August 6: Zephaniah 1-3

August 6, Zephaniah 1-3

God’s Judgement.

God’s Grace.

God’s Mercy.

Zephaniah was a prophet during the reign of King Josiah. Josiah was a great King with a heart for reforming Judah back to God and getting rid of all the idols and turning back to God. That being said, it is obvious through reading this prophecy during his reign, that not all of the people had the same heart as Josiah.

A major theme throughout this book is In that day… Judgement will be coming to the world and Judah and Josiah is warning about that and calling the nations to repentance - including Judah. 

There is no grandchildren of Christ. What I mean is this - you can be a child of God, not a grandchild. Your faith is personal. You cannot get into heaven because your parents are Christians - each person and each generation must know for themselves what they believe and live it out. The generation that we are reading about today, did not embrace the love of God from the generations prior to them and are living in continual sin. 

Zephaniah 1 God’s word came to Zephaniah in regards to the coming Judgement on Judah. God is planning on doing a clean sweep of the world - everything in it because of those who have turned their backs on God and no longer seek Him. Judah is living in much disobedience, much like Israel was doing before they were exiled.

Zephaniah proclaims that the Day of the Lord is near - be silent before Him and seek Him while he may be found! God is going to punish Judah for numerous reasons and they will be sought out by God They are violent, complacent, apathetic… In that day, this will be dealt with. What will that day look like? It will be dark, distress, anguish, ruin, devastation, darkness, gloom, people walking like they are blind and stumbling… Not good compared to what they could have had. 

Zephaniah 2 Zephaniah now moves to Judgement on Judah’s enemies and the nations. They are also told that they can receive grace from God upon repentance. They are being warned - look at how many times Zephaniah says before… Before the decrees… Before it happens…”

Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,

    who do his just commands;

seek righteousness; seek humility;

    perhaps you may be hidden

    on the day of the anger of the Lord.”

They are given an opportunity, just as we are. With all of their sins before them, God will still be mindful of them and not wipe them out. 

However, Moab and the Ammonites will end up like Sodom & Gomorrah because of their love for sin. God’s remnant will plunder them. God will be awesome against them. Assyria will be destroyed as well as Nineveh. We have heard this over and over from other prophets and we know that it will and does happen. It is God’s Word - of course it will happen.

Zephaniah 3 is about God’s Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations (continued…). Judah does not trust in the Lord anymore or draw near to Him. They are wicked through and through. Officials aren't obedient. Judges are wolves. Prophets are unreliable. Priests profane the holy and violent. Jerusalem is just wicked. Yet, God within Judah is still righteous and faithful and long-suffering - because of His covenant with David. 

The nations will be cut off for their lack of repentance. 

Therefore - wait for God to do what He said He is going to do.

Zephaniah, though the Lord, offers Hope for All. Those that call upon the name of the Lord and serve Him shall be saved. They will be protected and not shamed. God will remove the impure from among them, as they seek Him as their refuge (like in Psalms…). 

Israel will have joy again in that day and they shall rejoice - that is for the remnant, not for all. God is mighty to save and He will quiet us with His love. He will bring His people to Him!

To sum it all up: 

• God often brings punishment or hardship into our lives to draw us closer to Him. When things are going ‘good’ we have a proclivity to neglect our first love - Jesus Christ. It should be just the opposite. When things are ‘good’ we should be praising Jesus Christ. 
• Seek the Lord while He may be found! Do not wait. If you sense God is tugging at your heart - follow His promptings and come to Him. Do not wait, for we do not know when the day is coming - either for His return for His people, or your day of death. Not to be all doom and gloom, I am just a realist. Look around you and you can easily see that we are not far off from the disobedience like those of Josiah’s time. Your sins are not hidden from God - He is the one you are really sinning against. 
• God is mighty to save and He will quiet us with His love.