#1171 Zephaniah 3 Converted

 

Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,

the oppressing city!

2 She listens to no voice;

she accepts no correction.

She does not trust in the Lord;

she does not draw near to her God.

3 Her officials within her

are roaring lions;

her judges are evening wolves

that leave nothing till the morning.

4 Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;

her priests profane what is holy;

they do violence to the law.

5 The Lord within her is righteous;

he does no injustice;

every morning he shows forth his justice;

each dawn he does not fail;

but the unjust knows no shame.

6 “I have cut off nations;

their battlements are in ruins;

I have laid waste their streets

so that no one walks in them;

their cities have been made desolate,

without a man, without an inhabitant.

7 I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;

you will accept correction.

Then your dwelling would not be cut off

according to all that I have appointed against you.’

But all the more they were eager

to make all their deeds corrupt.

8 “Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord,

“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.

For my decision is to gather nations,

to assemble kingdoms,

to pour out upon them my indignation,

all my burning anger;

for in the fire of my jealousy

all the earth shall be consumed.

The Conversion of the Nations

9 “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples

to a pure speech,

that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord

and serve him with one accord.

10 From beyond the rivers of Cush

my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,

shall bring my offering.

11 “On that day you shall not be put to shame

because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;

for then I will remove from your midst

your proudly exultant ones,

and you shall no longer be haughty

in my holy mountain.

12 But I will leave in your midst

a people humble and lowly.

They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,

13 those who are left in Israel;

they shall do no injustice

and speak no lies,

nor shall there be found in their mouth

a deceitful tongue.

For they shall graze and lie down,

and none shall make them afraid.”

Israel's Joy and Restoration

14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil.

16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

“Fear not, O Zion;

let not your hands grow weak.

17 The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

18 I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,

so that you will no longer suffer reproach.

19 Behold, at that time I will deal

with all your oppressors.

And I will save the lame

and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise

and renown in all the earth.

20 At that time I will bring you in,

at the time when I gather you together;

for I will make you renowned and praised

among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes

before your eyes,” says the Lord. Zephaniah 3 ESV

Zephaniah 3

1-8 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled - God has called you out from among the people, instructed you as a daughter, yet, O Jerusalem, how you have embarrassed yourself. It is amazing to me that God will choose any, knowing from eternity that they will not of their own nature desire Him for Who He is. So opposed is He to sin, so much is holiness a part of his nature, the defining of  all His attributes, that He will chasten His own, punish His children. The significance of a love that takes on so much baggage, that calls, that chastens, that justifies, that refines in sanctification, and what does anyone have left to take pride in, who is so good, so just that they can stand on their own two feet? 

…22But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.” 1 Samuel 15: 22-23

She does not draw near to her God - She saw both the works and words of God, yet she was easily tempted away by the cultures around her. Men always brag about being truth seekers, until the truth goes against what they want to believe, and Jerusalem was drawn to materialism and idolatry.

Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men - Their message was based upon the audience, what filled the seats, what got people motivated to donate to their treasuries, vote for what you want to hear the prophets say. They were for hire, no better than fortune tellers or palm readers, prosperity teachers.

…2Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.… 2 Timothy 4: 2-4

They do violence to the law - Jesus didn't come to remove the law, but to fulfill it. These men made up extra laws, but did not follow the laws that God gave. The evangelical church today is no better, calling people to a basic outward morality of their own, instructing men to believe in a repeated prayer, just repeat this after me, and then go live confidently in your sin, there is no more call to repent. 

…22And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it. 23Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.… Matthew 23: 22-24

14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. 15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not! 16Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness?… Romans 6: 14-16

But all the more were they eager to make all their deeds corrupt - God showed them the law, that which was a standard for them to hold themselves against, and this should have led to the reality of how much they fall short, and then to such humility that would bow itself, prostrate in tears, asking, pleading for the grace to repent. Instead they made light of the law by seeing the sacrifices as payment rendered against for a life of corruption and ease. Eventually they looked so lightly upon it that they begrudged even the sacrifices, and then could not recognize salvation when He came.

…18Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.… John 3: 18-20

For my decision is to gather nations - Israel will not be alone when God pours out His wrath on an unrepentant world.

9-13 For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples - God is going to punish, His justice is real and true to His righteousness, so He will judge, but He also has plans to restore. 

Most Bible scholars see this as fulfilled in the days of the Millennium, when Jesus reigns for 1,000 years over this earth after His return in power and glory. From this passage many scholars believe that in that day the world will go back to a common language – perhaps Hebrew. - E Word

You shall no longer be haughty in My holy mountain - When we come to realize that we are not in a Holy place by our own merit, that we have done no works for which God owes us anything other than damnation, yet has provided a sacrifice fitting of Himself, then we no longer boast in ourselves. If my righteousness is as filthy rags then it is only by the righteousness of Christ alone that I can be restored to a relationship with God. 

…13If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, 14and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. 15Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.… 2 Chronicles 7: 13-15

And none shall make them afraid - This definitely points to a future time and a reality that is previously unknown to Israel. They will hope to find this in a military genius, a false Messiah right before the time of Jacob's trouble, which trouble the antichrist will bring them.

14-20 Rejoice...the Lord has taken away the judgments against you - Jerusalem is being restored. What a wild and huge promise, especially when one looks at that area of the world and the turmoil it is in today.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst - This is the cause for celebration and peace. Christ was promised from the line of David, even before David was born.

…9Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? 10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his. 11He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.… Genesis 49: 9-11

…16the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: 17I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and strike down all the sons of Sheth. 18Edom will become a possession, as will Seir, his enemy; but Israel will perform with valor.… Numbers 24: 16-18

I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival - He will restore His remnant in the land, those who mourn over their sin and the sinful state of the world, that long for Christ to come and make all things right. "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."