Zechariah 7:13-14

Zechariah 7:13-14

[13] Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried,  and they would not hear;  so they cried,  and I would not hear,  saith  the LORD  of hosts:  [14] But I scattered them with a whirlwind  among all the nations  whom they knew  not. Thus the land  was desolate  after  them, that no man passed through  nor returned:  for they laid  the pleasant  land  desolate. 

What does Zechariah 7:13-14 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Since the forefathers refused to listen to the Lord"s Spirit when He called to them (cf. Nehemiah 9:20; Nehemiah 9:30; Deuteronomy 28:45-5277), the Lord refused to listen to them when they called to Him in prayer (cf. Jeremiah 11:11-14). Instead He scattered them among many nations, as though a windstorm had blown them off the Promised Land (cf. Deuteronomy 28:36-37; Deuteronomy 28:64-68; Hosea 13:3). As a result, the land had become desolate with none of the Israelites returning to it during the Captivity (cf. Deuteronomy 28:41-42; 1711630169_6). This desolation of the formerly "pleasant land" of Israel was due to the sin of the people (cf. Psalm 106:24; Jeremiah 3:19; Daniel 11:16; Daniel 11:41).
". . . while Zechariah may well not have answered the original enquiry directly, he had nevertheless taken up the very essence of ritual in the heart of the worshiper, which was that the outward form of religious activity was useless and lifeless without an accompanying spirit of obedience, confession and repentance." [1]