Today in God’s Word

Today in God's Word—December 2024

East Tallassee Church of Christ

December 13, Zephaniah 1

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.

- Zephaniah 1:18

The certainty of final judgment of all who have ever lived is one of the foundational teachings of the Bible. In both Old and New Testaments, God sent his faithful priests and prophets to warn of coming judgment and to call people to repentance. He ultimately sent his Son with a message of salvation. Jesus the Savior faithfully proclaimed that message that also included calls to repentance and warnings of judgment to come.

Zephaniah did not hide the subject deep in the story he was sent to tell. In the opening words, he identified himself, claimed his message was from the LORD and delivered the thundering promise that judgment and total destruction was surely coming. As the other prophets sometimes did, he moved from the general promise of a future and final judgment to a more immediate and localized warning against the apostate people of God. We are not surprised that multiple prophets spoke and wrote similar messages, because they were all inspired by God.

Zephaniah gave more information about himself than many of his prophet brothers. He traced his lineage back four generations to King Hezekiah. He also dated his prophecy in the days of Josiah.

The Jews of Zephaniah's time (as well as generations before and after) imagined that Messiah’s coming would bring their vindication and their enemies’ destruction. But Zephaniah not only announced the judgment of the whole world. He also said judgment was coming to those who were supposed to be God's own people. They were guilty of the same sins that the pagan neighbors committed, but the Israelites were more accountable because they had the law and the history of their relationship with God. They should have known better. They, like the pagans around them, had rejected what knowledge of God that was available to them. Judah was guilty of worshiping Baal, as Israel had done under Ahab’s wicked leadership. They also worshiped the host of heaven. They compounded their sinful idolatry by worshiping God alongside the idols. They did no better than Paul found the Athenians doing centuries later with their many idols. Also, some of the Israelites had apostatized completely. They no longer followed God. They no longer sought or inquired of the Lord at all. God was irrelevant to them.

God described the coming judgment and punishment of Judah as a sacrifice. The idolaters, the dishonest traders and merchants, along with the apostate leaders would be killed like sacrificial animals. Those who boasted that God would do nothing about their sinful behavior would discover they were wrong. As a result of the violence and destruction, their fine homes and vineyards would be ruined and left desolate. None of their riches would save them from the wrath of God.

As in other prophecies, the day of the Lord has a double meaning in this chapter. The phrase pointed ahead to the end of the world and the punishment of the wicked. But Zephaniah reminded the people that "the day of the Lord” also occurred within history, not just at the end of history. Jerusalem’s fall and Judah’s captivity was also a “day of the Lord,” a more immediate judgment of sin.

This message does have a strong sense of doom about it. But there's more to Zephaniah than just the threat of swift and sure destruction. Time was running out. But God still sent Zephaniah and other prophets to warn Israel and call them to repentance. The threat of severe punishment came with a promise of blessing and mercy for those who would hear, even when the Babylonians were on their way.

Our godless society needs these warnings about judgment to come. And our materialistic culture that worships prosperity and wealth needs to know that their riches will not deliver them from the consuming wrath of God. And let's be honest and examine ourselves, not just the surrounding culture. God won't overlook persistent sin among those who profess to know him. And those who claim to worship God but worship at money's altar will be helpless when they face God in judgment. Christ offers forgiveness and the power to live godly lives, and he is able to give his people true, eternal riches. Let's choose wisely.

Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.