Title: saith the LORD / Zephaniah 1:2-3
saith the LORD, Zephaniah 1:2-3
The weather has become very hot these days. As everyone feels and talks about, these days, the seasons seem to just change without spring or fall. All environments in the world are changing. We can feel it even if it is not the clamor here and there, "Something is wrong, the Earth is suffering." The Earth is changing... It is definitely changing. The change of seasons, the environment, or anything else makes you feel it. Floods and famines from all over the world, and the terrible damage of strange and unheard-of endemic diseases, also make you feel it.
How did you feel when you saw the killing and burning of four million intact cows in England for mad cow disease? Four million horses. Can you imagine how many? Even if you catch 2m each, if you catch 4 million, it is a huge number that you have to line up and go to Seoul and Busan 20 times.
As groves of trees died horribly across Europe, people searched for the cause and eventually found out that it was due to acid rain from the sky and made a lot of noise. However, the problem of acid rain has come close to us at some point. It's serious enough. It's a problem because it's not raining and it's dry, but even if it does come again, the damage is not normal.
How bad is water pollution? We hear that water cannot be used for industrial water use in factories as well as agricultural waterways. When you go up to Gwanaksan and look down at downtown Seoul, it is really terrible. A lump of black soot fills the entire Seoul sky, and isn't it a miracle that we, who are living and breathing in it, do not suffer from many unknown diseases?
There was only a little snow last winter, but there was a day when the snow piled up gently at dawn. As I went out after praying in the morning, my eyes that I had not seen in a long time were so clean and pleasing. The snow on the car looked cleaner than the snow on the ground, so I made a small snowman the size of a fist by grabbing a handful of snow that had just been gently dropped on the car. I took the little snowman home and put it on a small plate for the children to see. The room was warm and after a while it completely melted, leaving only water on the plate.
But what is this? Isn't it pure black water, not pure water like snow? "No, why is the water so dark? Hey! Your eyes are so dirty." But my surprise didn't end there.
I threw the black water into the sink, and after all the water was poured, black stains were left on the plate. Even after washing it with water and squeezing it by hand, the black stain was hardly wiped away. Eventually, after using the detergent, the black stain was removed.
I was so surprised and my heart ached again. It reminded me of my childhood when I was running around outside and when I was thirsty, I picked up a handful of snow and ate it. It was a time when we picked up icicles hanging from under the eaves, fought swords, and even chewed on them.
Thinking about it now, it's like a dream, right?
The world has changed a lot. This makes me think that people have no choice but to say things like pollution, garbage pollution, destruction of the environment, and ecosystems. No matter how white the snow was, the world was dirty.
Did this world just come by itself? Did you just live in a world like this? no. We made this world. We humans, who were commanded to polish, clothe, polish, and rule all the creatures of the world, have created such a miserable world.
In today's text, Zephaniah 1:2-3, the prophet clearly states that this kind of world will come. A judgment is coming that will sweep the earth.
A prophet, a man of God, can only proclaim the God of love, the God who will bless us.
In our Korean society these days, I've heard that shamans and fortune tellers are the most popular with politicians and business people. Was it more like that in the last election? They tell very poignant stories. You will definitely be elected. What kind of shaman called Yongha is so popular that all reservations were made by 1999?
Even in the days of Zephaniah, many prophets will proclaim this blessing and you will be blessed. It will be fine. When people are gaining popularity with these words, Zephaniah, the man of God, is shouting the word that he will be annihilated. But these were not the words of Zephaniah. It is the word of God. "I am the LORD, saith the Lord."
Everyone! Do you believe that these judgment words spoken through Zephaniah's mouth are the words of God? However, today's text, which proclaims judgment, is not about being cursed, but, in fact, God's words because He loves us.
How is the proclamation of judgment an expression of God's love? You should understand this well.
It is for God to separate His people from sin.
God loves us and loves the creatures he made, so that he wants to restore the state that was good in his eyes.
So the judgment proclamation is also declared, saith the LORD. Words that say I love you are not the only expressions of God's love.
Not long ago, a 100-day-old child underwent surgery in the parish where I met him. I got a vaccinate, but it went wrong and the lymph glands became inflamed. I have a sore under the armpits and it's getting worse. I decided to go to worship on the 100th day and promised until the time, but a few days before that, I went to the hospital for surgery. They operate under general anesthesia on that cute baby that won't hurt even if you put it in your eyes. Why are you having surgery? It hurts, but after I cut out the diseased mass, the disease does not spread further and I am not clean? Surgery is painful, but that's the way to save it.
The mother who sends the pregnant baby to the operating room is crying. Is your mother crying? But they send you to the operating room. why. This is love. Do you know what I mean?
This is God's voice proclaiming judgment in today's text. Because He loves you, He proclaims judgment. The heart of a mother sending her to the operating room because she loves her is the heart of God who declares that He will judge the world.
Here's this Judgment Manifesto, which contains some truly astonishing teachings. Take a closer look. Look at the order in which the judges come. This is verse 3.
I will destroy man and beast, and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks and the wicked as well.
man and beast, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. Where do you think you've seen this sequence? This is not just the order in which Zephaniah writes as he pleases. Surprisingly, the referee's cry was always in this order.
How was the time of Noah's Flood, the greatest example of judgment? It is well illustrated in Genesis chapter 6. When God judges the world full of sin, He clarifies the order of ?쐄rom man to cattle and creeping things and birds of the air.??
In Hosea 4:1-3, when judgment is proclaimed on those who do not have the knowledge of God, it says, ?쏷here will be no man who dwells on the earth, no beast of the field, no birds of the air, and no fish of the sea.??
How can you be so accurate? Do you know why this order is so important? This is an exact reversal of the order in which God created the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1. It is also an exact reversal of the order in which God created man, blessed him, and gave him the mission to be responsible for all of this.
Let's look at Genesis 1:28.
"God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Look at the order here. In verse 24, the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves on the earth, and every living thing that moves on the earth, is said to be livestock, creeping things, and beasts of the earth. And after creating them, God said that it was good. Why is this?
nice to see Is it good to see a world where millions of cows are forcibly killed and burned?
All poor creatures are panting because of the sins of men. That is why the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:19-22 that all creation groaned together and looked forward to the coming of the Son of God.
At an environmental conference in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972, a scholar named Duvora proclaimed the phrase "the only earth".
That's right. There is only one planet we live on and we have to pass on to our descendants. When we do not know God and fall into materialism, we do not seek or seek God, but rather worship idols and become slaves to material things. I will live a holy life according to the word of God. Now, your life must be changed from a life that satisfies your greed to a God-centered life.
The purpose of life is not to enjoy abundance, but to glorify God. I sincerely hope that all of you will listen to the voice of God's love that will heal the sick because He loves us.