Zechariah 7:11-12

Zechariah 7:11-12

[11] But they refused  to hearken,  and pulled away  the shoulder,  and stopped  their ears,  that they should not hear.  [12] Yea, they made  their hearts  as an adamant stone,  lest they should hear  the law,  and the words  which the LORD  of hosts  hath sent  in his spirit  by  the former  prophets:  therefore came a great  wrath  from the LORD  of hosts. 

What does Zechariah 7:11-12 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

When the former generations of Israelites had heard these commands, they refused to pay attention to the Lord. They turned away from Him stubbornly like a rebellious ox, and they put their fingers in their ears so they would not hear Him. They hardened their hearts (minds and wills) like flint (Heb. shamir, diamond) so they could not hear the Law or the Holy Spirit"s messages through the former prophets whom God had sent to them.
"This remarkable doctrine of the Holy Spirit as mediator of God"s word to the prophets, who were themselves its mediators, has no parallels in the prophetic books. ...Zechariah is the first to record this aspect of the doctrine of the Spirit." [1]
God had proceeded to dull the people"s ears in discipline because they would not hear (cf. Isaiah 6:10; Acts 28:27). Consequently great wrath had come from the Lord against them.
"One indispensable ingredient in true spirituality is a dogged attentiveness to familiar truths, but they did not "pay attention."" [2]