Here is a preview of the reasons for judgment on the day of the Lord.
- The princes and officials adopted foreign customs and abandoned their love relationship with God.
- Some people paid attention to foreign religions, as evidenced by jumping over the threshold of a door for fear of demons.
- Other people filled their lives with violence and deceit.
Zephaniah was God’s messenger and counseled the people to silently listen to God because the day of the Lord was at hand.
Be silent before the Lord God,
for the day of the Lord is at hand!
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
he has consecrated his guests. Zephaniah 1.7
Israel and Judah were continually plagued by foreign armies. They believed in the might of the Lord, and they saw the Day of the Lord as a time when God would rouse His army and defeat their enemies in one day, as what happened to Sennacherib’s troops before Jerusalem (Isaiah 37.36-37).
On that day, the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the Assyrian camp, leading Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, to break camp and return to his country.
The Day of the Lord was envisioned to be like that experience on steroids.
Zephaniah warned the people not to automatically assume that the Day of the Lord would bring them favor. Instead, it could be a period of judgment against them.
He advised that the wisest approach would be for the people to seek God, to understand His assignment for them, and to align their lives with His will.
This remains to be great counsel for humans today.
God’s Complaint
It is apparent that Zephaniah stood in silence before the Lord. In that position, he received God’s complaint towards the people.
And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and all who dress themselves in foreign attire.
On that day I will punish
all who leap over the threshold,
who fill their master’s house
with violence and fraud. Zephaniah 1.8-9
One of my favorite preachers used to say that turning away from God doesn’t mean turning toward nothing; instead, it means turning toward anything.
This was the situation in Israel. They turned their backs on God and adopted the superstitions of their neighbors, such as jumping over thresholds or dressing in foreign attire.
God always discourages the worship of false gods, because He knows that what we worship affects our behavior. The behavior of the people involved deceit, fraud, and violence.
Consider the devotion to riches, materialism, and power in today’s environment, and reflect on how it affects the behavior of those who pursue such goals.
It is wise to heed Zephaniah’s advice and be silent before God, asking Him to align us with His will.
A Critical Warning
Violence and deceit, left unchecked, will bring down any government. The day of the Lord will reach every dark corner of the earth and the hidden recesses of men’s minds and hearts.
At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the people
who settle like dregs in wine,
those who say in their hearts,
“The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do harm.”
Their wealth shall be plundered
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them. Zephaniah 1.12-13
When you believe that God is no longer active in human affairs, you can say in your heart, “God won’t do us any good, neither will He harm us.”
When we rely solely on our own resources, we find ourselves in a vulnerable position. There will always be someone stronger, more cunning, more devious, and more powerful than us, capable of making our lives exceedingly difficult.
When that “mightier someone” is God, He possesses the power to demolish everything we have built using our own resources.
Once again, Zephaniah’s advice to be silent before the Lord, to understand His will, and to adjust our actions to align with God’s plans, is the wisest course of action for our lives.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 