Zephaniah Speaks Again, Part 1
Zephaniah wrote his three chapter prophecy
during the time of King Josiah, who reigned over the Southern Kingdom (Judah)
from 640-609 BC. Josiah was only 8
years old when he inherited the throne following the assassination of his
father, the evil King Amon. Amon's
father King Manasseh had been even worse and between the two of them Judah had
suffered through 57 years of apostate leadership.
Needless to say, Judah was not in favor with God when Josiah ascended to
the throne.
Zephaniah was also very young, probably in
his 20's when called to the office of Prophet.
And as the great, great grand son of King Hezekiah, he was also of the
House of David, a cousin of Josiah's.
In fact it might have been Zephaniah's prophecies that inspired Josiah to
institute the reforms necessary to
bring Judah back into its covenant relationship with God in 621 BC.
But the revival was short lived.
After Josiah's death in 609, Judah soon fell into idolatry again.
Judgment began soon after with the first siege of Nebuchadnezzar in 605, and by
the end of his 3rd siege, in 586, Judah had followed the Northern
Kingdom into captivity. Zephaniah's prophecies had come true.
As we'll see, his prophecies were of a
much broader scope than was fulfilled in the Babylonian captivity.
It's clear that he really had the Day of the Lord in mind.
In fact there are so many references to
the Day of the Lord that it's almost like he was writing to us. Like is with the
world today, the people of Judah
had abandoned God in favor of their idols.
Like ours have, their leaders had led them astray and were adamant in
their denial of a coming judgment.
Zephaniah warned both the people of Judah
in his time and the people of the world in ours that judgment is coming and that
it will be personal and intrusive, taking them from complacency to chaos.
Because like He did in the days of Zephaniah, God will again intervene
catastrophically to judge man's
acceptance of and indifference toward sin, which are the last stages of
rebellion. As it was then, His
purpose now will be to restore the world to the conditions of blessing He's
always intended for us. But since
man never learns from history, it will once again take a period of
devastating judgment before God can bring His marvelous restoration.
Zephaniah 1. Warning of Coming
Destruction
The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi,
the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign
of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:
"I will sweep away everything from the face of the
earth," declares the LORD. "I will
sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the
fish of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man
from the face of the earth," declares the LORD. (Zeph. 1:1-3)
Zephaniah's opening statement clearly concerns the whole
world. The phrase “heaps of rubble” carries a sense of huge obstacles that will
prevent the wicked from accomplishing anything. We can see the beginning of this
trend as we look at the condition of the world today.
Who is naive enough to believe that any man can solve the problems
confronting our world today?
Against Judah
"I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all
who live in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the
names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests- those who bow down on the roofs
to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the LORD and who
also swear by Molech, those who turn back from following the LORD and neither
seek the LORD nor inquire of him. (Zeph. 1:4-6).
Three groups of non-believers are represented here, and
they're all still around today.
Those who worship the starry host can be compared to people who study astrology
and consult their horoscopes before acting.
Molech was a god of fire. He
demanded that extreme sacrifices be made to him in times of need.
Often a live child was required.
Today some associate the practice of abortion with Molech.
Unwanted pre-born children are put to death to maintain the lifestyle of
the parents. The third group
consists of those who act as if God doesn't exist.
This is by far the biggest one of the three. They think they are in
control and have no need of a higher authority.
Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the
LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has
invited. On the day of the LORD's
sacrifice I will punish the princes and the king's sons and all those clad in
foreign clothes. On that day I will punish all who avoid stepping on the
threshold, who fill the temple of their gods with violence and deceit. (Zeph
1:7-9)
In this passage, the people are the sacrifice and God's
enemies are the invited guests. Rev. 19:17-18 explains it this way.
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a
loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the
great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of
kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of
all people, free and slave, small and great."
Leaders who have deceived the people, and those who've
sought a righteousness of their own will be punished.
Foreign clothing stands for a counterfeit righteousness that doesn't come
from God. Isaiah 61:10 says, “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul
rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed
me in a robe of righteousness.” All other spiritual covering is counterfeit.
During the time when Antiochus Epiphanes ruled over Israel,
many of those who counseled appeasement with the Greeks took to wearing Greek
style clothing and shaved their faces.
Some even tried to surgically reverse their circumcisions.
The adoption of foreign clothing and appearance was a sign that they were
rejecting their covenant relationship with God. Today our official rejection of
Christian customs and traditions while bending over backwards to avoid offending
others sends Him the same message.
We think of stepping over rather than on a threshold as a
harmless superstition. But it
originated during the time when the Philistines captured the Ark of the
Covenant. They put it in the temple of their god Dagon.
When they came back in the morning they found the statue of Dagon on its
face before the ark. They put the idol back in its place, but the next morning
it was prostate again and this time its head and arms were broken off and were
lying on the threshold of the temple. From that day on they never stepped on the
threshold of their temple again, lest they offend their god. (1 Samuel 5:1-5)
Other strange and painful things kept happening to them until they
finally returned the Ark to Israel.
"On that day," declares the LORD, "a cry will go up from
the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills.
Wail, you who live in the market district; all your merchants will be
wiped out, all who trade with silver will be ruined. (Zephaniah 1:10-11)
Here's another prophecy that looks as if it's ripped from the
headlines. Businesses will fail and
banks will close. Almost every Biblical mention of the Fish Gate involves either
corruption, or its aftermath. The
name stems from the fact that fishermen sold their catches there, often on the
Sabbath. More and more it appears that the world's financial problems are the
aftermath of corruption in the highest levels of business and government.
At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish
those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, 'The
LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.'
Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished.
They will build houses but not live in them; they will plant vineyards but not
drink the wine.(Zeph. 1:12-13)
The complacent, who think that God can't or won't intervene,
will be like wine that hasn't been strained and becomes unfit to drink.
They'll be of no use to the Lord.
And here's another sign we've seen recently.
The world's wealth has been plundered.
Half of it has disappeared in the last 18 months.
Record numbers of people have lost their homes. Many have already been
reduced to the status of working solely for the benefit of others, their
personal wealth gone. But they're
just the first. Millions more will
follow.
The Great Day Of The Lord
"The great day of the LORD is near— near and coming
quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter, the shouting of
the warrior there. That day will be
a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day
of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and
battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. (Zeph
1:14-16)
Those who think the Tribulation has already begun don't have a
clue. This is something you
wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.
Men whose wealth is currently envied by all will soon wonder where their next
meal is coming from. And according to James, they shouldn't expect any sympathy
from the Lord.
Now listen, you rich people,
weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has
rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded.
Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have
hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen
who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters
have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury
and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You
have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. (James
5:1-6)
I spent my last few years of employment managing the sales
department of a large domestic auto dealership.
Naively I thought I could change the culture of corruption, at least on
the local level. I soon learned
that the factory stole from the dealer, the dealer stole from his employees and
the employees stole from their customers.
Everyone lied to everyone else.
I'm neither surprised nor saddened by the impending demise of the US auto
industry. It's an abomination to the Lord.
I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like
blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth.
Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the
LORD's wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for
he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth." (Zeph. 1:17-18)
Even those who survive the Great Tribulation with out seeking
the Lord's forgiveness will find they've gained nothing.
They'll be denied entrance into the Kingdom and ushered off the planet to
the outer darkness. At that time the very richest among them would gladly agree
to change places with the poorest, sickest, believing beggar. But they won't be
given the chance. They'll find that
the free gift they will have refused cannot be purchased with all the wealth of
the world.
I think you can already see that Zephanian doesn't mince
words. He's especially harsh on the
leadership. Having lived among them
he had a clear insight into their corruption and manipulation.
Earlier, the Lord had pronounced the same kind of condemnation
on them through Micah.
Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil
on their beds! At morning's light they carry it out because it is in their power
to do it. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They
defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance.
Therefore, the LORD says: "I am planning disaster against
this people, from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity. In
that day men will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: 'We
are utterly ruined; my people's possession is divided up.
He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.' "
Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD
to divide the land by lot. (Micah 2:1-5)
In effect the Lord is saying, “You lie awake at night dreaming
up schemes to defraud your fellow man, so I'm lying awake dreaming up ways to
punish you. You robbed my people of
their inheritance, now I'm going to make sure you don't have anything to leave
either.”
You don't have to be a prophet to tell what's ahead for the
world, and before Zephaniah is finished any lingering doubt you may have had
about the coming judgment will be long gone. But remember, God's purpose for the
world is restoration, and Zephaniah will be unmistakably clear about that as
well. You can almost hear the
footsteps of the Messiah. 04-11-09
