Last night before bed I made my to-do list for today, a seemingly innocuous exercise, except for the fact that then I could not go to sleep from thinking about the logistical challenges today would bring! Studying and blogging is something I delight in doing. By putting it on the to-do list, voila! Ok, enough about that.
We are back in Zephaniah today because, although you don't hear many sermons from this Old Testament minor prophet, it is an intriguing book. Go back and skim my last post to refresh your memory about his family ties/genealogy, if you need to.
Zephaniah was a plain-talker, a blunt speaker. He did not often employ flowery, poetic language to get his point across. Interestingly, the book of Revelation is laid out in a similar progression as the book of Zephaniah, albeit with more depth and, well, revelation, haha. Here is the same basic progression of themes in both:
- Judgment of God's people - Israel/the Church
- Judgments on the nations - Zephaniah 2/Revelation 4-15
- The Day of Judgement - Zephaniah 3:1/Revelation 20
- God's blessing - Jerusalem/new Jerusalem
- The return - God as King/Jesus as King
Isn't that fascinating?! I just love how the themes in the New Testament reflect and fulfill the prophecies of the Old. As Jesus said,
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."
(Matthew 5:17 ESV)
In this way, the prophecies of Zephaniah have been fulfilled already; and, also they have not. As is the case with several of the biblical prophecies, they have what is called "duality". That is, they were fulfilled either during or sometime after the prophet's own time, AND they will be fulfilled again sometime in the future. (Hence the parallels mentioned above between Revelation and Zephaniah).
Let's examine, first, the initial fulfillment of Zephaniah's pronouncement of judgment on God's people, Israel. The folks had just emerged from a period of severe idolatry under the reign of the pagan King Amon, who was assassinated. They were now ruled by the boy king, Josiah, who took the throne at the tender, young age of 8 years old. He had a team of godly advisors, five in his inner circle, but none whose names you would recognize. I want to focus on Josiah at a later date; so, we'll skip over some of the particulars here. Let's just content ourselves for now with the fact that reforms began in the nation of Judah under Josiah's reign.
If Zephaniah was written during King Josiah's reign, why did Zephaniah warn the people that the period of righteous reform would not last? Because that was the message God gave him, one which ultimately proved to be true.
Unfortunately, Josiah's reforms did not last. The dire prognostications of judgment from Zephaniah, Jeremiah and others came to pass about 75 years after Zephaniah was written, in the form of the Babylonian scourge, where the brightest and best of the nation of Judah were carted off in chains to Babylon for 70 years.
Some pastors preach that the Church will not be judged during the oft-spoken-of "last days" before Christ returns, because Jesus took all of our judgment on the cross when He paid for our sins, once and forever. On the most spiritual level, I completely agree. Christians will not experience eternal judgment, damnation, because of our signed, sealed, delivered salvation via the Holy Spirit.
However ... we currently live in a time when the Church is more persecuted than at any other time in human history, if you are talking about scope. In other words, when you consider the worldwide Church, Christians in many places are either persecuted to some comparatively minor degree for exercising their faith (such as here in the USA) or they are hunted down and killed for their faith in Jesus Christ (many parts of the Middle East, Africa, China, etc.). In that sense, the Church is undergoing "judgment" in the physical realm, here on earth. (Others might refer to it as "purification".)
What is the deeper application of this aspect of Zephaniah's writings to us? To answer that question we need to honestly look at the behavior of the Hebrew people of Judah, as well as our own behaviors. The people were judged by God because they willfully, persistently practiced sin in their own lives. They had become so comfortable in their own sins that they no longer attempted to please God. The idolatry of the people groups surrounding them had infiltrated their ranks and overtaken them. Don't miss this point: they were conquered within their own hearts before the Babylonians ever struck and put them in physical chains. They had allowed the chains of persistent, practiced sin to bind them. They had given up and given in to their own personal vices.
And, God was not pleased. He referred to His own beloved people as "undesirable".
Zephaniah 2:1-3 (NET) records His warning and His plea:
1Bunch yourselves together like straw, you undesirable nation,
2before God’s decree becomes reality and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff,
before the Lord’s raging anger overtakes you –
before the day of the Lord’s angry judgment overtakes you!
3Seek the Lord’s favor, all you humble people of the land who have obeyed his commands!
Strive to do what is right! Strive to be humble!
Maybe you will be protected on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.
People have the freedom to disobey God, but not the freedom from the resulting consequences.
A single example, for us on the "micro" level here: Smokers.
Husband and I have gotten into the (rather bad) habit of watching reruns of the ancient Perry Mason show each night before sleep overtakes me. (I can rarely finish an episode, as these air at 11:30 p.m.). It is curious to note how many people smoke in these episodes. It was a common, mostly-acceptable practice. (My own daddy began smoking at age 9!) . Many fewer people smoke tobacco in modern America because, today, the dangers of such behavior are widely known. To persist in a pattern of smoking tobacco negatively affects one's health, often bringing a premature death. My own daddy died at age 66 of disease related to smoking, after ignoring the warnings and smoking nearly all his life. Just about 99.9% of us have some behaviors that negatively impact our health, thereby reducing our effectiveness for the Lord.
When we, as the Body of Christ, persist in behaviors, thoughts, habits that are contrary to God's directions for our lives, we will reap the consequences, that is, His judgment on us in this physical world. It may not be immediate, but it will be sure. God will not allow Himself to be mocked; what we plant, we will harvest, in our earthly lives. (Galatians 6:7) God's mercy and grace come into play here, because He is long-suffering with us. He is patient as a benevolent, loving Parent of His children. But, ultimately, the general principle for us as believers is: "you play, you pay". God's discipline is a reflection of His love for us. (Hebrews 12:6)
All true believers struggle against their own personal sins. We hide them from others, most of the time. But, deep down, we acknowledge them and if we are walking the resplendent walk, we acknowledge them, confront them, confess them and repent. Often this seems like an endless cycle, and hence the term "besetting sins". Those are our personal sins that each of us tend to fall prey to most often. We can never, in this life, seem to totally conquer them. Even the apostle Paul acknowledged this ongoing battle, raging through his own life. You can almost hear the angst in his voice as you read, "Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?!" (Romans 7:24). Thankfully, that battle will end when we are free from our bodies and their fleshly, sinful entanglements, living eternally with Jesus, our Deliverer, the One who, despite our "undesirability" loved us enough to incarnate Himself, live a sinless life and then lay down that life for us.
Until then, we must continue to fight the good fight of faith. The struggle goes on. Our God calls us to strive, to strain, to fight to do what is right through the Spirit He has given us, while we are simultaneously seeking humility and the other fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Today is January 4th. Have you "fallen off the wagon" yet with your New Year's Resolutions? I have. But, you know what? Right afterwards, I climbed right back on. As Christians, we have the power of the Holy Spirit at our disposal. Like exercising a muscle, we need to draw on His power in our day-to-day lives. It's hard, y'all. The flesh provokes a constant battle.
But, let's encourage one another in our local Christian fellowships by "bunching ourselves together like straw". We know the final outcome. We are His, forever. All the battles we wage and fight here merely purify us for the blissful Forever that awaits us. All the struggles merely prepare us for that amazing Eternity we anticipate living with Him.
Sources:
http://www.conservapedia.com/Book_of_Zephaniah
https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/holy-bible/old-testament/the-prophets/minor-prophets/zephaniah/
https://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Zephaniah.html
