“Return to Shelter” (Zephaniah)
Pastor Bob Leroe, Cliftondale Congregational Church, Saugus, Massachusetts
A young boy was sitting in the corner of the kitchen looking unhappy. He’d just been given a “time out”. When his discipline was over, he asked his mother, “God can do anything He wants, can’t He?” His mother answered, “Of course.” The boy then reflected, “God doesn’t have any parents, does He?”
We’ve all experienced some parent-to-child conflict. Even if we’ve had the best of parents we’ve at times felt restricted, like prisoners. I heard Billy Graham’s son Franklin interviewed on NPR last week, telling how his parents had to discipline him. “I deserved it”, he admitted, “but at the time, I didn’t think so.” We need our parents, but we also want to be freed from them. When we look back on our childhood we have to admit we weren’t ready for complete freedom—we needed discipline and instruction. Yet we resist parental control, and we may feel the same way about God at times. We know our Heavenly Father loves us, but we don’t always appreciate His tough love. God loves us just as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way! So He works with us, guiding us and at times chastening us. This we learn from the prophet Zephaniah
The Jewish nation has been compared to a person who made a fortune, lost it, and then regained prosperity. God’s chosen people have known both blessing and discipline. At the time of this brief prophetic book, King Josiah (640-609 BC) came to the throne of Judah (also known as the Southern Kingdom). Josiah instituted several religious reforms, particularly the removal of idols and pagan shrines. Perhaps the preaching of Zephaniah had some influence over this revival. His prophecy foretells God’s wrath and restoration.
God’s people were backslidden. They had turned back to their old ways and had grown indifferent to spiritual things. Unbelief and apathy were prevalent. Artists have pictured the prophet Zephaniah as holding a lantern because of 1:12, “I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent”. We cannot afford to be indifferent about God. When God sees His people becoming complacent, He sometimes sends trials to wake us up. The people Zephaniah preached to for the most part shrugged off his warnings, disregarding His message. Zephaniah describes the complacent as “wine left on its dregs”. In making quality wine, the liquid was refined by pouring it from one container to another, separating the wine from the dregs, keeping it from thickening and becoming bitter. (Still in vs. 12) These people “think, ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad’.” They saw God as a kindly, remote, ineffectual Grandfather who wouldn’t punish them. Apparently they didn’t think much of Zephaniah either, even though he was the great-great grandson of King Hezekiah. How would we live if we truly believed God was upset with sin?
Backsliding is hard to define. Does it describe believers who’ve slipped in their devotion to God, or does the word represent those who’ve made an outward profession of faith, but lack true commitment to Christ? The Apostle John portrays those who leave the church as people who “never truly belonged to us” (I Jn 2:19). In other words, their leaving revealed their true colors. They have no intention of obeying God; their priorities are fixed with stubborn willfulness. Having a living faith means loyalty to God, actively sticking with Him, in spite of some ups and downs. I see a backslider as a believer who needs some encouragement. But those who claim to be believers and who forsake God simply never had authentic faith in the first place. They do not lose their salvation because they never possessed genuine faith. They have not received “Jesus as Lord” (Rom 10:9). They are characterized by unbelief and disobedience.
Zephaniah talks of the coming Day of the Lord. There’s a great difference between the Lord’s Day and the Day of the Lord. The Lord’s Day is Sunday, the day of Christ’s resurrection, our Sabbath day of worship. The Day of the Lord is a time of severe wrath and judgment. Zephaniah’s warnings are apocalyptic—a sober, fearful message.
A Sunday School teacher asked his 4th grade class what they wanted to study. Several requested the book of Revelation. After a few weeks one of the boys told the teacher, “I’m scared of this book we’re studying.” It is frightening if we lack an understanding of God’s purpose. He has not destined believers for wrath (I Thes 5:9).
While I was in a convenience store this past week I noticed one of those tabloid newspapers with this bold headline: “Bible Prophecies the US Government Doesn’t Want You To Know”. You don’t need a Top-Secret security clearance to read God’s word—it’s no secret. Zephaniah’s problem had nothing to do with leaking divine secrets; his problem was getting people to care about his message and their sinful condition.
Zephaniah issues a divine warning to turn back to God. A key verse of this book is 2:3, “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what He commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.” When we turn to God we find forgiveness, restoration and eternal life.
Like so many of the prophets, Zephaniah condemns idolatry, which is putting anything in the place of God. I heard a discussion about Watergate on the radio last week. Commenting on Charles Colson (who went to prison due to his involvement and founded the ministry Prison Fellowship), it was said, “Jesus has become Colson’s new Nixon.” I was initially offended by this remark, but then I reflected that Nixon may have been Colson’s god, until he had an encounter with the true, living God; it’s a spiritual victory to exchange false gods for the true God.
The prophet repeatedly addresses the remnant of believing Jews (2:9, 3:13). Throughout the Bible we find reference to small pockets of belief in an unbelieving world. The remnant of God are those who remain faithful in spite of secular pressures and temptations. Zephaniah’s name means “hidden of the Lord”; the name might refer to these relatively few who had not forsaken their God.
What do all these harsh words of judgment mean? Is God just interested in getting even with this sinful world? Is He mad at us? God wants to bring us out of our selfishness and sorrow. He wants us to have security, not slavery. He wants His people to sing the song of the redeemed. 3:14-17 commands us to rejoice and sing and shout aloud, and God Himself will join in the singing.
Elizabeth Browning wrote a poem entitled “Seraphim.” In it, she describes angels observing the work of the Son of God on earth. They watch with amazement Jesus’ birth, life, His death on the cross, and His resurrection. The angels describe those who’ve been forgiven by the blood of Christ. One angel looks at these ransomed souls and says, “Hereafter shall the blood-bought captives raise their passion-song of blood.” Another adds, “And we extend our holy vacant hands toward the throne and cry, ‘We have no music’.” Only those forgiven can sing like this. God gives us a song—how can we keep from singing? Even angels cannot experientially know what it means to be saved from sin and death.
We learn from Zephaniah that genuine love involves correction. God may give us a time-out. True love can mean tough love. We can’t enjoy freedom without responsibility. We may resent having to face the consequences of our actions, but we can be grateful that God doesn’t abandon us. He loves us enough to get involved, to work with us. He guides and protects us every step of our journey. “He is mighty to save” (3:17).
Prayer: Lord of glory, morning by morning You dispense Your justice, and every new day You do not fail. We hear thunder in Your speech and lightning in Your actions. Storm through our souls, wake us up and stand us on our feet—alert and praising in Your presence. Free us from anything that might compete from our desire to live for Jesus. Thank You for not giving up on us, and for providing salvation through the sacrifice of Your Son, in whose Name we pray—Amen.
Bulletin Insert:
Outline of Zephaniah:
Wrath> 1:1-37
Restoration> 3:8-20
Decide for yourself from the text…
Ø What are the symptoms of backsliding?
ØWhat effect does indifference have on the work God’s people are doing for Him (1:12)?
Ø How do people today “worship the starry host” (1:4)?
Ø How do even Christians adapt to the secular culture (1:8-9)?
Ø Why does God discipline His people?
Ø How is God consistent (3:5)?
Ø How does one wait on the Lord (3:8)?
Ø What are some reasons for having joy as believers (3:14-20)?
