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Introduction
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At the time of Zephaniah the
prophet, the nation of
Israel was at a heart
trembling
crisis. There had been two
very evil kings, Manasseh
and Amon who, between them,
ruled the nation for
fifty-seven (57) years. The
spiritual condition of the
leadership was corrupt and
the nation followed suit.
When Amon died his son
Josiah began to reign a boy
of eight (8) years of age.
In what direction what way
would the nation go? Would
he follow the
footsteps
of his evil father and
grandfather or was it
possible God would turn the
heart of the young boy to
restore the people to
godliness? |
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a) |
Josiah began his reign when
he was eight (8) years of
age (2 Kgs. 22:1). When he
reigned for eight years and
was sixteen he began to seek
after God (2 Chron. 34:3).
In his
twelfth
year when he was twenty he
began to cleanse Jerusalem
of the altars that his
father and grandfather had
set up (2 Chron. 34:3). In
the eighteenth year of his
reign, when cleansing the
Temple the book of the law
was found. He sent the
priest and four others
to the
prophetess “Huldah” (2 Kgs.
22:14) to determine what to
do. In that same year he
kept the Passover and made a
public
vow to the Lord (2 Chron.
34:31). |
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b) |
During
Josiah’s reign God raised up
the prophets Jeremiah and
Zephaniah. Jeremiah began
his ministry in the
thirteenth year of Josiah (Jer.
1:2).
It is
very possible, while
preaching in the streets,
his message coincided with
the reforms of Josiah and
helped bring about the
Reformation. |
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c) |
While
both Jeremiah and Zephaniah
present the spiritual
condition in two ways, the
message was
the
same. Judah had failed to
learn the lesson of God’s
judgment on the house of
Israel and were fast falling
away from God. While
Josiah, by God’s grace and
power, could remove the
idols and all that was
associated with them,
nothing could change the
deep spiritual condition of
the people. |
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i) |
Jeremiah spoke of the lost
awareness of God and
careless attitude, “They
have forsaken me the
fountain of living waters” (Jer.
2:13). |
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ii) |
Zephaniah presented God’s
attitude to their spiritual
condition as seething. God
speaks of the “Day of the
Lord” and says it is a day
of wrath (Zeph. 1:15) and
the truth being
presented is that the fury
of the Lord is like a
seething pot, as an intense
anger about to reach boiling
point. |
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iii) |
The scripture comes to mind,
“For the time
is come
that judgment must begin at
the house of God: and if
it first
begin
at us, what shall the end
be of them that obey not
the gospel of God? And if
the righteous scarcely be
saved, where shall the
ungodly and the sinner
appear?” (1 Pet. 4:17).
Since God’s judgment on His
people was inescapable and
severe, what must the
eternal damnation of the
individual
in Hell be like? |
Today's world and the days of Zephaniah
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In November last year (2020)
the eyes of the world were
on the USA with it’s
upcoming election. It is,
as all could see, a time of
crisis when the county would
either plunge under divine
judgement and outright
rejection of God and suffer
the political,
economic,
and natural God sent
catastrophes.
Just as a pot is bubbling up
so God is seething with the
nations every now and again
with that anger flowing over
in earthquakes, volcanoes
and
pandemics.
All these are
minuscule
foreshadows of things to
come, not only on the USA
but the nations which reject
and despise God. |
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a) |
If I
could, as an outsider, look
at the United States and
it’s November
election, I saw
the
nation at a crisis point.
If it went
towards the satanized evil
with corruption having
infested to the
decomposition of one party,
the country would
very
soon
go
under
the fierceness of divine
anger. Zephaniah speaks of
a time of trouble on
Israel. There is no way God
will
ignore the wickedness of a
Gentile nation hell bent on
resisting
every atom of grace He
offers for them. Aug. 3,
2020 there was
a
report of the head of a
statue of the Lord beheaded. |
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What were the sins of Judah
that demanded His judgment? |
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a) |
Their attitude: |
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i) |
God does not see or hear. |
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ii) |
A horribly low comprehension
of God. |
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iii) |
NO consequences for
behaviour |
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b) |
Their actions: |
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i) |
They mocked the people of
God (Zeph. 2:8) |
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ii) |
They were filled with pride
(Zeph. 2:10) |
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iii) |
They refused the correction
and warnings of God (Zeph.
3:2; 12) |
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iv) |
They had vain prophets,
judgment will not fall (Zeph.
3:4) |
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v) |
They slay the innocents (Jer.
2:34; 19:4) |
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vi) |
Syncretism (Zeph. 1:4) |
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What Can The Saints Do?
Like Nehemiah and Daniel in Chapter
9 of both their books, confess the
sin of ourselves and nation, and
turn depending and acknowledging
that only the
grace
of God will hinder the development
of evil.
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