Sermon Notes, August 7, 2016
P.M.
Minor Prophets with a Major Message
Zephaniah
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A.
Several years ago a story appeared in a daily devotional guide called, “Daily
Bread”
(December19, 1996). A young man with
terminal cancer came into a clinic for
his
usual treatment. On this occasion he met a
new doctor who abruptly told him, “You
know, don’t you, that you will not live
through the end of the year.” The young man
was devastated. As he left the clinic he
asked to speak with the director. “That man
just took away my hope,” he said. The
director was a man of compassion. “I’m so
sorry,” he said. “I guess he did take away
your hope. Let’s see is we can help you
find a new hope.”
B. The
Bible is a book of hope.
1. It reveals that we are not created by
accident. Rather, we were created in love by a
God who longs to have a relationship
with us.
2. The God who created us is righteous and
holy. We are unrighteous and sinful.
Apart from God we have no hope. God’s
precious gift to us is a new hope, a living
hope – an inheritance that can never
perish, spoil or fade (1 Peter 1:3).
C. For
a powerful story about finding a new hope in life I invite you to join me in a
study
of the Old Testament book of Zephaniah.
I. THE PROPHET AND HIS SURROUNDINGS
A. We know more about Zephaniah than we
know about other prophets.
1. The opening verse of his book
contains a lengthy genealogy when compared to
other prophetic books, “The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah son
of
Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of
Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah
son of Amon, king of Judah.”
a. This was the Jewish version of
“Ancestry.com.” Among the Jews ancestry was
extremely important.
b. In Zephaniah’s case it was extremely
important because it revealed he came
from a royal linage. Notice the
name of his great grandfather. Hezekiah (741 –
687 (B.C.) was the thirteenth
king of Judah.
c.. This verse also tells us that
Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of Josiah
who was also a descendent of
Hezekiah. It appears that Josian and
Zephaniah were distant cousins.
d. Josiah reigned from 640-609. He became
king when he was just 8 years
old. It was about twenty years
before Josiah began to institute religious
reforms to turn the people away
from idolatry back to God. Zephaniah’s
prophecy says a lot about Judah’s
idolatry thus it probably occurred before
620 B.C.
2. Zephaniah’s name means – “the Lord
shelters or hides.” It may also mean - “the
watchman of the Lord.”
B. Zephaniah has been called, “the fiercest
prophet in the Old Testament.”
1. If you think that some of the other
prophets were harsh in pronouncing judgment
on the people of Israel or Judah
because of their rebellion against God just wait
until you hear Zephaniah. He says
that God is going to bring judgment on the
earth wiping out everything as in
the days of the great flood.
2. Though his primary focus is on Judah
he also prophecies judgment on the
surrounding nations for their
rejection of God.
C. That may sound very negative and harsh
but the prophecy of Zephaniah actually
has an underlying theme of forgiveness
and hope. We can see this as we look at
the progression that appears in the
book.
1. Chapter 1 - – Retribution.
2, Chapter 2 – Repentance.
3. Chapter 3 – Redemption.
I. RETRIBUTION
A. God’s message in Zephaniah begins with a
reminder of the judgment that came in
the days of Noah,
1. In Zephaniah 1:2 – 3 - “I will
completely remove all things from
the face of the
earth,” declares the Lord. 3 “I
will remove man and beast; I will remove the birds
of the sky And the fish of the sea,
And the ruins along with the wicked; And I will
cut off man from the face of the
earth,” declares the Lord.”
a. Compare this to Genesis 6:7-8 when
God expressed sorrow that He had
created humanity because of their
wickedness.
b. Can any of us comprehend or
imagine the sorrow that God experienced as He
observed the wickedness that had
overtaken humanity? Can we comprehend
the pain and grief God
experiences because of our sin?
2. According to verses 4 and following
God was going to bring this same type of
catastrophic judgment on Judah
because of their sin.
B. Beginning in verse 4 God lists the
different objects that people were worshipping.
1. Baal – even though God had used
Elijah to defeat the prophets of Baal in 1
Kings 18, (several centuries
earlier) there were still people holding on to Baal.
2. Some were worshipping the stars
according to verse 5. Some were worshipping
Milcom, This was the god of the
Ammonites. According to 2 Kings 23:13 the
worship of Milcom was “the
abomination of the children of Ammon.” This was
one of the idols that King Solomon
honored with a high place building on the
Mount of Olives (1 Kings 11:5, 7,
33).
a. Later, perhaps in response to the
prophecy of Zephaniah, Josiah destroyed
the structure (2 Kings 23:13).
b. Kyle Yates notes, “It is
universally true that one tends to become like the God
he worships” (Yates, Preaching
From the Prophets, p. 168).
3. Judgment was also coming on those who
had turned away from seeking the Lord
and praying to Him, according to
verse 6.
C. Beginning in verse 7 God said that the
“day of the Lord” was near.
1. This is the theme of the rest of this chapter.
2. The term, “day of the Lord,” is found
in verses 7, 8, 14 (twice), 18.
3. It is a day of judgment when God
steps into history. The term is used to refer to
different events at various times.
Amos prophesied about the “day of the Lord,” in
Israel and it came to pass when the
Assyrians conquered them. Zephaniah I
used this term to talk about the
impending judgment to come on Judah.
4. The day of the Lord would be a day of
judgment but it would also be a day of
cleansing when God would destroy the
wicked but restore hope and blessing to
the faithful.
5. This leads us into chapter 2.
II. REPENTANCE
A. There was still hope. God said that
there was something these people could do
before the Day of the Lord came upon
them. Notice 2:1-2 – “Gather yourselves
together, yes, gather, O nation without
shame, 2 Before the decree takes effect—
The day passes like the chaff— Before
the burning anger of the Lord comes upon
you, Before the day of the Lord’s anger
comes upon you.”
1. You can feel the sense of urgency in
these words. I fear that we have lost our
sense of urgency with regard to the
message of Christ. Many years ago the
famed African-American scientist,
George Washington Carver, visited the
philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt
to seek funding for his mission of education.
Vanderbilt made a token
contribution. Carver requested another appointment
saying, “I have not impressed you
with the urgency of my cause.” I fear
that we
are not impressed with the urgency
of God’s call today.
2. If you are not in a right
relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ when
will that occur? Every time you put
off responding to God you are gambling with
your life. James says, “you do not
know what your life will be like tomorrow”
(James 4:14).
B. The response God wanted from these
people (and still wants from us) is seen in
verse 3. “Seek the Lord, all you humble
of the earth who have carried out His
ordinances; seek righteousness, seek
humility.”
1. Notice the contrast between this
verse and 1:6 where judgment is coming on
those who have turned away from
seeking the Lord.
2. Psalm 34:10 – “But they who seek the
Lord shall not be in want of any good
thing.”
3. Psalm 105:3-4 – “Let the heart of
those who seek the Lord be glad. Seek the
Lord and His strength; Seek His face
continually.”
4. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness and all these
things shall be added unto you”
(Matthew 6:33).
5. I pray that we will seek the Lord
with greater passion and intensity than anything
else in life. I pray we will have humble hearts that seek
to know God’s will. I
pray we will have hearts that seek
to do God’s will. I pray that we will
have humble hearts that hunger and thirst
for righteousness.
C. I really believe Zephaniah’s prophecy
had a huge impact on his cousin, Josiah.
Josiah’s father and grandfather were not
Godly men.
1. Amon did not seek God. He did nothing
to stop the idolatry and paganism that
had overtaken Judah.
2. Manasseh, Josiah’s grandfather, is
generally considered to be one of the most
wicked kings in the history of
Judah.
3. Somehow Josiah was influenced to seek
the Lord. We know that in the 18th year
of his reign the book of God’s law
was found in the temple and Josiah had it read
publicly. You have to suspect,
however, that the prophecy and influence of
Zephaniah figured into the equation
at some level.
III. REDEMPTION
A. Following this glimmer of hope there is
a return to the coming judgment. God uses
Zephaniah to say that the judgment will
not only be upon Judah but on the ungodly
nations around it.
1. The strongest words are reserved for Jerusalem
and her princes, judges and
Priests (3:1-7).
2. All of this comes to a climactic
point in verse 8. “Therefore wait for Me,” declares
the Lord, “For the day when I rise
up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to
gather nations, To assemble
kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All
My burning anger; For all the earth
will be devoured by the fire of My zeal.”
B. Like a storm sweeping across the
landscape God’s wrath is going to do away with
all of the injustice, idolatry,
immorality and indifference. Then there will be a break
in the clouds and like a ray of sunshine
hope is going to be renewed.
1. Beginning with verse 9 we find words
of hope, redemption and reconciliation.
2. The people will be purified that they
may call on the name of the Lord – vs. 9.
3. The proud and haughty will be
replaced by a humble and lowly people, who will
take refuge in the name of the Lord
– vss. 11-12.
4. There will be shouts of joy, triumph
and exaltation – vs. 14.
5. Notice verse 17 – “The Lord your God
is in your midst, a victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over
He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over
you with shouts of joy.”
C.
Zephaniah, the fierce prophet whose message seemed so dark and tragic concludes
with words of hope.
1. Judgment would come but God was not
finished with His people.
2. Tough times were ahead but God had
bigger plans in store than they could
imagine.
4. There was light at the end of the
tunnel. There was a new hope.
D. I
am convinced that this is how God works in our lives. “The promise that joy
will
displace mourning and tranquility will
follow the storm should bring joy to sorrowing
hearts” (Ibid).
1. In our bleakest, darkest moment He
provides a promise of comfort and hope.
2. In the midst of the storm He provides a
shelter.
3. When life seems to be a dead end He
opens up a new path.
CONCLUSION:
A. Two
years ago Dr. Kent Brantley became infected with the Ebola virus while treating
patients at a clinic in Liberia. Ebola is a
deadly virus and Brantley’s death seemed
inevitable. He given a new vaccine and
flown to Emory University Medical Center in
Atlanta. He had a remarkable recovery. His
condition seemed hopeless but it wasn’t.
It took the right vaccine to restore his
health.
1. When Israel and Judah had succumbed to
sin and fell before the judgment of God
it seemed as if there was no hope for
redemption and restoration.
2. God had a plan for an inoculation
against the effects of sin. The vaccine was the
blood of Jesus. That blood, more than
anything else in the world, represents the
love God has for humanity and His desire
to have a relationship with us.
B.
Never count God out. I read about a man attending a Little League baseball game
one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout
what the score was. The boy said,
"Eighteen to nuthin’ --we're
behind." The man said, I know you're discouraged.
The boy replied, "Why should I be
discouraged we haven't even gotten up to bat yet!"
1. If your life seems to be hopeless let
God have a turn at bat.
2. Your repentance can lead to the
difference between retribution and restoration.
Amen!
