15th Oct One of Hezekiah’s great great grandsons, and born in the reign of Mannasseh, Zephaniah prophesied during the early reign of Josiah. This meant that he had Jeremiah, Nahum and possibly Habakkuk as his fellow-prophets. Zephaniah means ‘Hidden by the Lord’ or ‘Protected by the Lord’ – which may have been a very apt name for a boy born to a god-fearing family during Manasseh’s reign of terror! Zephaniah’s prophecy is likely to have been made early in the Josiah’s reign, before the great reforms and rebuilding of faith in God had been started by the king. (Today’s reading: Zephaniah 1, 2, 3.) The main theme is the impending judgment of the Lord on Judah and on the surrounding nations and empires; like many prophecies it ‘telescopes’ into the final Day of the Lord on the whole of earth. The message is that God’s punishment will come like a tsunami upon the region, and that a remnant of Judah will be saved and restored by the Lord. This message is punctuated by more cataclysmic threats concerning the whole earth: “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth”…”When I destroy all mankind on the face of the earth” (1:2-3). He reserves his fiercest judgment for the Baal worshippers and those who bow down to Molek. Many of the locals practised syncretism – the worship of one’s own gods mixed in with worship of neighbouring gods, just to ‘hedge your bets’ – and even Solomon was not innocent in this regard (1 Kings 11:7). He promises to punish those who practise superstition – “…all who avoid stepping on the threshold” (1:9), which was a pagan custom of the day. These days we might consider ‘touching wood’ or avoiding the joins in the pavement slabs as being similarly abhorrent to the Lord. Superstition is ‘super-stupid’ when you are trusting in a sovereign God; he is not impressed with rituals, with silly rules and with a multiplicity of words. Neither is he impressed with those who are complacent, who think that God ignores their ‘white lies’, their tax evasion, their selfishness and their outward show. But the ‘day of distress’ will come upon ALL people on the whole earth! Chapter two follows as a call to repentance for the nation of Judah – rather like Jonah pleaded (eventually) with Nineveh. “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger”. Just as God promised Abraham that he would spare Sodom if he found only ten righteous men in it (he DIDN’T), he often spares whole societies because of the presence of a few of his faithful people living in their midst. Even a small amount of salt and light can keep a nation pure and honest. Meanwhile the other surrounding nations will be destroyed totally. Nineveh was so completely devastated that its site was forgotten until recently modern times when archaeological excavations revealed it. Chapter three continues in the vein of destruction, targeting Jerusalem especially since, those to whom much is GIVEN, are expected to produce much more fruit! Then in 3:9 onwards, the compassion of God is directed as the remnant of his people, who have been faithful to him throughout the ages. Jerusalem will be cleansed and then re-peopled with the meek and humble; with those who trust in the Lord. “Sing, Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm… The lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing”. (3:14, 16, 17). God promises them a final homeland at a place where heaven meets earth forever; the places that WE call home are only temporary ‘tents’ – and we must realise that we can never truly be ‘at home’ anywhere in this age. Our destiny, our calling, our true homeland is located in the Age to Come, and we waste our time looking for and expecting to find some kind of perfection or ‘heaven on earth’ in this present age. Get on with the task at hand and hasten the Day of the Lord’s coming! Andy Acreman
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 07:00:19 +0000
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