Zephaniah 1:8-18
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A Call Not to Abandon the Pursuit of God
A Call Not to Abandon the Pursuit of God
Verse 8-18 is pronouncement of God’s judgment on Judah
Day of the Lord’s sacrifice - God’s appointed time to judge those who rejected God.
The day of the Lord is the theme of this passage.
I. God will demand Accountability (1:8-11)
I. God will demand Accountability (1:8-11)
Zephaniah 1:8 (NASB95)
8 “Then it will come about on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments.
No One Will Be Exempt from God’s Judgment
The day of the Lord is the day of punishment. The word punish is repeated 3 times (vv. 8, 9, 12)
punish - to disciple, to exact justice. God is acting against those who worship false God’s and did evil. No one is exempted.
v.8 - the princes, the kings sons, royal officials, all who adapted pagan customs (as evidenced by their foreign clothing)
Zephaniah begins with the kings and all those who live in their house.
They are leaders of the community...and instead of setting a good example to their followers, they have become a bad example and their followers, and residents of Judah have followed their evil practices...
there was a spread of evil and God now intervene to stop the spread by punishing them.
9 “And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit.
v.9 . all Israelites who does violence and deceit (social injustices)
10 “On that day,” declares the Lord, “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, A wail from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills. 11 “Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar, For all the people of Canaan will be silenced; All who weigh out silver will be cut off.
v.10. All the inhabitants from all geographical locations:
Fish gate - north
Second quarter - east
Mortar - center and market place.
There is high accountability for those who claim the name of God and do not reflect Him in their lives.
The prophet wants them to be aware that to embrace God’s name and reject God’s character is to smear the name of God.
The words of the apostle Peter, in the New Testament, are a strong reminder that no one is exempt from God’s judgment:
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
II. Warning Against Complacency (1:12-13)
II. Warning Against Complacency (1:12-13)
Zephaniah 1:12 (NASB95)
12 “It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good or evil!’
Complacency = satisfaction of oneself that leads to unawareness of actual dangers.
God will search - examine and scrutinize
God will examine the hearts and He will know who or what is in the heart of the people. Who or What the people are seeking and giving value.
The issue of Agnosticism (v.13) To be an agnostic is to attempt to take no side in a spiritual conversation. An agnostic claims that we cannot know whether God exists or not. They have neither faith nor disbelief.
In verses 12 and 13 we find a group of people who were practically agnostics...
Zephaniah now turns his attention on the agnostics among them.
They lived their lives claiming to neither believe nor disbelieve in the presence of God. However, this lack of belief ultimately put them in the same category as those who would reject God completely.
Functionally speaking, they lived for themselves, making themselves the master of their own domain.
They could attempt to claim spiritual neutrality, but they were far from neutral.. Still they cannot avoid God’s accounting.
13 “Moreover, their wealth will become plunder And their houses desolate; Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”
Consequence: The works of their hands, the fruit of their labors will be wasted for they will not enjoy it. God will take it away from them...(prosperity, wealth, good health - worship to Baal and Milcom)
they will work harder and harder and exert all their effort but they will never be able to enjoy it.
If you are pursuing other gods (idols), you will end up loosing everything.
You can pursue your career for 30 years and lose it in a year...
You can pursue building your own business empire for 50 years and lose it in a single instance (death).
God will exact his justice by removing all those things that your pursue over God!
If you are a follower of Jesus, He will remove any remaining idols in your heart so you will not be lead astray and ineffective in your walk.
God will not allow any rival in your heart!
47 “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell,
This may sound a bit dramatic, but Jesus was making the point that this matters. If we have to take extreme measures, so be it.
III. Sin brings Distress and Darkness (1: 14-17)
III. Sin brings Distress and Darkness (1: 14-17)
14 Near is the great day of the Lord, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the Lord! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. 15 A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers. 17 I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind, Because they have sinned against the Lord; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung.
The Day of the Lord Is Unlike Any Other Day in Its Terror
Imminent
The day of the Lord will come and it will come quick, in times we do not expect.
The Day of the Lord is coming, and it is coming soon. This is Zephaniah’s cry. The point is that there is no time left to wander between obedience and disobedience… the response must be immediate! not later!
Intense
Not only was God’s judgment imminent, but it would be astoundingly intense.”
A day of trouble and distress because they have sinned against the LORD.
Those who think that they can take God lightly by continually sinning...they will find out that it is no joke to be found at the opposite side of God!
IV. IDOLS have no power to save from the wrath of God! (1:18)
IV. IDOLS have no power to save from the wrath of God! (1:18)
18 Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the Lord’s wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.
Their Sin Will Bring About Complete Destruction and no one can save them, even their idols.
Zephaniah begins this verse by reminding the people that their wealth is no barrier to God’s judgment.
God is dismantling their gods all around them so that they will know that there is only one true God who can give them true satisfaction, true salvation.
It is clear throughout this book, that the whole nation of Judah was consumed with idolatry and materialism.
Seeking after it for hope, help, protection, and care, they were instead forced to recognize the empty existence that they were experiencing, and to acknowledge a god who was ultimately impotent in the face of the one true God.
The LORD’s Wrath - God’s justice is one aspect of His character that we often misunderstand. Justice, simply put, means to do what is right. When we learn that God is just, we can be assured that God will always do what is right. Just as a human judge would be soundly condemned (and rightly so)
This passage, then, reminds us of His justice and compels us to remember the importance of walking faithfully before Him
Divine Solution:
God’s anger is averted on account of the work of Jesus Christ
Jesus conquered sin and death
Jesus is able to save us from the wrath of God!
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.
Proper Response:
Proper Response:
Look to Jesus for deliverance from the wrath of God.
Idols does not have the power to save.
We are also sinners deserving of the wrath of God.
Only by believing in the finished work of the Son of God, Jesus Christ that we can be saved from the wrath of God
2. Have a continual repentant Heart.
- God’s mercy and grace does not excuse us from being accountable to our actions.
REPENTANCE is a character of a true child of God. A true Child of God will always come to the Heavenly Father for help and for forgiveness.
A daily examination and confession of sin to God is needed.
3. Have a high view of God in order to avoid Complacency and Idleness
Having a high view of God will bring us to our knees in humility and obedience.
God is the most powerful being, we are not.
God has the authority, we respect His authority.
God is the boss, we are not.
On the other hand, a low view of God leads to high view of self (boss, authority, powerful).
