August 3 - Miriam

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Zephaniah 2:8-3:20; 2 Chronicles 35:20-27; 2 Kings 23:29-30; Jeremiah 47-48.

The Book of Zephaniah by Bob Deffinbaugh really helped me to understand the message of Zephaniah better.  I don't think I've ever read Zephaniah before, but as I was reading I realized that here we're also reading about the Day of Judgement - the end of the world - something about which I know very little and have, admittedly, kind of buried my head in the sand.    I've taken some excerpts of the commentary and chopped it up to keep this shorter.  If you have some time and the message of Zephaniah interests you, the commentary is very good.

As I understand the book, there are two dominant themes in Zephaniah: judgment and deliverance.

As I have studied the Book of Zephaniah, I have been forced to reconsider the relationship between divine judgment and divine blessing. I have always thought of them as opposites that have no relationship. I like to think of judgment as something that has little to do with me and much to do with my enemies. I like to think of God’s blessings and salvation as mine, unrelated to judgment. I have come to the conclusion that divine judgment and divine blessings are very closely inter-related.

In the first place, God’s judgment is the means whereby He delivers us from our enemies (2:4-15; 3:15, 19). Second, divine judgment purifies the righteous remnant (3:9). Finally, God’s judgment is the means by which God brings about our blessings. When God removes the wicked, it is so He may come and dwell with us. In addition, when God removes the wicked, He gives their possessions to His faithful remnant (2:5-7, 9-10). The judgment of the wicked is the means to our blessing.

The "Day of Judgment" is described both as events in the near future, but also a great and final judgment in the more distant future. Judgment will come not only upon Judah, but also the surrounding nations in the near future, and then eventually the whole earth. More from the commentary:

God’s promises to Abraham would be fulfilled through a small remnant of His chosen people, rather than through the entire nation. This remnant would be composed of the righteous, not only those of Judah, but also from among the Gentiles.

8 Therefore you must wait patiently for me,” says the Lord,
“for the day when I attack and take plunder.
I have decided to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them—
all my raging anger.
For the whole earth will be consumed
by my fiery anger.
9 Know for sure that I will then enable
the nations to give me acceptable praise.
All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray,
and will worship him in unison.
10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,
those who pray to me will bring me tribute (Zephaniah 3:8-10).  (emphasis mine)

Things that set the righteous remnant apart, according to the commentary:
They seek God and obey his commands.  (Zephaniah 2:3a)
They are humble.  (Zephaniah 2:3b)
They are righteous in their actions toward others.  (Zephaniah 3:13)

The hope of the righteous remnant:
Their sins are forgiven and they are cleansed from their sin (3:9, 11, 13).
They will be delivered from or through divine judgment (2:1-3).
They will eventually be rescued from the hand of their oppressors (2:4-15; 3:15).
They have the hope of future blessings (2:6-9).
They will be given fame and honor (3:19-20).
They will enjoy security and peace (3:13).
They will enjoy being in God’s presence, as He rejoices over them as the objects of His love (3:15-17).

What should our response be to the message of the Book of Zephaniah?

First, we are instructed by Zephaniah to be silent.  What does it mean to be silent before the Lord? It may mean that we cease making excuses for our sin, or that we stop denying that we are sinners, deserving of God’s wrath. Silence is sometimes viewed as a way of admitting one’s guilt (Leviticus 10:3; Nehemiah 5:8; Job 6:24). Silence is also an expression of reverence. To be silent before God is to show reverence to Him (Psalm 62:1; 65:1; Habakkuk 2:20; Zechariah 2:13). It may also be that the “silence” called for is the “silence” of Jeremiah 7:16:


Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for these people. Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf. Do not plead with me to save them, because I will not listen to you (Jeremiah 7:16; see also 11:14; 14:11).

The time for God’s judgment had come; let not the righteous ask God to withhold His hand. Let the righteous silently await the “Day of Judgment.”

Second, we are instructed to seek the Lord.  I take this as a call to repentance for those who do not know God, as well as for those who do know Him. Men and women should prepare to meet their God. My friends, the great and final “Day of Judgment” is still future, but it may not be far off. The bad news is that each and every one of us is a sinner, deserving of God’s judgment – the very judgment described in Zephaniah (see also Romans 3:9-20). The good news is that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer God’s judgment in our place. When Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, He did not die for His sins, for He was the sinless Lamb of God. He did not merely suffer at the hands of Rome; He endured the judgment of God that should have been ours. He then rose from the dead and ascended to the Father in heaven. He offers salvation to any who will trust in Him. Those who reject Him must endure the eternal wrath of God. What a terrifying thought.

Third, the righteous remnant is instructed to wait for the Lord.  Judgment Day, the “Day of the Lord,” is certainly coming. The godly should wait patiently for it to come. This will be a day of the vindication and deliverance for the righteous remnant.290 This will be the day that commences the times of blessing. The righteous should avoid taking vengeance and wait for this day when God will make all things right.

Fourth, the righteous are to joyfully worship God, in the light of the coming “Day of the Lord”.  The prophecy of Zephaniah ends with a call to worship. The prophet is not speaking of worship in some future day, though that will surely take place. He is calling for worship now. God’s people should worship because the “Day of Judgment” and the times of blessing are certain to come. God’s people are to worship by faith, knowing that God is a covenant-keeping God. He always keeps His promises, whether they are promises of judgment or of blessing. Even in the most difficult of times, the future of the righteous is clear, and it is certain.



How much more this truth should be a comfort for New Testament Christians. In one sense our “Day of Judgment” came 2,000 years ago, when our Lord Jesus Christ bore our judgment on the cross of Calvary. We need not dread God’s coming judgment, and we anxiously await the full measure of God’s promised blessings. Much that was future for the saints of old is now history for us. We can look back upon the cross of Calvary, while they could only look forward. I repeat, how much more should we enter into joyful worship, knowing that we shall escape divine judgment, and that we shall soon enter into our eternal blessings, all because of the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ!
 
Who knew there was so much to learn from a little 3-chapter book by some obscure OT prophet?  Anyway, I wasn't able to keep this as short as I'd hoped, but I just got so excited about the amazing message of this book and I couldn't bring myself to cut all this great stuff down any further.

Tomorrow's passage:  2 Chronicles 36:1-4; 2 Kings 23:31-37; 2 Chronicles 36:5; Jeremiah 22:1-23; Jeremiah 26:1-24; 2 Kings 24:1-4; Jeremiah 25:1-14.