Summer in the Minor Prophets - Zephaniah

Bibles now to the book of Zephaniah.

If you're kind of panicking right now because you don't have

an idea where that is in the Bible, don't worry, you're in

good company. It's it's a hard book to find.

It's on page 788 and the chair Bibles around you and it's the

fourth to the last book of the Old Testament.

So it might, might be able to find the Gospel of Matthew and

then start paging back. But but don't get stuck, stuck

on Zechariah. Keep going until you get to

Zephaniah. Zephaniah.

This is the the next book in our summer series on the minor

prophets that we're going through it chronologically.

And and so before we go through this book, because this is a

less familiar, I'm first going to give some background to it.

But before we do that, let's pray and ask God to do the all

important work that only He can do.

Heavenly Father, we come and we ask that You would give us ears

to hear now, to hear Your word, to hear the warning call of the

coming judgment Day of the Lord. And Lord, I pray that You would

prepare us for that day, that we would not be panicking or

apathetic about it, but that we would be confidently ready and

joyfully ready because of what Jesus Christ has done.

So I pray that you would do that work in us now in Jesus name,

Amen. Where were you this past

Thursday when the tornado warning sirens went off?

I had I'd seen the, the tornado, a watch switch to a warning.

And so I hit the road to go back home.

And so I was on the in the car when when the sirens went off

and my phone started blaring. And because I knew that they

just get get back to the family. Yeah.

What, what, what feelings do you get when those sirens go off?

You kind of get that pit in your stomach.

Are you one of those weird people that those storm chaser

types? They get all excited and then

you try to get find the best of you in your house to see the

storm come through. Now what if you're, what, what

would be your response if you heard that siren again and again

and again and again, but no storm would ever come.

But you probably develop a completely different response to

it, right? Well, that kind of happened to

me when I was a, when I was a kid during the, the mid 90s, I

lived in the small town of Lester Prairie.

It's a farming town of about 1000 people.

And, and in that town, they, they, they had a siren that

would go off every day twice, once at noon and once at 6:00.

That is unless it was the first Wednesday of the month, in which

case it would go off at at 1:00 instead of noon.

And that siren, it was located on Old Water Tower which was

behind a fire station no more than 100 feet from our house.

So naturally we got annoyed quite quickly with this siren.

It would wake up my sister if she was napping, the dog would

howl. And one time my little cousin

was visiting us, the siren went off and he panicked and he ran

towards the road and thankfully he was stopped.

So my mom had enough of this and she decided to figure out why it

was going off twice a day and, and, and wanted to see if

there's something we could do to silence.

It turns out that for some some small farming communities like

Lester Prairie, that the town siren would go off to call

farmers in for lunch and supper. Now this was the 1990s, not the

1890s. So so we figured that this is a

little out of date. So my mom went to the City

Council to request the siren be stopped, would would stop being

set off twice a day. But there's this one City

Council member who kind of seemed to be the power guy.

And he said that, well, you know, his nephews, they would,

they would know what time to come back from the park when the

siren would go off. So the council did not go with

my mom's request. A little while later, the old

water tower was torn down and the siren was brought down with

it. For a few months we thought our

problems were over until we saw them installing the same siren

onto the fire station, now just even closer to our house.

But once a new mayor was elected and he was actually a write in

candidate small town politics, my mom submitted her request

once again and the siren was finally done away with.

The province of Aniah along with other prophets, proclaimed

messages that were like tornado sirens.

They warned of the coming storm, of God's judgment.

And for some of you here today, when you hear a warning like

that, like what you'll hear in Zephaniah, you'll have feelings

of panic, kind of like my little cousin when you heard the siren.

Maybe for some of you, you, you've heard this warning of the

coming judgment of God again and again for many, many years.

And it's just really doesn't have much of an impact on you

anymore. Perhaps it's kind of a little

annoying to hear another sermon on the judgment of God.

Why doesn't the pastor just preach on something practical or

relevant? My hope and prayer today is that

as we hear Zephaniah's warning of the coming day of judgment,

that God would move us away from both a response of of panic and

both the response of apathy. My hope is for God to give us

ears to hear the warnings of Zephaniah and to be ready for

the day of judgment so that we can stand confidently and

joyfully on that day. Confidently and joyfully.

So let's let's dive in here. So who?

Who is the prophet Zephaniah? While we read in the first verse

that he was the son of Khushi, son of Gedeliah, son of Amoriah,

son of Hezekiah, the name Hezekiah wasn't.

It wasn't super uncommon, but the fact that Zephaniah goes all

the way back 4 generations to name him probably means that

this was the king, the king Hezekiah.

So Zephaniah was likely of royal lineage.

Other than that, we don't know much more about Zephaniah as a

person. Now what was going on in his

day? In context, verse one says that

he prophesied in the days of Josiah the king of Ammon, king

of Judah. King Josiah reigned over the

southern Kingdom of Judah between 6:40 and six O 9 BC.

So scholars estimate the Zephaniah he may have been

prophesying around 623 BC and that date is 100 years, almost

to the day 100 years after the northern Kingdom of Israel fell

to Assyria. And so here is Judah in a

similar bad spot where like what Israel was in 100 years ago,

where idolatry is rampant, wickedness is everywhere.

And, and, and God was proclaiming judgment on them.

The the kings immediately prior to Josiah were, were wicked and

they had led the nation deep into idolatry like his his

father Amon had done. Now, now, do we have any 8 year

olds in here? I know there's a few out there.

Yep, Yep. See my son in the back.

Yeah, well, King Josiah, he became king at age 8.

Now imagine that. Imagine being a king or queen at

that age. That's kind of like Narnia,

like, right. And thankfully, Josiah, he was a

good king and he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.

He brought about many great reforms in Judah.

He he repaired the temple. And in the process of repairing

the temple, the the the the law, the book of the law was found.

And so Josiah brought obedience to the law of God back to God's

people. He also went on a rampage

against idolatry in the land. But sadly, Josiah's reforms did

not stick after his death. He was the last good king of

Judah. 4 evil kings followed him, leading the people back to

idolatry. And in a mere 23 years after

Josiah's reign, Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians would be

sent by God to destroy Jerusalem and exile a remnant of God's

people. So it seems likely that

Zephaniah's message here likely came in conjunction with

Josiah's reforms, but but perhaps, but likely prior to

their success. And as the book seems to hand,

the reforms wouldn't be permanent and God's judgment was

still coming soon to Judah and the surrounding nations.

So Zephaniah's message, it was, it was addressed to Judah and

light of King Josiah's impending reforms.

And it was also addressed to the surrounding nations, just like

so many of the other prophets that we've seen so far, like

Isaiah. So you'll hear him warn the

nations of, of God's judgment. But Zephaniah's message wasn't

just for the people of his day. It's a message for all people

throughout history. It's it's for us.

And for, because as you'll, as you'll see, he prophesied of a

day of judgement that is much bigger than what Nebuchadnezzar

would bring. It will be a judgement of all

the world. Now let's walk through

Zephaniah. And as we read it, you'll hear

him sound the warning siren of the day of the Lord 18 times.

We'll see him proclaim 2 warning calls to Judah and the world.

And in the in the middle of that, he'll call the surrounding

nations of Judah to repentance. But at the end, you'll hear a

very different message, one of hope and surprising joy.

So look with me at Zephaniah 1. Now let's consider the first

warning. Call God's judgment of Judah in

the world, chapter 1, starting in verse one here the word of

the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushy, the son of

Gedaliah, son of Amoriah, son of Hezekiah in the days of Josiah

the the son of Ammon king of Judah.

I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the

earth, declares the Lord. 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 with the wicked.

I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth, declares the

Lord. 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, those who bowed down on the roofs to

the host of the heavens. Those who bowed down and swear

to the Lord, and yet swear by Milkham.

Those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not

seek the Lord or inquire of Him, Be silent before the Lord God,

for the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a

sacrifice and consecrated his guests, 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.

On that day I will punish everyone who leaps over the

threshold and those who fill their master's house with

violence and fraud. On that day, declares the Lord,

a cry will be heard from the fish gate, a whale from the

second quarter, a loud crash from the hills.

Whale OO inhabitants of the mortar, for all the traitors are

no more. All who weigh out silver are cut

off at that time. I will search Jerusalem with

lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent.

Those who say in their hearts, the Lord will not do good, nor

will he do I'll. 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.

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.

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, a day of trumpet blast and battle

cry. Against the fortified cities and

against the lofty battlements. 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.

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. In this first chapter we see

three things, the extent of judgment, the reason for

judgment, and the day of judgment.

The extent, the reason, and the day.

Let's look first at the extent of God's judgment.

We'll see in verses 2 through 4 that the extent of God's

judgment is all-encompassing. In verse 2 he says He will

utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth.

Then in verse three, He includes not only mankind, but also all

beasts of the field, birds of the heavens, the fish of the

sea. The reference to all of these

animals brings us back to Genesis 1, to the creation of

everything. And now here God is declaring

the destruction of everything. All of creation is affected by

the wickedness of man, who is appointed to have dominion over

it after He proclaims A worldwide judgment.

In verse 4, God specifically calls out Judah and Jerusalem

for their wickedness. Even though they are God's

chosen people, they will not be exempt.

When God judges all the earth, they do have turned their backs

from following the Lord and will be held accountable for the

rebellion. The first chapter ends with the

bleakest outlook imaginable. Verse 18.

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. The extent of God's judgement is

universal. No one will be overlooked, no

sin will remain hidden, no injustice will go unpunished as

Hebrews 413 says, and no creature is hidden from His

sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to

whom we must give an account. That is the all-encompassing

extent of God's judgement. Next, the reason for God's

judgement. In this first chapter the Lord

gives a handful of reasons why His wrath is coming on Judah.

One of the biggest reasons is idolatry.

Idolatry. In verse 4 we see that the

worship of Baal was being sanctioned by the priests.

And verse 5 we hear that people were bowing down to the heavens

to to worship the the moon and the stars and the sun.

In verse 5, we also hear that Judah was swearing by Milkham,

which is that's probably the God Molech.

Molech was the God to whom child sacrifices were being made at

times. So Judah's idolatry was also

synchronistic. That's what I mean by

synchronistic is that is what we see in verse 5, that they would,

they would bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by

Milkham. So they would follow the Lord

and they would follow other gods.

That's syncretism. But God is a jealous God, right?

And as we saw in the book of Hosea, he will not tolerate his

bride committing spiritual adultery with another God.

He is worthy to be worshipped exclusively and above all other

sins are given as reasons for God's judgment, violence and

fraud in verse 9, Verse 18, a trust and wealth.

Verse 9, Pagan superstitions jumping over the threshold.

But there is one more sin I want to mention that stands out

because even though this was written over 2500 years ago,

humans haven't changed. Human heart has not changed.

Look at verse 12. At that time I will search

Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are

complacent. Who's those who say in their

hearts, Lord will not do good, nor will he do I'll?

This is a kind of deistic apathy about God that is still present,

prevalent today. It's just that it's general

belief in God. But people believe that he isn't

really involved in their lives. He doesn't care how they live

and he won't do them good or I'll.

So as we can see, the sins of Judah were many and heinous.

God's judgment was and is justified.

So we've seen the extent of judgment and the reasons for

judgment. Now we'll consider the day of

judgment. In the 1st chapter alone.

He mentions this day 14 times. He's sounding the tornado siren

again and again and again. He describes this day in a

variety of ways. He calls it the day of the Lord,

the day of the Lord's sacrifice, the day of the wrath of the

Lord, the day of the anger of the Lord.

And in verses 14 through 16, look there with me, he gives a

truly terrifying description of that day.

Verses 14 through 16, 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. 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, a

day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities

and against the lofty battlements.

So Zephaniah uses storm like language here to describe the

Lord's wrath for sin and no strength of humanity can

withstand it. Not the mighty man, not the

fortified city, not the lofty battlement.

There is no mere man or man made shelter that can shield you from

this storm. Now Zephaniah speaks of this day

in two senses. It's kind of like when you're

driving out West and you're, you're heading towards the Rocky

Mountains and you see the mountains in the distance and as

you get closer, what you thought was 1 mountain actually actually

you can see that that was actually 2 mountains, 1 mountain

in front of the next. Zephaniah speaks of the day of

Lord in this and kind of in this sense, Judah and each nation

mentioned in Zephaniah will face their own separate days of

judgment in the day in the years and decades to come.

Judah would face their day of judgment, and 586 with the the

coming of the Babylonians, their surrounding nations like the

Philistines, the Moabites, the Kushites, and the Assyrians,

they would they would all face their own days of judgment when

their nation would end now mostly or maybe entirely by the

hand of the Babylonians. So there was a day of imminent

judgment that Zephaniah's original audience would soon

have to face. But that's not the only day of

judgment. There is another mountain, a far

larger mountain of judgment that is behind all other mountains

and is the day of judgment that all must face without exception.

And that day comes when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in all of

His glory with His heavenly host of angels, and the dead will all

be raised, the righteous with glorified bodies like Jesus

body, and then all will stand before the judgment seat of God.

The righteous will be clothed with Christ and the unrighteous

will be naked. That is the great day of the

Lord, a day we must be prepared for.

Now we come to chapter 2 of Zephaniah and and it begins with

Zephaniah directing everyone's attention to the only way to be

protected from the wrath of the Lord for sin.

There's something they and we can do.

Before that day comes, you receive a call to repent God's

judgement on the surrounding nations through the 1st 3 verses

of Zephaniah 2. Gather together.

Yes, gather, O shameless nation, before the decree takes effect,

before the day passes away like chaff, before there comes upon

you the burning anger of the Lord, before the, before they

there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord.

Seek the Lord, All you humble of the land who do is just

commands. Seek righteousness, Seek

humility. Perhaps you may be hidden on the

day of the anger of the Lord. You see here that the Lord is

calling people to gather before the decree of judgment takes

effect, before the anger of the Lord comes upon them.

They are to gather together in humility and to seek the Lord in

faith, in repentance, in prayer, and in obedience.

They're to turn away from from living in rebellion against God

and to return to the Word of God.

If they were to repent, then Zephaniah says in verse three

that they would be hidden, sheltered on the day of God's

anger. God is so patient, isn't he?

After all of their wickedness, after all of our wickedness, He

still gives us an opportunity to repent and find shelter in Him.

God is so patient. This is a much different tone

than the first chapter, isn't it?

Commentator Ian Do Good says of this.

Zephaniah was not merely writing to condemn his hearers for their

sins, however. Rather, he was urging them to

flee from the wrath to come and find a safe refuge from the

storm while there was still time.

Like a tornado warning. The the prophet's stark message

of the danger of the of impending death was not designed

designed to simply terrify his hearers, but rather to save

their lives. His message had been recorded in

the Scripture so that it may have the same impact on us as it

was intended to have on his original hearers.

If Zephaniah's tornado warning about the oncoming and imminent

destructive storm of God's fierce wrath against human evil

and sin is still in effect, and all of us had better heed it and

seek shelter for ourselves when the opportunity exists, the day

of the Lord is still a reality to be reckoned with.

There is a shelter to hide in on the day of the anger of the

Lord. And that shelter is not your own

good works. It's not your best efforts.

That shelter is not your parents.

That shelter is not how how zealous you are for God.

The only refuge is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 2 verse 12 says kiss the Son, that's the Lord Jesus.

Psalms 2:12

Kiss the Son lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for

his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge

in him. By faith in Jesus.

We are united to Him, and as Colossians 33 says, our life is

hidden with Christ. In God.

Our life is hidden. We take refuge in Him.

We're safe. There's still time to turn your

life around and follow Jesus. We don't know how much more

time, We don't know how much longer.

So don't wait another day to give your life to the Lord.

Today is the day of salvation. The rest of chapter 2 consists

of God's proclamation of judgment for the nations that

surrounded Judah. He speaks to nations east, West,

north, and South of Judah all around God's, not just.

He's not just singling out Judah for its wickedness.

All the other nations who are not in covenant with God are

still accountable to God. All of these nations would not

recover from God's judgment. Like Nina, for example.

But Judah would be different. Actually, in verse 9 we read of

a remnant of God's people, survivors of the coming

judgment. These people would go into

exile, but they would one day return to Jerusalem, to Judah,

and re establish their nation and their covenant with God.

But even though the nation's mentioned in chapter 2 wouldn't

recover from God's judgment, there is still hope in this

chapter for the Gentile nations of the world.

So if you look at verse 11, the Lord will be awesome against

them, for he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to Him

shall bow down each in its place, all the lands of the

nations. To him shall bow down each in

his place, all the lands of the nations.

That's a remarkable prophecy of the all the nations of the earth

bowing down to the Lord God. I think this will be fulfilled

at the return of Jesus Christ. Philippians 210 and 11 says that

we know so well at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in

heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue

confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the

Father. So there is hope for the Gentile

nations. Now we come to chapter 3,

Zephaniah 3 that begins in a similar way to chapter one with

a warning called the Judah and the nations of the world.

Verse 8 speaks of the sins of Judah, specifically its leaders,

and it warns the nations that they are cut off.

Verse 8 repeats the same phrase at the end of chapter one, that

in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed.

But when we come to the end of Zephaniah verses 9 through 20,

the prophecies take a striking turn.

The day after Thursday storm this past week, Friday, it took

it took a quite, quite the turn, didn't it?

Friday was beautiful and peaceful.

I went on a walk with my family that evening and and that the

blue skies and the the lush green trees, the tranquil

breeze, the people calmly enjoying a walk or playing golf,

It was. It's just almost hard to believe

that the day before that everyone was sheltered in a fear

of a tornado. The message of Zephaniah takes a

similarly striking turn. Now the dark storm of judgment

against all the earth gives way to the tranquil blue skies of

God's mercy and peace and the joy of people from every nation.

Because of the the dark and dreadful backdrop of the

beginning of Zephaniah's message, his ending message of

hope and joy are a surprising relief.

So here we see a call to rejoice God's future conversion of the

nation's and his permanent restoration of Judah in Christ.

So read with me starting in verse 9 of chapter 3.

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 1 accord from beyond the rivers of

Cush. My worshippers, the daughter of

my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering.

Here God prophecies that a day is coming when He will bring

about the change needed for the nations.

He will give them a pure speech. He will change their hearts so

that they will call upon His name and serve Him and worship

Him in one accord with unity. Verse 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 exalted ones,

and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain, but

I will leave in your midst of people humble and lowly.

They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord.

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.

God's holy mountain, the new heavens and earth that the new

Jerusalem, that will be a place where there is no more shame for

our rebellion against God. We will forever be at peace with

God on the cross. Jesus took on himself all of our

shame and we will live humbly before our God.

No longer will the prideful and arrogant turn their backs

against God. The prideful will have no place

in heaven. Only those who have taken refuge

in the name of the Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ, will have

a home with God. We will be like well fed sheep,

living in peace and prosperity and safety.

Verse 14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel,

rejoice and exult with all your heart.

O daughter of Jerusalem, 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. There couldn't be a more polar

opposite passage here than from chapter 1.

Instead of dread, there is a call to rejoice for those who

have sought their refuge in Jesus Christ.

They are assured that the Lord has taken away their judgments

against them. How has God done that?

God didn't sweep sin under the rug and show us partiality.

No, God is a just God who punishes sin, and He is the

justifier of those who put their faith in Christ.

The Lord took our way, our judgments, and placed them on

Jesus, and so our sin was justly punished and we were forgiven

and reconciled to God. It was the perfect solution to

our unsolvable problem, and so we shall never again fear evil.

Our king, King Jesus, is in us now.

He's with us now, and He will forever reign in our midst when

we dwell with Him in His forever Kingdom.

Now let's read the last verses of Zephaniah.

We see that not only will we rejoice in God's salvation,

there is someone else who will be rejoicing too.

Verse 16 on that date shall be said to Jerusalem.

Fear not, O Zion, let not your hands grow weak.

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 exalt over you with loud singing.

I'll gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that

you will no longer suffer reproach.

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.

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. Our rejoicing, our shouts of joy

will be outmatched by God Himself.

God will rejoice over us. He will quiet us with His love,

and verse 17 even says that He will exalt over you with loud

singing. What will that be like?

What will it be like to hear God sing and to sing of His love for

us? We'll just have to wait to find

out. But hearing that song, that love

song of God, hearing that love song that is worth enduring

anything in this life to hear. So that's the message of

Zephaniah. So how, how does it apply to us

today? Well, here's some recap.

Be ready for the Day of the Lord.

Don't panic. There's no reason to panic.

Have a proper respect for the day of the Lord, but but don't

panic. God's provided a shelter for us

on that day. And it's it's not a, it's not a

place, it's a person, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In him we're safe and secure. So don't panic.

We also must not ignore the warnings of the Day of the Lord.

I lived in downtown Minneapolis during seminary, and one

afternoon we were playing ultimate Frisbee and the sirens

went off. We kept playing for some time,

ignoring them as the dark clouds came from the West.

Little did I know that a tornado was ripping through north

Minneapolis, just a few miles from where I was.

That was pretty foolish of me to ignore those warning calls.

Don't make an even worse mistake by ignoring the Lord's warning

of the coming day of the Lord. Turn to Christ today after the

service, stay here, talk, talk with me, talk with Pastor Chris,

one of the elders, just somebody.

Let's talk together. Get right with God.

Second, keep yourselves from idols.

Idolatry. It's in each of our hearts.

It's common to all. We covet the things of this

world and, and they're, they're idols in our hearts.

Our hearts are to be a temple of the Holy Spirit where we offer

up sacrifices of praise and, and, and, and a temple of God is

no place for an idol. So, So what do you covet?

What do you, what fights for first place in your heart?

Do you tend towards syncretism where, where you, you want to

have your cake and eat it too? You want to worship God and

indulge in the pleasures of the world.

God is a jealous God and he is not OK with you committing

adultery against him. He loves you with a deep and

holy love and so to him alone belongs your souls devotion. 3rd

and finally, Zephaniah gives us amazing reasons to rejoice.

We exist to glorify God and enjoy him forever, as our

Catechism first question says. And because of Jesus life, death

and resurrection, we can have a restored relationship with God

and we can fulfill that purpose. That is reason for us to rejoice

forever and ever. But not only do we exist to

enjoy and glorify God, we also exist to be rejoiced over and

loved and enjoyed by God forever.

That is the essence of the beauty of this covenant

relationship that we have with our Lord.

We rejoice in Him, He rejoices over us, we love Him, He loves

us. It's a relationship.

So brothers and sisters, rejoice that God will sing over you a

song that will forever content your heart with His love, never

to long for another. Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for the message of Zephaniah.

Thank you for sobering us about the reality of what's coming.

And Lord, we pray that there wouldn't be fear in our hearts

right now, but rather that there would be a resting, a sheltering

in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that from that sheltering,

from that resting, we asked Lord, that what would emerge

would be rejoicing, rejoicing in the Lord with all of our hearts.

Lord I, I pray that we would also rest in your love, that we

would think on hearing your love song toward US one day.

O Lord, may we persevere to hear that song over us as we pray in

Jesus name, Amen.