Zephaniah 1, Zephaniah 2, Zephaniah 3, Revelation 10, Psalms 138:1-8, Proverbs 30:11-14

Zephaniah 2:1-2

Gather together—yes, gather together, you shameless nation. Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord ’s anger begins.

A reminder to get our lives in order, or to check on a friend to make sure they have given their life to Christ, before its too late. We have an opportunity now to accept and live for Jesus, but that opportunity won't last forever. 

Monday, December 25th: Zephaniah 1-3; Revelation 16 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Zephaniah 1-3; Revelation 16

Our passages today speak of judgment.  And judgment will indeed come when Christ returns at the end of this earthly age.

But today is Christmas.

Christmas is hope.
Christmas is God's way of reconciling us to Him.
Christmas is a miracle - that God would send His Son; that Jesus would willingly leave the glory of heaven and exchange it for the mantle of humanity; that He loves us that much!
Christmas is judgment delayed.
Don't take it for granted.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Haggai 1-2; Revelation 17

Thursday August 11: Zephaniah 1-3 ~Cameron

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Zephaniah 1-3

Zephaniah appears to be unique among the prophets giving four generations of his lineage as introduction. One commentary said this was done to ensure that Hezekiah's name was included and that there was no reason to think this would not be King Hezekiah. See, not all prophets have to live in deserts or caves. This one may have been royalty.

As far as end times prophecies go, this book is pretty standard. Judgement to the offenders, Judgement of the nations, etc. But chapter 3 brought forth a great Truth in light of Judgement: salvation is available to both jews and gentiles.

God's Judgement culminates with chapter 3:8:

“Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord,
“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
all the earth shall be consumed."

And yet,

“On that day you shall not be put to shame
because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then I will remove from your midst
your proudly exultant ones,
and you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.
But I will leave in your midst
a people humble and lowly.
They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord" - Chapter 3:11-12

There will come a time when God shows Himself to the world. Don't wait until then to "take refuge in the name of the Lord". Salvation has been offered to all peoples and available now.


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: 2 Kings 23:29-30, 2 Chronicles 35:20-27, Jeremiah 47-48

Friday, November 6th: Zephaniah 1-3, Colossians 4 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Zephaniah 1-3; Colossians 4

Zephaniah was written in an attempt to shake the people of Judah out of their complacency and return to God. It was written during the reign of King Josiah and may have been the motivating factor in the reforms implemented by the King.   It is a message of both judgment and hope.

Some thoughts from my Life Application Bible....
God does not take sin lightly, and it will be punished. But be encouraged by teh words of hope - our God reigns, and he will rescue his own. Decide to be part of that faithful remnant of souls who humbly worship and obey the living Lord....

Zephaniah warned the people of Judah that if they refused to repent, the entire nation, including the beloved city of Jerusalem, would be lost. The people knew that God would eventually bless them, but Zephaniah made it clear that there would be judgment first, then blessing. This judgment would not be merely punishment for sin, but it would also be a means of purifying the people. Though we live in a fallen world surrounded by evil, we can hope in the perfect Kingdom of God to come, and we can allow any punishment that touches us now to purify us from sin.

3:17 stood out to me....
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
The thought of God, the One who is mighty to save, singing over us and rejoicing over us is amazing. We sing praises to Him all the time, and rightly so.  But there will also be a day where He will sing over us with rejoicing.

Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
An excellent reminder to guard our tongue, and to be careful what we say, and how we say it.




Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Ezra 1-2; 2 Timothy 1

Sunday, October 16th

Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is Zephaniah 1-3 - Acts 24

Zephaniah is definitely a book of judgment. But it is also a book of hope.

It is a book of warning, doom and gloom to those who persist in living for their own self-interest and going their own way.

But it is a book of hope for those who follow Christ and long for redemption.

The passages of hope must be particularly meaningful for those Christians who are suffering persecution, or those who have been deeply wronged.

There will come a day when mercy will no longer be offered and justice will be demanded. There will come a day when those who have done evil will be dealt with by our just God. And for those people it will be a day of wrath and destruction that they could never have imagined.

There will come a day when all wrongs will be made right. There will come a day when all Christians will be able to openly worship God without fear of persecution, ridicule or death. There will come a day of rescue, of redemption, of homecoming, of peace. What a day of rejoicing that will be!

And that will all happen on the same day. Whether we fall on the side of wrath and destruction or the side of redemption and peace will be determined by the choices we make today, the choices we make every day, as we choose to live for God or against Him.

And when that day of judgment and glory comes, it will never be more obvious which side has won the victory.

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. "At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honour in every land where they were put to shame. At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honour and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes, before your very eyes", says the Lord. Zephaniah 3:17, 19, 20

What beautiful words of hope and comfort as we wait for Christ to return and for all those promises to be fulfilled.

Come Lord Jesus!

Tomorrow's passage: 2 Chronicles 35, Habakkuk 1-3, Acts 25

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.

August 2nd

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Book of Habakkuk, Zephaniah 1-2:7

Commentaries on the Book of Habakkuk
Blue Letter Bible Commentary by Ray Stedman
The Just Shall Live by Faith by John Piper
When God Doesn't Make Sense by Mike Leake

A few verses that jumped out at me...

Look at the nations and watch - and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. Habakkuk 1:5

Habakkuk had asked God why and how long evil would prevail, and God starts His answer by saying Habakkuk was not going to understand it. God works in ways that are beyond our comprehension. So many times we are actually watching God's answer unveil before our very eyes and we don't recognize it because it's not what we asked for, it's not what we expected, it's not what we would've done.

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Habakkuk 2:1

God's answer was that He was going to destroy the Assyrians (Ninevites) by raising up the Babylonians. Yep, God was right - Habakkuk didn't understand this. How was replacing the Assyrians with the Babylonians going to solve the problem - it just didn't make sense! But Habakkuk showed his faith in God, he was going to wait for him. He knew that God was good. He knew that God was all-powerful. He knew that God was and is and always will be. And he would wait for God.

So often that is what we need to do. We aren't going to necessarily get an answer to our questions. God is not always going to reveal His reasons to us. And when He does, we are not always going to understand them. And so we need to rely on the God that has been revealed to us in the scriptures and by His Holy Spirit and we need to trust in Him, and wait on Him.

The righteous will live by faith. Habakkuk 2:4b

These words are quoted in the New Testament in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews. This is the word that lit a fire in the heart of Martin Luther, "The righteous shall live by faith." Not by circumstances or by observations or by reasoning, but by faith in what God has said will happen.

In these words the prophet is shown that there are only two possible outlooks on life. There are only two attitudes by which we can face life. Either we face it in faith depending upon God, or we face it in unbelief depending upon our own ability to reason out everything. These are the two fundamental attitudes, and they are the only two. You can only have one or the other. If you look around you will see that every human being on the face of the earth can be put into one of these two categories. Either they are trusting in the wisdom of the human mind to study events and arrange solutions, and they try to analyze the writings of clever men and come to conclusions about human events based on these sources, or they take what God has said and believe that when he has said a thing will happen, it will happen and that all of history converges into and hinges on that promise....

Habakkuk began this book by saying, "Lord, why don't you do something." Now he says, "Lord, be careful, don't do too much. In wrath remember mercy. I see you are working Lord, but remember in the midst of it that you are still a God of mercy." That is all he has to say. there is no more philosophy, no more theology, no more arguing with God.

[Habakkuk's prayer] is one of the most remarkably beautiful, poetic passages in all the Scriptures. Read it and see how the prophet is doing nothing more or less than going back and remembering what God has done in the past. That is what convinces Habakkuk that God can be trusted. He rests upon events that have already occurred, events which cannot be questioned or taken away or shaken in any way; the great fact that God has already moved in human history. And this is where faith must rest. We do not live by blind faith. We live with a God who has acted in time and space, who has done something, who has indelibly recorded his will in the progress of human events. The prophet looks back to God's action in Egypt when Israel was in trouble and remembers here how God moved. (Ray Stedman from the Blue Letter Bible commentary above)

And then we have one of my favourite passages....
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:17-18

Have you discovered that? That though the problem remains and the pressure is still there, there can be a strengthening of the inner man that makes the heart rejoice and be glad even in the midst of the difficulty. That is what Habakkuk discovered. "The Lord himself," he says, "is my strength." And that is New Testament truth. That is the great secret of a Christian. Not that God takes the problem away. The world is desperately trying to find a way to get rid of the problem. But God has ordained that the problems shall remain. "In the world you have tribulation," Jesus said, "but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (Jn. 16:33) 1 love the title of a book by Dr. Edman, former president of Wheaton College. It so gloriously sums up what a Christians' attitude should be in the midst of difficult times. Do you know what it is? "Not Somehow, But Triumphantly." Not just getting through it somehow, but triumphantly. (Ray Stedman, emphasis mine)

Tomorrow's passage: Zephaniah 2:8-3:20, 2 Chronicles 35:20-27, 2 Kings 23:29-30, Jeremiah 47-48