November 16, 2011
READ AND HEED THE WARNINGS
Zephaniah 1
Ashley Marie Eckstein
Central Truth
There will be a day of judgment when God's wrath will be poured out over all the earth. It will be a terrible time for all unbelievers. When that day comes, there will be nothing, short of Christ's righteousness, that will protect man.
Key Verse | Zephaniah 1:18
Neither their silver nor their gold
Will be able to deliver them
On the day of the LORD'S wrath;
And all the earth will be devoured
In the fire of His jealousy,
For He will make a complete end,
Indeed a terrifying one,
Of all the inhabitants of the earth.
(Zephaniah 1:18)
Zephaniah 1
1 The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
The Coming Judgment on Judah
2
“I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
3
“I will sweep away man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and the fish of the sea,
and the rubble
1
1:3
Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols)
with the wicked.
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
4
“I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5
those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
those who bow down and swear to the LORD
and yet swear by Milcom,
2
1:5
Or their king
6
those who have turned back from following the LORD,
who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.”
The Day of the LORD Is Near
7
Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the LORD is near;
the LORD has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
8
And on the day of the LORD's sacrifice—
“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9
On that day I will punish
everyone who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's
3
1:9
Or their Lord's
house
with violence and fraud.
10
On that day,” declares the LORD,
“a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11
Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders
4
1:11
Or all the people of Canaan
are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12
At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
who are complacent,
5
1:12
Hebrew are thickening on the dregs [of their wine]
those who say in their hearts,
‘The LORD will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’
13
Their goods 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.”
14
The great day of the LORD is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter;
the mighty man cries aloud there.
15
A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16
a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
17
I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk like the blind,
because they have sinned against the LORD;
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung.
18
Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the LORD.
In the fire of his jealousy,
all the earth shall be consumed;
for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
Dive Deeper | Zephaniah 1
We often know the consequences for certain actions, but we do the actions anyway. For example, I could read the nutritional label on my favorite Ben & Jerry's carton and easily see that eating it three times a day is not good for me. I may try to deny it with statements like, "This ice cream contains milk, and being a woman, I need milk to strengthen my bones and prevent osteoporosis."
Something more "me" would sound like this: "Coffee Heath Bar Crunch ice cream is kind of like Cheerios. I mean, Coffee Heath Bar Crunch has milk in it, and you add milk to Cheerios. Also, they both make a crunch sound when you eat them. So really, they could both be eaten interchangeably as breakfast foods!"
Although in my world it seems perfectly rational to eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, in the real world there are consequences. Even if I manage to look healthy on the outside, without regular exercise and nutrition from foods other than ice cream, I'll become extremely unhealthy on the inside.
The same thing that tells us what is necessary to protect our health (reading and heeding "warnings") is relevant to protecting our souls. I may try to deny the truth behind how unhealthy ice cream can be, but ignoring the warning of the nutrition label doesn't make it any less unhealthy. The same is true for Scripture. No doubt about it, Zephaniah 1 is a warning. No matter how much people deny that the day of the Lord's wrath is coming, that doesn't change the fact that it's coming, and ONLY the redeeming power of Christ will be able to deliver us. We must read and heed these warnings.
If you haven't committed your life to Christ as your Savior, then the following Scripture is talking about you: "I will bring distress on men . . . [a]nd their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung." (Zephaniah 1:17) Trust Christ, only He can save you.
Believers, share the gospel and warn others of what's coming! It is hateful to keep quiet!
Discussion Questions
1. Do you pick and choose which warnings from Scripture to follow?
2. Zephaniah 1:12 says, "It will come about at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are stagnant in spirit, who say in their hearts, the LORD will not do good or evil!" What do you think it means to be "stagnant in spirit"? Do you ever fall into this category?
3. If you already know and believe all these things, are you warning others? How often do you tell people about how they can skip the horrors of condemnation by trusting that Christ's death and resurrection covers our sins?
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
HABAKKUK 2-ZEPHANIAH 3 (NOVEMBER 14-18)
Read Habakkuk 3:17-19.
What hard circumstances is Habakkuk describing in verse 17? Raising crops and livestock was how the people worked and made their living. Why would not having all of those things be so hard? What did Habakkuk say he would do in verse 18 even though things were hard? Is it hard to trust the Lord when things are not going well?
Read Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 46:1-3, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 145:13, & Hebrews 10:23.
Why can we trust God? What are hard things that could happen in your life that would be like having empty fields and no cattle? How can you remember to trust God even in those circumstances?
ACTIVITY: In verse 19, Habakkuk refers to having feet like a deer, what did they help him do? Who gave him the ability to navigate the hard circumstances? Now think about other animals and what they have that helps them in hard situations -- i.e., the bird's wings to escape danger, or the cheetah's quickness to catch what it needs for food. What would you like to have to help you in a hard circumstance you are facing? (Example: When friends say hurtful things about you, having feet to walk away from the circumstance or the right words to be bold to stand up.) Remember that every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord (James 1:17), so pray He will give you what you need to withstand hard things.