Complacency is the key thing in this reading. Zephaniah had to shake the people of Judah out of their complacency and urge them to return to God...Scholars think this was written at the time of all Josiah's reform....the key verse in this book is:
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seem humility: perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger (2:3)
Note the hope in this....IF you repent, you may be spared....there is a way out, but like the sermon in church today if you were there, you must make a conscious choice every day......will you serve God or yourself?
There will be a day of wrath and judgement...all the prophets are warning of this; however, if we remain faithful to God, he will show us mercy. God will judge the nations...Moab and Ammon (descended from Lot and his daughters) are REALLY gonna get it...
10 years before it happened, Zephaniah prophesies the destruction of Assyria (2:13). It is fulfilled in 612BC. You will start to notice a mentality of "I am, and there is none besides me"...this will be a huge Babylonian mentality going forward and God hates it. Do you see anything like it today in our culture?
Again the message of prophets in this day are "Repent and Judgment won't happen like this"...look at 3:7....and we go from wrath to hope 3:13, the remnant of Israel will do not wrong.....God is faithful to His covenant, even if the people as a whole, are not.
The proud will be removed, and the humble will remain......God hates pride...look at all the kings he brought down for pride.......why should we be able to escape?
Zephaniah encourage the nation to gather together and pray for salvation.....He shows the people how to avoid God's wrath, but the majority will not listen. Are you complacent and going through the motions of church? Are you prideful or humble?
Remember:
HE IS MIGHTY TO SAVE.
Look what comes up from the depths of the sea.
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My Bible has something interesting.....3:9 "For then i will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the Lord, To serve him with one accord." My Bible says that God multiplied human languages at Babel in order to frustrate human arrogance, but one day He will use language to bring us together to serve in unity and humility. so we will all speak one language....all Christians from all over the Earth....when in Heaven... COOL!
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