'The Book of Zephaniah'
Hey, can you believe it is February 1st already. Where did January
go?
Tonight I was reading in, 'The Book of Zephaniah'. It is only 3
chapters long, and has 53 verses.
If I were to asked how many of you have read the book, I would not be
sure who would raise their hands.
The reason is everyone loves to read
the promises of God. The good news, and psalms, but very few people like to
read about God dealing with sin in their lives.
Zephaniah is a book of forceful
prophecy. The book deals with a "revival" that produces outward change, but does
not fully remove the inward heart of corruption. Zephaniah, hammers home his
message repeatedly, that the day of the Lord, judgment day is coming, when the
malignancy of sin will be dealt with.
Israel and her neighbors will soon
experience the crushing hand of
God's wrath.
The Book of Zephaniah emphasizes the
certainty of God's judgment, because God hates sin. The people of Judah lived
wickedly for fifty years under King Manasseh and King Amon. Zephaniah urged,
his people to repent of their wicked lifestyle. The nation was filled with
idolatry, selfishness, and immorality; and God was preparing to judge them .
They were lazy; they had no concern about the things of God. They disobeyed God,
resisted correction, and relied on themselves.
Zephaniah 3:
3-5
3. Her princes in her midst are roaring lions;
Her judges are evening wolves
That leave not a bone till morning.
4 Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people;
Her priests have polluted the sanctuary,
They have done violence to the law.
5 The LORD is righteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails,
But the unjust knows no shame.
Her judges are evening wolves
That leave not a bone till morning.
4 Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people;
Her priests have polluted the sanctuary,
They have done violence to the law.
5 The LORD is righteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails,
But the unjust knows no shame.
But, in the mist of it all, God's
promise to preserved a remnant,
a small group of people who will
continue to serve God faithfully.
But it also tells that after the
chastening process is complete, blessings will come in the person of the
Messiah, who will be cause for praise and singing.
Zephaniah
2:7
7. The coast
shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah;
They shall feed their flocks there;
In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening.
For the LORD their God will intervene for them,
And return their captives.
They shall feed their flocks there;
In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening.
For the LORD their God will intervene for them,
And return their captives.
We need to remember that God is a
loving God, but He will not let you continual in a life of
sin.
Complacency (and a I don't care
attitude) is a deadly disease. If you do not care about God or believe that you
can continue in sin without, consequences, you are headed for judgment. Many
today do not seek God's blessings or fear His wrath; such thinking is
dangerous.
Zephaniah
1:12
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.’
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 sins that were found in Judah are
the same ones that you must avoid, disobeying God, resisting correction, failing
to trust in God, and not having any desire to learn about
God.
Zephaniah
3:2
2. She has not obeyed His voice,
She has not received correction;
She has not trusted in the LORD,
She has not drawn near to her God.
She has not received correction;
She has not trusted in the LORD,
She has not drawn near to her God.
Even though God must judge sin, He is
faithful to each individual who turns to Him in faith.God is mighty and able to
save, protect, and bless.
Zephaniah
3:17
17. The LORD
your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
God is a loving God. He does not want
to see us suffer, but if we continue to do wrong and sin, He is our Heavenly
Father whom loves us enough to chastise us.
John 3:16-17
16. For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life. 17
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved.
I know that just as my Daddy and Mama corrected me, when I
did wrong.
And Joe and I also corrected our girls, it helped all of us to know right from wrong. We knew to not do that anymore.
In others words we learned our
lessons,and sometimes, it was the hard way.
Today, spend time with God, and ask Him
to show you what changes you may need to make in your life. Some of them you
already know, so do not wait until God has to let you fall to your knees, so He
can lift you up.
Back To Monthly Links of Daily Devotions
| The Joy Of The Lord Is My Strength |
 |
| Laughter Is Good For The Soul |
|
Unless otherwise stated, all content on this site is © 2006 by Coffee With Pat. Please do not take any of the graphics or content without written permission. Thank you for being kind and honest, and for respecting copyright laws. DISCLAIMER |