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Practice Justice
poor. In the instance of the widow and the fatherless there is no man present to protect and provide. Because there is no man to protect and provide the community of believers should become their protector and not treat them as prey. Be- lievers should not spend time trying to figure out how to take advantage of them or manipu- late them for their personal gain.
Verses 11, 12 - “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord almighty was very angry.
Often times God has given people words of correction and warning; however, the people refuse to listen. It is dangerous when someone gives you word of warning or advice and you refuse to listen. They used to call that “being hard-headed”.
Picture a child who does not want to hear what is being
said putting his/her hands over his/her ears to block out what is being said. When you refuse to listen to God and follow His commands this is the image He sees. Now imagine your re- sponse to your child who does this to you. What is your re- sponse, with honesty? Should God be any different? Just like you, God gets angry after He has sent message after message telling you to act right and do the right thing.
13 “ ‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not lis- ten’, says the Lord Almighty. God’s response to them is the same that they did to Him. They did not listen to God so God did not listen to them. This means that since you will not listen to God when He is speaking a word to you then He will not listen to you when you pray asking for His blessings and favor. Too often people want God to listen to them but they are not inclined to listen to Him. The thing to remember is God can live with- out you listening to Him, but you cannot live without God listening to you.
Verse 14 - ‘I scattered
them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one trav- eled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’
As punishment for not lis- tening or taking heed to His word, God scattered them. God made them to become strangers. God will allow what you cling to, to be blown away. God will stop holding your life in place when you demonstrate to Him that you are hard- headed and stubborn. God can leave the place that you once had joy and peace a place of sorrow and chaos. God can dry up the rivers of blessings and prosperity that flow in your life.
God does not want you to experience this end; He wants you to practice the beginning which is obedience to His com- mands and His words. God is sending you a message that He wants you to change the way that you live. He wants the church to stop ignoring Him and listen to Him. It’s not too late; you can start living a life pleasing to God today!
In this week’s lesson from Zechariah 7:8-14, God con- tinues to charge the people with being just. God continues this quest because He wants His people to treat one another with kindness and fairness. The world is itself a cruel and unfair place and there is no need for those who are called by God’s name to treat one an- other with injustice. This les- son contains the conversation and message given to His peo- ple.
Verses 8, 9 - And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: 9
“This is what the LORD Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one an- other. God again speaks to His people through the prophet. God has given the
prophet the word to give to the people. The prophet does not speak for himself but only for God.
God’s message to the peo- ple is to practice justice. The church must become more compassionate and under- standing towards one another. It is bad to be taken advantage of and even worse when it is by your own brother or sister. God speaks to His people and commands them to treat each other right.
Verse 10 - Do not op- press the widow or the fa- therless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ The people were treating the weak- est among them with harsh- ness. God takes serious the treatment of the fatherless, widow, the stranger, and the
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