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Today's QT : : "2 Kings 20:1-21"
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Posted on : 14-10-14 10:13
"Zephaniah 3:1-20"
Author: As to the Lord…
Views: 2,434
Zephaniah 3:1-20 / By: As to the Lord!
Hymn: No. 503 "The World Is Without Love"
People sometimes confuse what they know and what they do. So the more you know, the more you believe you are doing. This is also reflected in our faith. Hearing the word of God, his heart is moved, and he decides to follow the will of the Lord in his life in the future. But still there is no change in life, no fruit, no devotion and love for Christ, just acting according to one's own desires and desires. Nevertheless, he realizes and knows a lot, so he thinks that he is acting and obeying the word of the Lord. Rather than struggling to obey the word of the Lord, they think that they have already changed and that they are living according to the will of the Lord. There is no concession or consideration for others, and is selfish and fierce. I try to consider only my own thoughts. But they don't know them well. I just think of living justly, wisely, and with discernment.
By diligently studying, listening, and learning the Word of God, and sometimes inviting others to hear it, you are mistakenly thinking that you are doing the will of the Lord.
The Lord says to such people that they are ignorant of their shame.
Some people associate the Word of God with their own greed and become zealous. They pretend that their zeal comes from God, but the content is actually the pride of life and a desire to be respected by others. But without realizing it, they live without even knowing what is wrong. To such people, Zephaniah exclaims in chapter 3. Verses 1 and 2.
“Woe to that rebellious and filthy place, that tyrannical city!
He did not listen to commands, he did not receive instruction, he did not trust in the LORD, he did not draw near to his God.”
In Zephaniah chapters 1 and 2, God's judgment was proclaimed on the nations that oppress and afflict God's people. And now that judgment is directed to the people of Israel, the people of God, in chapter 3. The subjects of judgment are the ministers and judges of Israel, the prophets who preach the word of God, and the priests in the sanctuary. Verses 3 and 4.
“The princes among them are roaring lions, and his judges are evening wolves that leave nothing to the next day; his prophets are rash and deceitful men; his priests have defiled the sanctuary and have transgressed the law.”
Rulers and ministers who had to look after their people growl like lions to claim each other's vested interests. They fight and bite each other to get to the top. The fight doesn't stop until one side backs down or collapses.
The judges are the evening wolves that devour nothing left until the next morning.
Prophets who preach the word of God are proud and selfish. It is not God's thoughts, His words, but struggles to gain the popularity of people and raise their reputation. Although they pretend to be humble and courteous on the outside, they are only arrogant and arrogant before God.
The priests are the ones who defile the sanctuary. We worship in the sanctuary of God, pretending to be holy, violating God's law and harboring all kinds of sins. But their hearts no longer love God, they are not afraid. They pervert the law for their own benefit, and bind others as well as themselves with the laws of their own making.
They cry out to build a temple for God and dedicate themselves to the glory of the Lord, but in reality they are not God, but they want to sit in the highest glory.
To the rulers and religious leaders of Jerusalem, the Lord has sent His prophets to warn them over and over again. On the contrary, the rulers and religious leaders diligently zeal for each other and betray God. This is verse 7.
“But I said, Fear me, and take instruction, and although I have decided to inflict punishment, your dwelling will not be cut off. But they have been diligent in defiled all their ways.”
Were they ignorant of God? Was their iniquity because they did not know the will of God? It's not like that. Rather, they knew God better than anyone else, and they were the ones closest to God's Word.
But their hearts are all withered for lack of love.
Therefore, we talk about God's love and act as if we are putting God's love into practice, but we do not have the Lord's love in our hearts. There is only an effort to establish their own justice and pursue the honesty they have created, but God's deep love cannot flow out of their lives.
Where there is no love there is only hypocrisy.
Now God's judgment is proclaimed to everyone without exception. Verse 8.
“Therefore, wait for me, saith the LORD, until the day I rise up to punish. I will mobilize the nations and gather kingdoms to set a will, and to pour out my wrath and all my wrath, and the whole earth shall be consumed by the fire of my jealousy.”
The main theme of the book of Zephaniah is “the day of the Lord.” It is the day when God takes a broom in his hand and sweeps away all the trash of sin and lawlessness. On that day, God will wipe out all humans and animals, birds and fish, leaving only heaps of wicked sinners.
The Lord will lament this loveless land and will wipe away every idol of selfishness, materialism, lust and rationalism. Among them, the Lord is paying attention to His people. The Lord leaves His people wretched and poor in spirit and protects them to the end. This is verse 12.
“I will leave a wretched and poor people among you;
Jehovah's Day. Those who endure to the end in his day of judgment and are faithful are protected under the great wings of the Lord.
For those who put their hearts on God alone and truly love the Lord, obey and wait, the day of the Lord will not be a day of judgment, but a day of salvation and a day of joy.
Do we really have love for God in our hearts? Or is it not just that he has lost his love and knows much of the Lord's words?
Are you forgiving for the faults of others, or are you clinging to the faults of others?
Is the present devotion and zeal thanks to the Lord's love, or is it not a religious act of measuring others based on one's own devotion and wanting to be recognized by them?
Are you afraid of God, or are you afraid of the world and people?
< Prayer >
“The LORD your God is in your midst, the Almighty to save; he will rejoice over you with rejoicing, he will keep his love over you, he will rejoice over you with singing and rejoicing.” -Zep 3:17
Heavenly Father. We hope that Zephaniah's confession will become our confession today. May we truly become the joy of the Lord. May we be satisfied with only one Lord. Help us to truly love you, and to be obedient and devoted with joy. Help me to love others with your love in this loveless world. The name that first loved us. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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