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JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE ZEPHANIAH Day 1 Zephaniah 1 Zephaniah 1:1 The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, says the LORD. 3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, says the LORD. 4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests; 5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham; 6 And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him. 7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. 8 And it shall come to pass 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 strange apparel. 9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit. 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills. 11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off. 12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil. 13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. 14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hastes greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. 17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. 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 shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. When you see the headlines. When you hear the news. When your eyes touch the trouble around you. When you smell the decay of corruption. When you taste the violence. Then you wonder, where is God. Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of Josiah, king of Judah, who was one of the good kings who followed the Lord God. Josiah was the third to last king before King Nebuchadnezzar would come against Judah and start taking it captive to Babylon. Zephaniah’s prophecy concerned the captivity of Judah, which would occur in the reign of Jehoiachin. He told the people they would not escape God’s wrath, but they would go into captivity because of their sin: worshiping idols, and not trusting in God to be their King and God. God had sent his prophets to turn the hearts of the people back to God from the time of the judges of Israel, before Israel divided into two kingdoms, and he would continue to send prophets until the people turned from their wickedness and turned to him as their God. As Christians, you too wonder where God is and when he will come against all the evil you see around you. You know what he has done in the past, but evil still fills the streets. Violence is everywhere. You can’t escape it. Yet, Jesus said, he is coming back and then Satan will be cast down, and peace will reign. God’s children had become numb to the prophets and their prophecies. God hadn’t done anything to the wicked. They felt they could go on with their lifestyle of sin and wickedness and God wouldn’t do anything to them, despite all the prophecies. When you break the law, either with traffic violations or worse, there are two kinds of tickets you can receive – a warning or a fine. If you keep doing wrong, eventually the warnings will be fines and you will find yourself before the judge. God is your Judge. He determines when he will act on the warnings he gives. Jesus gave us signs to look for when the end is near, and God will judge the people. When you read those signs, you know the end is near. Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. Paul also gave us a look at what to expect in the end before Jesus’ return. 2 Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (KJV) Do these lists sound familiar? What do you see in the world today? Isn’t it everything Jesus said you would find in the last days? Isn’t it everything Paul said about how people would act? You cannot get away from the facts as you stay behind your closed doors, afraid to go out in the streets because of all the violence. Yet, just as Zephaniah prophesied what was to come, Jesus gives us hope of his soon return. How soon? Only God knows, but when you look at the signs, you know the end is coming. Satan will be defeated, and Jesus will reign in peace. Let’s pray: Father, you know when the end is. You gave us the signs, just as you gave warnings to your people to turn them back to you. Help me to see and touch your people with your Word before it is too late. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 2 April 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay