Zechariah 7:1-14

7:1-7 | The people had fasted and mourned what they had lost rather than duly recognizing the righteousness of God’s judgment against them. The South is the Negev. For this largely desert region to be populated, unusually suitable conditions were necessary. This was even more true of the Lowland between Judah and the western plains. Only when Israel and Judah were exceptionally strong could the conditions described in chapter 8 prevail.

7:7-14 | Obedience to God’s commands was not only His priority, it was the way to national peace and prosperity. When the people refused to heed and shrugged their shoulders in apathy, there was only desolation (Isa. 1:16-20).

7:12-13 | Through the law and all the prophecies, the Lord provided every means of avoiding His wrath. His Spirit not only inspired (“breathed”) the words of Scripture to the biblical writers but directed the very words of the prophets as well (2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Pet. 1:10-12; 2 Pet. 1:21).