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ZEPHANIAH 3:1-8
(Scripture: Revelation 16:1-21)
Now It All Comes Home!
Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ…
If the citizens of Jerusalem, and Judah as a whole, thought the Lord’s words judging the nations around about them was good news then they were in for something of quite the opposite!
Because now the Lord turns back to them.
And he turns back on them in a way that they cannot ignore, or pretend it’s not about them.
Not that they won’t try, mind you.
And not that there won’t be outright ignoring of these words altogether!
But these words are explicitly about their own city.
While Nineveh has been addressed in the words before, and we know that in the original version there are no chapters or verses, yet the language is clear here that this is now focused fairly and squarely upon Jerusalem.
In the words of the first aspect to our text … IT’S SO OBVIOUS SHE’S NOT NAMED.
Chapter 3 begins with the word “woe”.
It is most definitely a word of severe admonition.
They are being told off in no uncertain terms!
Already in the opening sentence she is called “her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city!”
And while we might at first have thought this is a continuation of the description of Nineveh, looking deeper into these words, and the phrases that follow, make it obvious it is Jerusalem.
Think about it – how could Nineveh be “rebellious and defiled”?
She was being completely consistent with her status as a pagan nation.
But Jerusalem, there’s a city which was rebellious and defiled!
While no city’s name appears there’s no doubt which city is meant here!
Indeed by calling her a “city of oppression” Zephaniah gives here a different name than “city of peace”.
Because that’s what the name ‘Jerusalem’ means.
She who had been so much more privileged than the Gentile nations; she who had received the very words of God; she who had the Divinely appointed worship set down for her; and she who had had God’s own inspired prophets sent to her.
She had no use for the name ‘Jerusalem’ now.
As verse 2 goes on to detail, “She obeys no one, she accepts no correction.”
“City of peace?”
No way, she had repudiated every way of grace!
She had stubbornly turned her back on God!
This was seen in the way the least protected in Judah had been treated.
The word “oppressing” tells us not of the spiritual sins we have seen in the first chapter but of social sins.
The widow and the orphan were not cared for.
In fact, it was ‘dog eat dog’ down there in Judah.
And no more was that shown than in the capital city herself!
Congregation, they weren’t open to the Lord’s correction.
They knew it better.
And that only meant they grew further apart from the Lord and his Word.
They had refused to listen to the witness of the law.
They had no time for the warnings of the prophets.
Even after the nation had been punished because they went against the Lord they didn’t take it in – they didn’t learn their lesson.
The pagan idols still had places of prominence.
Actually, any turning back to the Lord was always only very temporary.
Just like the days of the Judges when the people had to cry out to the Lord because they were in such a mess.
And soon enough they were up to their necks in it again!
This will be detailed more later on but already at its beginning this passage lays down how it all comes home!
Because they are no better than anyone else.
Well may they have nodded their heads along with what Zephaniah had said about those other nations but he’s only done that to make it clear to them how bad they are.
Like Nathan did with drawing in David through that story about the oppressive rich farmer stealing the poor farmer’s only lamb, so Zephaniah does here.
Because now the real crunch comes – now it hits home!
Even if on the outside Judah seemed to be following the ways of the Lord, it wasn’t in her heart.
Much as they might have the godly King Josiah leading Judah then that wasn’t where the real motivation of the people lay.
To say she did “not trust in the LORD” says it all.
Because that meant she didn’t draw near to God.
Not sincerely.
But, then, that’s not so far away from us either, is it?
How often don’t we go through the motions, not really thinking about being in the worship of God?
Our thoughts have so often been anywhere but upon worshipping the Lord!
You’d think with all the spiritual blessings we have that naturally we’d be showing our love for the Lord.
And yet how often isn’t it missing?
The duty to our friends and neighbours goes by the wayside.
We begin to closely resemble not Christ but this world.
And so the power of God’s Spirit is missing.
“Woe to the city,” Zephaniah said.
But “woe to the believer” too if he goes this way!
Zephaniah begins by addressing all the people in Jerusalem.
In the verses 3 and 4, however, he begins to specify those amongst them who are most responsible for the present state of affairs.
This doesn’t negate the responsibility of all the people there, but because these men were in prominent positions they are the more accountable.
Indeed, isn’t this what we read in Hebrews 13?
There we are exhorted in verse 17 to submit to the authority of the leaders in the church because they have to give a special account for what they do.
Thus we come to the second aspect in the text this morning.
Here we note … IT’S COMING DOWN FROM THE TOP.
We can see what a church is like through her leaders.
And if something goes wrong invariably where does it come from?
For example, if liberalism affects a denomination it comes through the top and spreads its deadly poison down.
It’s through the professors at the theological college and their teaching of the future ministers that many times the gospel has been lost to the lay folk in the congregations.
The verses 3 and 4 clearly name the positions of leadership within the city of Jerusalem and within the nation of Judah.
The officials and judges and prophets and priests are all those with influence and power amongst God’s covenant people.
The officials do this because they are the princes.
They are the political or civil leaders.
They are those actively involved in running the affairs of state.
They are those we pray will work for the common good of all.
And yet what do we find here?
They’re described as “roaring lions”.
Instead of being those you respected they were those you feared!
They who should have been examples and helps to the people ripped into the people.
They fed upon power and became corrupt through it.
They had not love but lust for the people they were the leaders of.
They were roaring lions seeking out and devouring their prey.
This devastating picture is continued with the phrase “her judges are evening wolves.”
Here the prophet turns to those who are the judges – the magistrates.
In administering the law their work was to protect the innocent and punish the guilty.
How terrible things become when they do the opposite!
What kind of nation do you have when these men are concerned only with their own well-being?
The description here touches upon more than just a little corruption.
This is far greater than what might be uncovered by the latest Royal Commission – this is an evil that goes right to the core of this nation’s being.
These men are ferocious wolves.
Because that’s what the evening wolves were like.
They were those animals who would come at sunset to seize their prey.
And when they had their prey they ate him up voraciously.
There wasn’t a single piece of meat left on any of his bones.
They greedily devoured it all.
They even gnawed those bones so there would be nothing left in the morning.
And don’t think it couldn’t possibly get this bad amongst us today.
In Matthew 23 Jesus describes the teachers of the law in the same way.
Then we have subsequent church history which only confirms the same.
Using the description of “wolves” sharply contrasts these men against the flock they should have been protecting.
They weren’t one of those sheep at all, but wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Then there were their so-called prophets.
We must say so-called because they were not truly called by the Lord.
Oh, they said they had the call from the Lord.
But that was the last thing it was!
It was all their own words – every one of them.
What empty words they were too!
The Hebrew here speaks of an excessive vanity and a boasting.
They were full of themselves.
And so they are described as “treacherous men” because they were complete apostates.
We get an idea of what they were like in Micah chapter 3.
There the Lord says in verse 5, “As for the prophets who lead my people astray, if one feeds them, they proclaim ‘peace’; if he does not, they prepare to wage war against him.”
And completing the picture of those in positions of leadership were the priests.
Zephaniah declares that the “priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the law.”
Now, the priests served in the mediating role between the Lord and his people.
The whole sacrificial system hinged upon them.
It was through them that communion with God was set up and kept up.
So what the prophet says here affects the core of their ministry.
For profaning the sanctuary would be to make common what was meant to be sacred.
What these priests were doing is illustrated through another prophet of this time.
In the words of Ezekiel 22, verse 26, we read, “Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of the Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.”
This means, congregation, that, like the officials and rulers and prophets, the very things they should have been doing they weren’t doing!
In fact, they were doing the complete opposite!
What a topsy-turvy world!
Is there anyone at all who is doing what they’re meant to be doing?
Could there be any hope for those who were meant to be God’s people?
Ah, here we come to verse 5.
Here we meet one who stays true.
In amongst all this corruption and arrogance and open abuse, there’s one who got it absolutely right!
He is the perfect prince and prophet and priest.
You guessed it, dear believer.
That One can only be the Lord God himself!
“The LORD within her is righteous,” verse 5 begins.
In the most telling condemnation of those leaders in Judah, Zephaniah declares alone of the Lord, “he does no wrong.”
Thus in amongst the sin which Jerusalem has become, the Lord stands out in complete contrast.
You might be wondering here how he did that.
He wasn’t personally amongst them, like he was later when he came down to earth.
And he didn’t send any angels to do his bidding.
Well, he did it through the faithful prophets.
Small in number though they might be, they were proclaiming his law and justice each new day.
Yet, despite such clear words the people and their leaders remained largely unconvinced.
To say, at the end of verse 5, “the unjust knows no shame” is to express how deep in their depravity they are.
Imagine a situation when someone cannot feel any shame?
Fancy the place where people have no sense of wrong!
It’s not a good place to be!
In fact, isn’t that the place you ought not to be?
Where there’s some consciousness of guilt or sense of shame there’s hope.
But when the conscience has been completely seared you’ve got to get right out of there!
And thus it is that we move on to the next aspect in our text.
Now we note, from the verses 6 till 8 … IT’S DEFINITELY CLEAR THE LORD’S HERE.
Regardless of whether or not Judah is paying attention, the Lord spells out where he is here.
Verse 6 is the reminder of what he’s already carried out in punishment upon those elsewhere.
They only need to recall recent history to realise that.
Just looking at the ruined fortifications on the hill-tops around pointed to God’s hand.
The empty streets of devastated cities were silent reminders of what the Lord had done to other nations.
And let’s also note the way this verse puts it personally from the Lord.
The first person singular constantly rings out.
“I… I… I…,” the Lord keeps saying.
You know, the Lord is really being very kind here.
Kind in a long-suffering type of way.
Verse 7 shows this particularly.
The covenant God pleads with his people once more to repent.
Surely this time they would realise they have to change?
It is a sign of graciousness.
But also it is something clearly spelt out.
To now fear the Lord and accept his correction meant they would be turning right around.
This would have to be a true repentance.
There would be a complete humbling happening within them and showing itself outside of them!
That could be the only way to save the day!
Then the city would be truly a city of peace.
Then she would be blessed by the Lord and not suffer punishment.
Was there a chance?
Could there be a true revival this time?
The end of verse 7 is a sad echo of the end of verse 5.
“But all the more they were eager to act to make all their deeds corrupt,” only confirms that they were the unjust who know no shame.
There can now only be one possible response from the Lord.
Verse 8 pronounces that now.
“Therefore wait for me,” declares the LORD, “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.”
Now, the translations differ at the beginning of this verse.
The NIV speaks of the Lord rising up as a witness.
The ESV, though, speaks of God rising up to seize the prey.
But the essential meaning is the same.
The intention is clear.
God is going to rise up as his own witness, to testify of his perfect justice, and to show it just as the hunter seizes the prey.
The whole world will be gathered together so that God’s anger may be poured out upon them.
He’s reached the point of no return.
Jesus has come the first time as the Saviour.
This next time he will be the Judge.
Mercy must give way to judgment.
And so the Lord will pour out on them his anger.
Now when we get angry it’s usually at a point when we have lost our temper.
It’s very rarely that our anger is focused on the right thing.
But that’s not so with the Lord here.
This is the time when everyone will get exactly what they’ve deserved.
This is a righteous anger.
There will be no injustice then!
The language obviously means the entire world is being spoken of.
To say “in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed” is definitely anticipating the final judgment.
The prophet is coming back to the same strand he began his prophecy with.
This is the theme of chapter 1, verse 18, when he spoke of God in the fire of his jealousy consuming the whole world.
There he had already mentioned the sudden end of all who live in the world.
That’s not to take away from partial fulfilments on the way.
We can think here of those peaks in the view of the mountain range which are seen from a certain angle.
But the last peak of them all is most of all pictured here.
Here none other than the Supreme Ruler himself is sitting upon the universal throne.
His authority has been delegated to no one else.
And from that position he must judge and judging here in the ultimate way he does!
This is what we read symbolically portrayed in Revelation 16.
It’s there in verse 5 the angel recognises this.
For there he declares, “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged.”
Congregation, you know that question people sometimes ask: ‘What do you want first - the good news or the bad news?’
Well, this is the bad news.
But bad news for those who don’t believe!
The good news is now coming.
You just have to wait a week for it!
Amen.
PRAYER:
Let’s pray…
O Almighty God, you are so gracious in calling us by Your Word and Spirit.
You were merciful to us, and so it is we are before you now.
Please help us to so live that all will see Jesus Christ alive in us.
And so may we witness that we are not under judgment but under grace.
Dear Father, we’re not afraid of that coming Day of the Lord.
For that day is for us the first day of the rest of our lives in paradise with you.
In the dear Name of the Saviour, we pray, Amen.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Sjirk Bajema, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2019, Rev. Sjirk Bajema
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