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). [source][source][source]
". . . 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][source]