words sent through earlier prophets brings great wrath from the Lord of hosts. Their refusal is pictured as pulling away the shoulder and stopping the ears so as not to hear, even when earnestly entreated as if with a hand placed upon the shoulder. What they refused to hear was the command to practice true judgment and show mercy and compassion to every brother, to care for the widow, fatherless, stranger and poor, to oppress them not, and to plot no evil against one another in the heart. They were displeased with that command because it was the opposite of the selfish course they were pursuing and they wanted to follow their own wisdom.

Because they would not hear when He called, great wrath came from the Lord of hosts and He would not hear when they cried to Him. The wrath meant scattering like a whirlwind among nations they did not know and leaving the land desolate. Their refusal to heed God's instruction brought His great wrath, which was followed by scattering among unfamiliar nations and desolation upon the land. Through persistent walking contrary to His instruction they brought sure consequences from which He could not deliver them, so He permitted their enemies to have power over them to humble and scatter them. Unlike people, nature obeys God's command and He can use its agencies for blessing or judgment, so human disobedience can bring calamities such as drought, famine and pestilence affecting the land and even its animals.

Hearts become like adamant stone by resisting Christ's entreaties and warnings, repulsing wondrous love and amazing condescension with indifference, unkindness and neglect. Yet Christ continues to plead with sinners to come to Him for refuge with patience and inexhaustible love, speaking through His prophets to lead them to behold God.

Warning for Present Obedience

Hardening the heart against hearing God's law and the words He sent by His Spirit through the former prophets brings great wrath from the Lord of hosts. Refusing to heed brings judgment, with refusal to hear when He calls answered by scattering among nations and leaving the land desolate, and that outcome is held out as a warning not to be repeated. Violating God's law in both spirit and letter prevents His blessing.

The verse exposes a real condition that must be recognized and overcome through repentance and a changed life. Making the heart as adamant stone so as not to hear means pulling away the shoulder and stopping the ears against the command to execute true judgment and show mercy and compassion to every brother, to oppress not the widow nor the fatherless, the stranger nor the poor, and to plot no evil against a brother in the heart, and its word must be heeded now. In its setting the warning applies to those who hindered the Lord's servants and neglected the work in the South. Its warning applies also to business dealings, where making cruel exploitative terms with someone in difficulty is contrary to God's Word, is recorded in heaven, and will be brought to account.

Instead of repeating disobedience to the requirement to execute true judgment and show mercy and compassion to brother, widow, fatherless, stranger, and poor, the call is for cheerful, united and courageous work to heal the breach and rescue the imperiled debt-burdened institution without censure or blame.