Devotion in motion
Are you Seeking or Complacent?
Midweek Inspiration
09/30/21
Zephaniah 1:2–2:3
Zepahaniah now delivers a colorful message. And It begins with a bang, “I will utterly consume everything from the face of the land,” says the Lord; “I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks along with the wicked (“the stumbling blocks” were the idols that caused Israel to fall into sin). I will cut off man from the face of the land,” says the Lord.” Welcome to destruction! In Genesis 1 God created beasts, birds, fish, and man. Now He consumes them. Hey, If God brought you into the world; then God can take you out!
Commentator, J. Vernon McGee writes, “The book of Zephaniah is like a Florida hurricane, a Texas tornado, a Mississippi River flood, a Minnesota snowstorm, and a California earthquake all rolled into one.” Zephaniah served a God who is serious about sin – and who doesn’t mince words. Notice that God is not afraid to judge sin. Verse 4, “I will stretch out My hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, the names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests…”
It’s interesting, the word translated “idolatrous” is from an Assyrian word which means “to be black.” It could be that these pagan priests wore long black robes, like a satanist would today. Or it could mean that Zephaniah was rebuking the heresy of fellow black Jews who had fallen into idolatry – Like the Ethiopian priests. Either way, God will cut off “those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops…” Apparently, some Israelis were into astrology. They consulted the stars. And “those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, but who also swear by Milcom…” Or “Molech” as he’s also called.
He’s the false god of the Moabites and Ammonites. The Hebrew word “Molech” was derived from “Melek” which is Hebrew for “king.” The name “Molech” was formed by taking the three consonants in “Melek” – M-L-K – and inserting into them the vowels found in the Hebrew word for “shame.” So, Molech, was king of the Moabites, but was forever stigmatized as a shameful thing. Apparently, the black priests in Zephaniah’s day had turned to this false god, rather than call on the true God of Israel. And it’s sad that the same mistake is being made today among African-Americans.
Today the god of the Ammonites and Moabites is Islam. And many young blacks are turning from the Christianity of their fathers to become muslims. Founder of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad, was once Elijah Poole, the son of a Baptist pastor who raised his kids in the Christian faith. You see Islam appeals to oppressed minorities because it legitimizes hatred, and sanctions violence. The Islamic principle of Jihad encourages the use of force and conquest… where as Christianity teaches its adherents to love their enemies. Conversion is always voluntary.
Martin Luther King Jr., the father of the modern Civil Rights movement, and a Christian pastor, taught that prejudice can only be overcome through love. He advocated peaceful, nonviolent resistance. Both the NT and Dr. King’s teachings are the opposite of Islam.
Remember, the word Molech is formed by inserting the vowels of the word “shame” into the consonants of the word “King,” or M-L-K. And ironically, this is what’s happened to sectors of the black community, black muslim teachings have corrupted the vision of Dr. King. Unfortunately, many African-Americans today now serve a false god, Allah, rather than the true God of Israel. And according to verse 6 God will cut off “Those who have turned back from following the Lord, and have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.”
At the time of Zephaniah, Israel had become a pluralistic society. All religions were viewed as equally true and beneficial. The Judean king, Manasseh, was worshipping Baal and Milcom. He’d also delved into astrology and was worshipping the stars. The people had come to believe that no one religion had a monopoly on the truth. Sound familiar? That’s exactly what’s happening in America today. We no longer believe in essential truth. Secular historian, Edward Gibbon, in his classic work, “The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire,” says that in the final throes of Rome, “all religions were regarded as equally true, the philosophers as equally false, and the magistrates as equally useful.”
These are the factors causing the crumbling of American society today. Our failure to identify objective truth allows for the proliferation of anything and everything. Our history is being rewritten. Past wisdom is nullified. And politicians are used to advancing this relativism. America has lost its moral bearings, and is racing to anarchy. Verse 7, “Be silent in the presence of the Lord God; for the day of the Lord is at hand, for the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests.” In Revelation 19:21 John refers to this verse. We’re told after the final Battle of Armageddon, “all the birds were filled with… flesh.” Scavengers will be allowed to feast on the corpses of many casualties. God’s judgment will produce a banquet fit for a vulture!
Seven times in this prophecy, Zephaniah will use the phrase, “day of the LORD.” This is the prophet’s subject. “The day of the Lord” is the future time-period that begins at the rapture of the church, continues through the Great Tribulation, the Battle of Armageddon, the Second Coming of Christ, and His Millennial Kingdom. It’s the time when the Lord intervenes in the affairs of man. Currently, man is having his say. Today is the day of man, but coming soon God will have the final say. And “the day of the Lord” will be a tumultuous time. God consumes all things.
When His judgment ceases the world is littered with the corpses of man and beast. Verse 8, “And it shall be, in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.” As proof of their compromise the children of Israel even dressed like their idolatrous neighbors. It’s sad when Christians feel like they have to dress themselves in the attitudes and values of the world. We’re called to be “holy” – different, not duplicate. “In the same day I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.”
According to 1 Samuel 5:5, “leaping over the threshold” was a practice that was involved in the worship of Dagon, the god of the Philistines. “And there shall be on that day,” says the Lord, “the sound of a mournful cry from the Fish Gate, a wailing from the Second Quarter, and a loud crashing from the hills. Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh! For all the merchant people are cut down; all those who handle money are cut off.”
In the Jerusalem of Zephaniah’s day the fish gate opened westward, toward the Sea. Maktesh was the business district – Jerusalem’s Wall Street. Later, it’ll be named the Tyropean Valley. Jospehus called it, “the valley of the cheesemakers.” The point is, when God judges His people and Jerusalem, the business community will be hit hardest. Verse 12, “And it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil.’ The Lord will search Jerusalem with a flashlight. He’ll be on the lookout for complacency! He’ll find folks who took God for a paper tiger – who thought He was all bark and no bite, and didn’t take Him seriously. Obviously, the true God is a tiger with teeth! He’s on the prowl – and He’s ready to spring into action. But the Jews had grown lazy, and to pacify their conscience they assumed God had grown as passive as they had.
This is what happens to Christians today. We no longer assume God intervenes in situations, or works miracles, or brings judgment. He’s aloof, and removed. We like to think God has joined the status quo. It’s sad, but complacency has gone to church! “Therefore their goods shall become booty, and their houses a desolation; they shall build houses, but not inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine. The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse.”
Commentator Walter Kaiser writes of verse 17, “This simple causal clause summarizes the entire history of the world… “They have sinned against the LORD.” Verse 18, “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, for He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land.” Following Josiah’s reign this sums up Judah’s history. The Jews went back and forth between Babylon and Egypt buying their protection. As it turns out, all their gold couldn’t save them. It’s interesting, America has also relied on its gold, its money, to try and buy allies all around the world. Yet, everywhere you go abroad America is hated. We too have trusted in our silver and gold, rather than God!
Chapter 2, “Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation…” There’s an intended barbed buried in verse 1. The Hebrew word “nation” is a derivative of “goyim” or Gentile. God is saying to the Jews they’ve behaved no better than the godless. He proves His point in the rest of the chapter, as He judges the Gentile nations surrounding Jerusalem… “Before the decree is issued, or the day passes like chaff, before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you! Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.”
God is extending to everyone the opportunity to repent, and be spared God’s judgment! Repentance is a beautiful thing. Realize the “meek” are not weak. They’re the folks wise enough to become humble. They come to God broken – not bucking. They accept God’s harness and let Him steer their lives. It’s the foolish who arrogantly spit out the bit. It’s been noted that every morning on the African plain a gazelle wakes up. He or she knows it’ll have to run faster than the fastest lion, or be killed… And every morning the lion wakes up, and knows he or she will have to run faster than the slowest gazelle, or go hungry… It doesn’t matter if you’re a gazelle, or a lion, when the sun comes up – you know you’ve got to run! And the same is true of us. You’re either running toward God or running from God.
“If you aren’t seeking the Lord; then judgment is nipping at your heels.” Compare Zephaniah 2:3 with 1:12, either you and I are seeking the Lord and His righteousness, or the Lord is seeking to punish those who sin against him. What are you seeking today? The bible says “today is the day that the Lord has made–Today is the day of salvation.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found”
Amen
Victor Tafoya
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