There is a day coming when the Lord will execute justice upon the wrongdoing and injustice of those who rebel against Him as He purifies and preserves a people who will live in a right relationship with Him...

This week we have been looking at a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Zephaniah. We looked on as Zephaniah revealed the actions that the Day of the Lord would bring upon the Jewish people as a result of their selfishness and rebellion against the Lord in the relatively near future. Zephaniah proclaimed that the Lord would exercise His right and just response to the selfishness and rebellion of the Jewish people that led them to commit idolatry by worshipping something other than the Lord as God.

We looked on as Zephaniah, in the midst of proclaiming the potential of the Lord exercising His right and just response to the selfishness and rebellion of the Jewish people in order to bring justice and judgment for that rebellion, call the Jewish people to repent. Zephaniah called the Jewish people to turn away from their selfishness and rebellion so as to turn to the Lord by seeking the Lord. Zephaniah called the Jewish people to turn away from their selfishness and rebellion so as to turn to the Lord by living in humble recognition that the Lord is the One who is large and in charge. Zephaniah called the Jewish people to turn away from their selfishness and rebellion so as to turn to the Lord by faithfully following and obeying the Lord.

Zephaniah proclaimed that if the Jewish people turned from their selfishness and rebellion and turned to the Lord, that they would not experience what humanity would face on the “Day of the Lord”, when the Lord will express His right and just response to the wrongdoing and injustice of humanity by removing the wrongdoing and injustice of humanity that flowed from their selfishness and rebellion. Today, we see Zephaniah transition to turn his attention and message from the Lord back to the selfishness and rebellion of the Jewish people. We see this in Zephaniah 3:1-8:

Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The tyrannical city! ² She heeded no voice, She accepted no instruction. She did not trust in the LORD, She did not draw near to her God. ³ Her princes within her are roaring lions, Her judges are wolves at evening; They leave nothing for the morning. ⁴ Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law. ⁵ The LORD is righteous within her; He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the unjust knows no shame. ⁶ "I have cut off nations; Their corner towers are in ruins. I have made their streets desolate, With no one passing by; Their cities are laid waste, Without a man, without an inhabitant. ⁷ "I said, 'Surely you will revere Me, Accept instruction.' So her dwelling will not be cut off According to all that I have appointed concerning her. But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds. ⁸ "Therefore wait for Me," declares the LORD, "For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.

Here we see Zephaniah proclaim that the Lord would exercise His right and just response to the selfishness and rebellion of the Jewish people who refused to follow the Lord and refused to listen to the warnings of the Lord that were delivered through His messengers, including Zephaniah, that led them to commit idolatry by worshipping something other than the Lord as God. In verse 2, the prophet exposed the rebellion of the Jewish people, who refused to trust in the Lord.  In verse 3, the prophet exposed the rebellion of the Jewish people, who greedily exploited others. In verse 4, the prophet exposed the rebellion of the Jewish people, who manipulated the message and teachings of the Bible for material gain and who worshipped false gods instead of the Lord. In verse 5, the prophet exposed the rebellion of the Jewish people, who knew no shame in the face of God’s rightness and justice.

Then, in verse 6, Zephaniah turned his attention to the selfishness and rebellion that was present not only among the Jewish people, but throughout humanity. Zephaniah proclaimed that there would be a day when the Lord would gather all humanity and exercise His justice and judgment upon all humanity. Zephaniah then concluded his letter by giving a glimpse into what the future would hold after the Lord removed the wrongdoing and injustice of humanity that flowed from their selfishness and rebellion in verse 9-20:

⁹ "For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, That all of them may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder. ¹⁰ "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings. ¹¹ "In that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud, exulting ones, And you will never again be haughty On My holy mountain. ¹² "But I will leave among you A humble and lowly people, And they will take refuge in the name of the LORD. ¹³ "The remnant of Israel will do no wrong And tell no lies, Nor will a deceitful tongue Be found in their mouths; For they will feed and lie down With no one to make them tremble." ¹⁴ Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! ¹⁵ The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. ¹⁶ In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: "Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. ¹⁷ "The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. ¹⁸ "I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts-- They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them. ¹⁹ "Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth. ²⁰ "At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes," Says the LORD.

Here we see Zephaniah proclaim that, after God’s right and just response to selfishness and rebellion, wrongdoing and injustice, the Lord would establish and bring healing and restoration to the nations in relationship with Him. During this time in history, which is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as the Millennial Kingdom age, the Jewish people will be a people of purified lips that would be devoted to the Lord. The Jewish people, and all humanity, would experience a unity and oneness with all humanity that was freed from racism and ethnic tension. The Jewish people would see their shame removed as they were transformed into a humble and lowly people who gave praise and honor to the Lord.  The Jewish people would sing aloud and rejoice with all their hearts.

And Zephaniah proclaimed that the Lord would take great delight in His people. Zephaniah proclaimed that the Lord would remove fear from His people as they could rest in His power and His faithful love.  Zephaniah proclaimed that the Lord would rejoice over His people with singing and shouts of joy. The Lord would establish the Jewish people by rescuing them from their oppressors and by providing them a place among the nations that enhanced their reputation among the nations. The Lord would act to bring justice and judgment while fulfilling His promises to His people in a way that would result in His glory and they represented Him in their character and conduct.

 

And it is here, when God speaks, that we discover a timeless truth about the nature and character of God and God’s activity in history. And that timeless truth is this: There is a day coming when the Lord will execute justice upon the wrongdoing and injustice of those who rebel against Him as He purifies and preserves a people who will live in a right relationship with Him. You see, the point of the book of Zephaniah is that the Lord is large and in charge of all of humanity and that the Lord will exercise His right and just justice against the wrongdoing and injustice of humanity.

And the point of the book of Zephaniah is that the Lord calls humanity to repent. The Lord calls humanity to turn away from their selfishness and rebellion so as to turn to the Lord by seeking the Lord. The Lord calls humanity to turn away from their selfishness and rebellion so as to turn to the Lord by living in humble recognition that the Lord is the One who is large and in charge. The Lord calls humanity to turn away from their selfishness and rebellion so as to turn to the Lord by faithfully following and obeying the Lord.

The point of the book of Zephaniah is that there is a day in the future when the Lord will return to bring justice and judgment to all humanity. And on that day, those who refused to follow the Lord and refused to listen to the warnings of the Lord that were delivered through His messengers, including Zephaniah, will experience the Lord’s right and just response to their wrongdoing and injustice that flowed from their selfishness and rebellion against the Lord.

And on that day, those who to turn away from their selfishness and rebellion so as to turn to the Lord by seeking the Lord and by living in humble recognition that the Lord is the One who is large and in charge by faithfully following and obeying the Lord will be transformed as they experience the fullness of the relationship with the Lord that they were created for. On that day, those who to turn away from their selfishness and rebellion so as to turn to the Lord will have their character purified as they are preserved by the Lord to experience an eternity in the relationship with Him that they were created for. 

So here is a question to consider: How are you responding to the reality that there is a day coming when the Lord will execute justice upon the wrongdoing and injustice of those who rebel against Him?  And how are you responding to the Lord’s invitation to turn away from your selfishness and rebellion so as to turn to the Lord?

 Because there is a day coming when the Lord will execute justice upon the wrongdoing and injustice of those who rebel against Him as He purifies and preserves a people who will live in a right relationship with Him...