As we saw previously chapter one deals primarily with the nation of Judah and the overall lukewarmness of the people of Jerusalem, settling in their lees. Because of their apathy the Lord pronounces judgment against that land. But in a wider scope this judgment being talked about in this chapter is pointing forward to a future judgment that is yet to come.
Chapter
1 ends with a vivid description of the day of the Lord
Chapter
2 begins with a call for repentance. Israel specifically is called to repent.
The rest of the chapter deals with Gods judgment on the nations surrounding
Israel the four points of the compass. Verses 4 through 7 tell of His
condemnation of Philistia, or Canaan, to the west of Israel. This is the area
that we know as the Gaza strip, a territory that the Lord declares belongs to
Israel and that they will eventually possess.
Verse
8 through 11 is the Lords pronouncement of judgment against Moab and Ammon, to
the east of Israel. This is present day Jordan. These nations were the
descendants of Lot who escaped the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, but these
nations would fall under the same condemnation as those two cities.
Verse
12 is Gods word against Ethiopia, the land to the south of Israel, and the Lord
declares that they would be slain by His sword.
Chapter
2 ends in verses 13 through 15 with the Lords indictment of Assyria and
specifically it’s capitol city Nineveh, the land to the North of Israel. This
is modern day Syria and Iraq.
The
Lord often used pagan nations as a means of judging His own people, but God
makes it clear that these nations will be held accountable for their treatment
of Gods special people, as well as for their attitude. The Lord hates pride.
Looking back through this chapter we can see that pride was a cause for the
Lords judgment against these nations. In verse 15 Nineveh said in her heart “I
am and there is none besides me.” The Lord said in verse 10 “This they will
have in return for their pride because they have taunted and become arrogant
against the people of the Lord of host .” In verse 8 He says of them “They have
taunted My people and become arrogant.” Contrast that with what He says to His
remnant in verse 3 – “Seek the Lord all you humble of the earth, who have
carried out His ordinances; seek righteousness, seek humility.”
We
also see throughout this chapter Gods faithful remnant. This is who verse 3 is
speaking to. The remnant is mention again in verse 7 with a promise that the
Lord will restore their land and their fortune to them and that He Himself will
care for them. They’re mentioned twice in verse 9 when the Lord says “The
remnant of My people will plunder them and the remainder of My nation will
inherit them.”
Throughout the book of Zephaniah up to this point we've had a couple of interwoven themes. Gods judgment of sin, both the sins of His people as well as those of the surrounding nations. Gods hatred of pride, and the fact that the Lord is never without a remnant. These themes continue in chapter 3.
When we get to chapter 3 the focus returns once again to the nation of Israel and this time particularly to the capitol city of Jerusalem.
Vs. 1 - "Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The tyrannical city!"
Jerusalem, the capitol city of Israel, the place where the Lord set His name and came and dwelt in the midst of His people. the Lord says that she has become rebellious and defiled. another translation says that she has become filthy and polluted. This isn't talking about outward pollution that people are so concerned about. I remember hearing about a large group of environmentalists out in California several years ago, who rallied together to oppose the construction of a nuclear power plant because of the effect it would have on the environment. Thousands of people gathered together for this rally which lasted for two days. And after it was all over it cost the city of Los Angles $250,000 to pick up all the trash. That's ironic. So many people are needlessly concerned about the pollution that's caused by driving cars or using power plants. I even heard recently of restrictions being passed about the kind of wood stoves people are allowed to buy for their homes based on some new environmental regulations. But this pollution isn't what the Lord is talking about here. He is talking about the inner pollution, the inner defilement of sin in His people. In Matthew chapter 15 the Pharisees came to Jesus and asked Him why the disciples ate without washing their hands and Jesus told the crowd in verse 11 - "Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man." And He goes on to explain this further in verses 17-20 - "Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man." This is a truth that is seen all throughout Scripture, that God is far more concerned with the inner truth than He is about the outward display. And because of the inner defilement of His people the entire city became defiled.
In Verse 2 the Lord goes on to give four specific ways that Jerusalem had become defiled.
Vs. 2 - "She heeded no voice,
She accepted no instruction.
She did not trust in the Lord,
She did not draw near to her God."
This is the Lords fourfold condemnation of Jerusalem. "She heeded no voice." The New King James version says "She has not obeyed His voice." God sent His prophets time and again to His people. He had priests to represent Him to the people. He had His Word written down for the people to hear, and yet they didn't heed His voice. This prophecy was given during the reign of Josiah the son of Amon. It was Josiah who called for a national reform in Judah and gave a large sum of government money to fund the restoration of the temple. This is found in 2 Chronicles 25. While they were cleaning out the temple they found the book of the Law in the temple of God and brought it and had it read before king Josiah. When Josiah heard these things he tore his clothes and sent his servants to inquire of the Lord as to what he should do, because he realized that they had not heeded the Lords voice. Because of this the Lord said that He would bring about His word of judgment against the people, but He declared that He would not do it during the days of Josiah because his heart was tender toward God and sought Him. Nevertheless, His judgment had to come upon His people because they had not heeded His voice.
The second indictment against Jerusalem is that "She accepted no instruction." or "correction." Their are only two responses to the correction of God. It can either be accepted or rejected. The Lord, as a loving Father corrected, disciplined His people in order to turn them back to Himself, but according to this verse they did not accept His correction. As a result, they were about to experience His discipline to a far greater extent. They rejected His instruction and now they are about to go through the time of Jacobs trouble.
The third thing that the Lord says about this city is "She did not trust in the Lord." Jerusalem had turned away from the Lord and trusted in their own devices. She trusted in her resources, she trusted in foreign aid, calling other nations to fight on her behalf, she trusted in false gods and idols. It seems that they were willing to put their trust in almost anything except the Almighty God, and He condemns them for it.
The fourth condemnation against this city is "She did not draw near to her God." This is what the Lord has against this city, she did not draw near to Him. That's how serious the Lord takes our relationship with Him. The Lord had taken up residence in the city of Jerusalem making Himself easily accessible, yet they had refused to draw near to Him.
In looking at all four of these things I don't just want to consider the implications to the city of Jerusalem and the people of Israel at the time this was written, but we need to examine our own hearts. Ask yourself if the Lord could say any one of these things about you. Ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal any wicked way in you.
Do I heed the voice? Do I read the Word of God and sit under the teaching of His Word and not let the Word change me? Notice that it does not say "She obeyed not the Word." although that's true, but that's not the wording that's used here. This is what it says "She did not obey His voice." When we read and hear the Word of God we are not simply reading data. I need to read the Word of God, not as though God were speaking to me, but rather because He is speaking to me. I need to hear Him. The Lord Jesus said in John chapter 10 - "My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." He said to the church at Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3 - "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." Do I heed His voice? Do I listen when He is speaking to me, or do I tune Him out?
Do I accept His correction? This question is directly connected with the one before it, because if we don't hear His voice we won't accept His correction. Proverbs 29:1 says - "A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy." In Hebrews 12:5-11 we read - "and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." This passage in Hebrews is talking about discipline, and while discipline and correction are not exactly the same thing, sometimes God will use discipline as a form of correction. When we stray from Gods Word, when we neglect to follow His instructions He has to come alongside of us and tell us that we're doing it wrong and tell us the right way to do it. Have you ever tried to help someone with something that they were doing wrong and they just didn't want to listen to you? This is what God is dealing with in this verse. When someone won't receive correction there's not much you can do for them except let them reap the consequences of their mistakes. Do I accept the correction of the Lord, or do I continue doing things my own way, thinking that I know better than God?
Do I trust in the Lord? Proverbs 3:5-7 says - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil." Trusting in the Lord with all my heart is something that I personally struggle with, but this is something that He takes very personally. Not trusting in the Lord is a sin. "To Him who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." Trusting in the Lord is something that God calls for us to do, and when we do not trust in Him we are committing sin. A lack of trust in the Lord is a lack of faith in who He is. If I don't trust Him it proves that I don't love Him. And if I don't love Him it proves that I don't truly know Him as I ought. The more that we know Him, the more that we grow in our knowledge of and relationship with Him the more we will grow in our love and trust of Him. In spite of our feelings, fears or circumstances, we need to trust in Him. Psalm 62:8 - "Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah." I need to confess, like the man who brought his son to Jesus in Mark chapter 9 "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." God will answer that prayer. Job was able to say - "Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him." That's an amazing thing. Do I trust the Lord? When things get hard, when trials come, do I trust in Him?
Do I draw near to my God? All of these questions are personal questions, and they all deal with our relationship with Him, but this one probably more so than the other three. Rather than saying "do I draw near to my God" let's put it this way, am I drawing near to my God? This is not an occasional occurrence in the Christian life, and we will never come to the point where we don't need to draw near to Him anymore. This is the process of knowing Him. Even the apostle Paul, one of the greatest Christians that ever lived, cried out "That I may know Him." Moses, the man who "spoke to God as a man speaks with his friend, face to face" said to the Lord, "I pray Thee, show me Thy glory, that I may know You." Am I daily drawing nearer to Him? If not I am not where the Lord wants me to be. We will never get to a point in our lives where it's okay to start coasting in regards to our relationship with Him.
This is also something that we need to honestly ask the Lord to examine our hearts about because we can deceive other people and we can even deceive ourselves into thinking that we are drawing near to Him. We can have the outward show without the inward reality. The pharisees are a good example of this. The Lord Jesus said In Matthew 15 - "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, 'This people draws near to Me with their mouths, and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.'" We can draw near to God with our mouths, we can give lip service to Him, but while man looks at the outward appearance the Lord looks on the heart. In James chapter 4 the Scriptures give us this promise - "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Am I drawing near to God right now? Am I growing closer to Him? The bride in the Song of Solomon makes this request early on in the book - "Draw me after you, and let us run together." This book pictures the relationship between Christ and His bride, the church. But taking it personally it is talking about my relationship with Him. I am part of His bride and so this book is talking about my personal relationship with Him. It's important to take the Word of God personally. There are many times throughout my life that I feel incapable of drawing near to God. Things have crowded into my life, drawing me away from Him, and if I'm honest with myself I'll recognize that I don't really want to draw near to Him. I'm comfortable where I am. But I suggest that this prayer would be a good one for us to pray. "Draw me after you, and let us run together." The Bible declares in Philippians chapter 2 that "it is God who is at work in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." Even if we don't feel like drawing near to God, He works in us to put that desire within our hearts, and then He works to carry it out, to draw us to Himself. "Draw me after you, and let us run together." Am I drawing near to my God?
"She heeded no voice, She accepted no instruction. She did not trust in the Lord, She did not draw near to her God." Do you? Consider these things before the Lord.
Verse 2 is collective, speaking of the city of Jerusalem as a whole. When we come to verses 3 and 4 certain classes of people who should have led the people in the things of God are singled out and indicted.
Vs. 3-4 - "Her princes within her are roaring lions,
Her judges are wolves at evening;
They leave nothing for the morning.
Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men;
Her priests have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the law."
Verse three deals primarily with the political or governmental leaders, while verse four talks about the religious leaders. Their princes were roaring lions. Proverbs 28:15 says - "Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people." Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all three talk about the wickedness of the rulers of Judah. The following is a list of some of the things that are said about them. They are greedy and lust for money, they neglect the poor, the orphans and the widows, they shed innocent blood and practice oppression and extortion, they shed blood and destroy lives in order to get dishonest gain, they hate good and love evil, they abhor justice and twist everything that is straight. Not a flattering description of these princes.
He also goes on to talk about the judges being wolves at evening, secretly devouring all they could attain, while professing to administer justice.
The prophets were reckless and treacherous. Handling the Word of God deceitfully. The Lord said to Jeremiah, concerning the prophets of that day - "The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds." The Lord said things like this quite a bit to Jeremiah about the prophets of his day, but this is a good summery statement concerning the prophets.
And the priests profaned the sanctuary and did violence to the Law. The priests should have been holy, sanctified, set apart for the Lords work, but they were unclean and by their uncleanness they defiled the very sanctuary itself. Ezekiel 22:26 says - "Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them."
By contrast, Verse 5 says
Vs. 5 - "The Lord is righteous within her;
He will do no injustice.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He does not fail.
But the unjust knows no shame."
The entire leadership structure that the Lord had established for His people collapsed. The political leaders, the religious leaders, all had turned to their own wickedness. But what remained? "The Lord within her is righteous. Though men are prone to change the Lord never will. "If we are faithless He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." "Do not trust in princes, in mortal men in whom there is no salvation." "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength." Though the entire city was facing Gods judgment, and though the leaders in the city were sinning against the Lord and His people, one thing in the city remained unchanged, and that is this "The Lord within her is righteous, He will do no injustice."
The last phrase of this verse shows us another contrast between the righteous God, and unrighteous man. "The unjust knows no shame." This was the sad state of the people in the days of Zephaniah, and this is the sad state of our culture today. It's a dangerous thing when people are no longer ashamed of their sin and unrighteousness. There used to be an embarrassment, by and large, attached to sin, but this isn't the case anymore. Things which used to despicable and deplorable are now celebrated openly. Many Christians are even becoming afraid to speak out about these sins for fear of being labeled "intolerant." It doesn't matter what popular opinion says or what is "politically correct" what God calls evil is evil, what He calls wicked is wicked, and He is not going to change His mind in order to please a society that celebrates those things that are wretched in His sight.
Vs.6-8 - "I have cut off nations;
Their corner towers are in ruins.
I have made their streets desolate,
With no one passing by;
Their cities are laid waste,
Without a man, without an inhabitant.
I said, ‘Surely you will revere Me,
Accept instruction.’
So her dwelling will not be cut off
According to all that I have appointed concerning her.
But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.
“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the Lord,
“For the day when I rise up as a witness.
Indeed, My decision is to gather nations,
To assemble kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All My burning anger;
For all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of My zeal."
We just read that in spite of the injustice and unrighteousness of man, the Lord is righteous. He is just. And in these verses we see Him carrying out His righteous judgment. In verse 6 the Lord talks about the judgment that He has already carried out on the nations, as an example for Israel, in hopes that they would turn back to Him. But they didn't heed His warning, for verse seven ends by saying "But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds." In verse 8 He talks about the future judgment that He will bring about in the day of the Lord and He calls on His faithful remnant, once again, to wait on Him.
Vs. 9-10 - "For then I will give to the peoples purified lips,
That all of them may call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
My worshipers, My dispersed ones,
Will bring My offerings."
In these verses we see the regathering of Israel. The faithful remnant coming together, worshiping and serving the Lord. There are a few different opinions about what it means that the Lord will give to the people "purified lips." One view says that this means during the millennial kingdom God will restore the language of the earth to the way it was before the tower of Babel in Genesis when the Lord came down and confused the language of man. It's thought by some that all mankind will speak a unified language, possibly Hebrew, during that time. And this could be, I don't know. But concerning the Hebrew language, there's an interesting comment in the 1911 edition of the encyclopedia Britannica. I enjoy coming across these kind of comments. The encyclopedia Britannica 1911 says this - "The possibility that we can ever again recover the correct pronunciation of ancient Hebrew is as remote as the possibility that a Jewish empire will ever again be established in the Middle East." Depending on how you look at it, this statement is actually true, although the possibility was not remote as the writers suggested. I wish these guys could have stayed around until 1948 when Israel once again became recognized as a nation. And now today, the recovery of the Hebrew language is so great that those who live in Israel can read the dead sea scrolls without any problem. God is looking over His word to perform it.
That being said, I don't think that a universal language is what this verse is talking about. Based on the context of this passage it seems that this is talking about a purification of heart and life of Gods people, that results in purified speech. The Lord Jesus said that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." The idea being communicated here is pure lips speaking from a pure heart rather than a universal language.
Vs. 11-13 - "In that day you will feel no shame
Because of all your deeds
By which you have rebelled against Me;
For then I will remove from your midst
Your proud, exulting ones,
And you will never again be haughty
On My holy mountain.
But I will leave among you
A humble and lowly people,
And they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.
The remnant of Israel will do no wrong
And tell no lies,
Nor will a deceitful tongue
Be found in their mouths;
For they will feed and lie down
With no one to make them tremble."
In that day the Lord will remove the sins of His people. Their pride and self-exaltation, will be removed from them. He will remove from them the shame that they have brought upon themselves by rebelling against Him. The humble and lowly will be left. This is talking about the Lords remnant once again.
Vs. 14-15 - "Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away His judgments against you,
He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
You will fear disaster no more."
From verse 14 to the end of the chapter the book is brought to a fitting close. This prophecy which has spoken of so much judgment ends with the remnant of the Lords people enjoying the favor of the Lord for whose name they have borne reproach. His faithful remnant which has endured in spite of great opposition, which has remained humble though surrounded by pride and arrogance, the Lord will gather this faithful remnant unto Himself in the city of Jerusalem and there they will enjoy His dwelling in their midst. In Ezekiel chapters 8 through 11 the prophet saw the Lords presence depart from the temple in Jerusalem. The glory of the Lord departed from the midst of the city. But this verse declares that the Lord, the King of Israel will once again dwell in the midst of His people. A fact so glorious that it's repeated again in verse 17. No wonder they are called on to rejoice. The Lord will care for them. He will watch over them and protect them and they will have cause to fear no more. This reality which will come to the Lords faithful remnant of the Jews in a coming day can be ours right now through the Spirit of God. He is in our midst. He is watching over His church. The Lord is our shepherd. He Himself has said "I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you." So that we may confidently say "The Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?"
Vs.16-17 - In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not be afraid, O Zion;
Do not let your hands fall limp.
The Lord your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.""
We continue to see the blessing of the Lord on His people in the Millennial kingdom. There will be no reason to fear in Jerusalem, and loving service will flow from the hearts of the people. The love of the Lord within their hearts and their gratitude for all that He has done for them will be manifest through service. Their hands will not fall limp. The Lord is in her midst, delighting in His own special people.
Vs. 18-20 - "“I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts—
They came from you, O Zion;
The reproach of exile is a burden on them.
Behold, I will deal at that time
With all your oppressors,
I will save the lame
And gather the outcast,
And I will turn their shame into praise and renown
In all the earth.
At that time I will bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will give you renown and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says the Lord."
At the close of the book we have six "I wills" from the Lord Himself. Six promises that the Lord makes to His people, and He ends the book in verse 20 by saying "Indeed, I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes." These are things that the Lord declares that He will do. And He doesn't say "If I restore your fortunes." He says "When." These promises that the Lord made He made to Israel and He is faithful. He will fulfill every last detail. Israel has not been replaced and God has not cast out His people. He who began this work with the children of Israel will fulfill it all in a soon coming day, and this same faithful God who has made these promises to Israel and will bring them to completion will fulfill His Word to us as well. "He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
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