Zephaniah

Me

One line summary of movies:

“Farmer becomes terrorist, kills thousands, including his father.” - Star Wars

“A bunch of monkeys find a weird rock and then later two guys have computer problems.” - 2001: A Space Odyssey

“A love triangle between an eighteen year old girl, a hundred year old guy and a dog.” - Twilight

“A billionaire beats up a mentally ill man because his he's sad about his parents' death.” - The Dark Knight

“A guy that's alone in the forest kisses a dead body while seven other guys watch.” - Snow White

“While children murder each other, a girl deals with more pressing issues: figuring out which boys she likes more.” - Hunger Games

If you are new to us here at Brentwood Park Alliance, we have been in a teaching series called Messengers: The Minor Prophets where we have been looking at each one of the 12 books of the Minor Prophets from the OT each week.

This week, we are looking at the book of Zephaniah and if there was a one-line summary of the book, it would be “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

I have learned that without humility, a bit of self confidence mixed with little bit of skill can get you into a ton of trouble .

Nathan fighting me

I’m not immune - I fight pride all the time

Skiing in deep snow and almost drowning

We

Pride gets us into trouble. But more than that, pride pushes us away from God. That’s why the 4th Century theologian Saint Augustine of Hippo said…

“For those who would learn God’s ways, humility is the first thing, humility is the second thing, humility is the third thing.” - Saint Augustine of Hippo

Pride can take a lot of different forms in our lives. Refusing to ask for help is an act of pride. Being judgmental towards the people of Walmart is an act of pride. Being so concerned with what others think of you that you change your behaviour is an act of pride. Refusing to do what God says so you can do what you want is an act of pride. Blaming everyone and everything else instead of taking responsibility is an act of pride. Being overly obsessed with your own entertainment is an act of pride.

Pride is insidious. It’s the root of all other sin for it shifts the focus of your thoughts, actions and intentions to yourself, instead of God.

That means that pride pushes you away from a healthy relationship with yourself as you wear yourself out trying to do it all on your own. It pushes you away from a healthy relationship with others because it puts up walls and prevents intimacy. It pushes you away from a healthy relationship with God because you were made to be loved but you need humility to receive love.

Earlier, I said that the one-sentence summary of the book of Zephaniah was “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” For those familiar with the New Testament, you might recognize that line as a proverb that both James and Peter quote from the Greek translation of Proverbs 3:34.

This proverb is true not just because God hates pride in and of itself. It’s that pride pushes us away from him - it enslaves us to ourselves and keeps us from enjoying the fullness of life that is found when we walk humbly with our God. And the prophet Zephaniah uses wildly vivid imagery to show us how God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

God

Zephaniah is written during the reign of Josiah. Josiah’s grandfather was Manasseh, who we talked about last week when we looked at the book of Habakkuk. He was the worst king in Judah’s history. He reigned for 55 years and then his son, Amon took over. Amon was just as bad as his father - he turned away from Yahweh and did the despicable practices of the Canaanite religions, which included burning children alive as an offering to Molech.

Amon’s officials weren’t happy with him though and so they decided to assassinate Amon after he reigned for just 2 years. The people were not happy about that because you aren’t supposed to assassinate your king, so they killed all the conspirators and took Amon’s 8-year old son and made him King.

Now, Josiah would become one of Judah’s greatest kings and would eventually bring the nation back to Yahweh. But for 10 years, not much changed in the land. They were still worshipping false Gods, cheating people, committing murder and generally just being evil. And it’s in that time period that Zephaniah speaks out and shares what he has heard from God.

Chapter 1 is a declaration of God’s judgment against the evil and idolatry his people have embraced and Zephaniah chooses the most vivid imagery to express God’s anger.

Zephaniah 1:2–3 NLT

2 “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” says the Lord. 3 “I will sweep away people and animals alike. I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish in the sea. I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble, and I will wipe humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.

This is strong language designed to wake up his people.

Chapter 2 starts with a call to repentance - a plea that God’s people would turn away from their sin and turn back to worshipping Yahweh alone.

Zephaniah 2:2–3 NLT

2 Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord’s anger begins. 3 Seek the Lord, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you— protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.

Chapter 2 continues with a judgement on some foreign cities and nations who have been Israel’s enemies. He mentions 2 cities in Philistia, Gaza and Ashkelon, as well as the nations of Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia, and Assyria.

Chapter 3 is a chapter of hope. In essence, it says that although Jerusalem is polluted with sin, God has not abandoned them. He promises that he will rid the city of arrogant people and that life for the remnant will be awesome - filled with rejoicing, worship and that God himself will live with them.

And woven through these three chapters is the issue of pride.

In chapter 1, pride is revealed in two ways:

1. In their worship of false gods. It’s a lack of trust in Yahweh - a sense that he’s not enough.

2. In their complacency. They thought God doesn’t care so it didn’t matter what they did. They just focussed on themselves.

In chapter 2, pride is revealed in the mocking and taunts of Moab and Ammon, which God said he would hold them accountable for.

Zephaniah 2:10 NLT

10 They will receive the wages of their pride, for they have scoffed at the people of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

God also calls the city of Ninevah “a proud city” that boasted of its greatness but after God’s judgment hits it, people will walk by it and laugh at it.

In chapter 3, Zephaniah highlights Jerusalem’s pride so God promises to humble the city.

Zephaniah 3:11 NLT

11 On that day you will no longer need to be ashamed, for you will no longer be rebels against me. I will remove all proud and arrogant people from among you. There will be no more haughtiness on my holy mountain.

Over and over in this short book, Zephaniah teaches us that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

You

But what does humble actually look like?

Zephaniah 3:1–2 NLT

1 What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem, the city of violence and crime! 2 No one can tell it anything; it refuses all correction. It does not trust in the Lord or draw near to its God.

This lament about Jerusalem actually has three really good expressions of humility that will help you not only have better relationships with your partners, your kids, or at your workplace, it will help you draw closer to God than ever before.

A humble person receives correction

The first charge God had against the city of Jerusalem - the embodiment of his people - is that they refused to be corrected. And for those who have tracked with us through this series in the Minor Prophets, we have seen that one of the main reasons why God sends these dire warnings through the prophets was so that the people would repent - that they would correct their behaviour. Even when God follows up the warning with the promised calamity, they still didn’t always receive God’s correction.

Zephaniah 3:7 NLT

7 I thought, ‘Surely they will have reverence for me now! Surely they will listen to my warnings. Then I won’t need to strike again, destroying their homes.’ But no, they get up early to continue their evil deeds.

Thank goodness none of us are like that, huh? Can you even imagine what it would be like to struggle with being corrected?

Joking aside, I don’t know anyone that doesn’t struggle with being corrected to some degree. Even when people are gentle and skilled at it, it still stings a little because it collides with our sense of pride.

But to be a woman or a man of God, we must continually die to that pride and accept correction. To follow Jesus is to allow Him to lead you, direct you and define right and wrong for you. You are in submission to him. And that means, because we all stumble, fail and make mistakes, we need correction.

We need to embrace it, even crave it, knowing that God’s correction leads to the better life. Not the easier life - not the self-satisfying life - but the better life we are designed to live by our maker.

The humble person is someone who is confident enough to be wrong and wants to be corrected.

Zephaniah also teaches us that

A humble person trusts in the Lord

After the great judgment of God that Zephaniah warns of, he says he will remove the proud people and that…

Zephaniah 3:12 NLT

12 Those who are left will be the lowly and humble, for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord.

Humble people trust the Lord. Preacher and teacher John Blanchard said…

“Pride is a denial of dependence upon God.” - John Blanchard

A humble person trust that God’s commands are right and they will seek to know them and live them out.

A humble person trusts that God has their best interests at heart so they can interpret life through the lens of God’s love and goodness.

A humble person trusts that, in the end, God will redeem them and that it will be okay.

Zephaniah 3:18–20 (NLT)

18 “I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more. 19 And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones; I will bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory and fame to my former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed. 20 On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nations of the earth, as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Zephaniah teaches us that a humble person receives correction and they trust in the Lord. The prophet also teaches us that…

A humble person draws near to God

There is so much about worship in the book of Zephaniah. He goes into great detail about how God detests how his people have participated in the evil worship of false gods and what his punishment for it will be.

But then in chapter 2 verse 3, we are told that the humble “Seek the Lord.” And in chapter 2, verse 11, after God judges and destroys the proud Moabites and Ammonites, he says “Then nations around the world will worship the Lord, each in their own land.”

Then after the purification of Jerusalem, God says…

Zephaniah 3:9–10 NLT

9 “Then I will purify the speech of all people, so that everyone can worship the Lord together. 10 My scattered people who live beyond the rivers of Ethiopia will come to present their offerings.

The humble person recognizes that only Yahweh is God and is worthy to be praised. And so we draw near to God in repentance for our sins knowing that God forgives us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. And we draw near to God in worship, which involves living a life that honours God and praising God for who he is, what he has done, what he is doing and what he will do.

We

I wonder what would happen in your life, if you chose today to embrace more humility in your life? I wonder how much less conflict in your marriage might occur? I wonder how much more respect you will have at work? I wonder how much closer to God you could become as you allow him to correct you and shape you into being more like Christ?

Earlier in this series, I talked about humility and I shared this quote from 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon:

“Humility is to make a right estimate of oneself. It is no humility for a man to think less of himself than he ought.” - Charles Spurgeon

To walk in humility is to walk in confidence - a confidence that says it’s okay to be wrong because I can change - a confidence that trusts God with all things - a confidence that chooses to faithfully worship God instead of the false idols of our world.

The one sentence summary of Zephaniah is that God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.

May you experience God’s grace as you humble yourself before him.

Pray.