Zephaniah
Rev. David Ryan
Well church – we are closing in
On having spending time in each book of the Bible!
Today, we are in Zephaniah, which contains
One of my favorite Old Testament verses –
But we will get to that in a moment.
The very first verse of the prophecy of Zephaniah
Sets it apart from most of the other prophets.
Most of the time, as we have been studying the prophets
I’ve had to say to you –
We don’t know a lot about such and such a prophet –
That’s not the case with Zephaniah.
We know who he is, where he came from, and when he was preaching.
Zephaniah was of royal Lineage –
He was four generations removed from the good and godly king Hezekiah.
That would make him what – his great great great great grandson.
His name means “Yahweh Hides” or “Yahweh Has Hidden”
Most likely he was born during the long and wicked reign of Manasseh
Who reigned for 55 years.
It was a dangerous time to be godly and in line for the throne- however remotely.
Perhaps he was literally hidden for his own protection.
But he began his ministry during the days of Josiah –
Another good and godly king
During his reign, there was a great revival
Josiah began to reign when he was very young –
So it took about 10 years until the period of revival really began.
We believe that God used the prophet Zephaniah to help bring that revival about.
Now, I have told you a number of times that one of the divisions
Of the Old Testament are the Major and Minor Prophets.
How many Major? 5
How many Minor? 12
In the Old Testament, it’s always 5 or 12.
Now the minor prophets are divided into two groups
Those who were before the exile and those who came after.
The first nine are pre-exile.- that is before the Babylonians Conquered and exiled the people
Of Judah – And, that last three ( which would be Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi were written during and after the return of Israel to the promised land.’
Zephaniah is the last of the pre-exilic prophets,
and can be said to “sum up” the messages of the previous 8.
A lot of the ideas shared in the others
Are also shared by Zephaniah.
He announces a series of judgments –
Against idolaters
Against royalty ( remember, he was a royal himself)
Against merchants
Against those who have become complacent.
He also warns other nations of the coming judgment –
The Moabites and Ammonites
Ethiopia
And Assyria.
He gives special warning to Jerusalem
He, like the other prophets before him –
Was saying – Repent!
Change your ways while there is still time!
But unfortunately, as a whole, the nation
Did not listen.
They did not repent
They did not change their ways.
And so they had to endure God’s punishment.
The Babylonians would be used of God
To chastise his people.
But after all the warnings
After all the condemnations
There is a word of Hope.
God says after the exile,
(remember this is the last of the pre-exile prophets)
God will leave in the city
The meek and the humble (this is in 3:14)
He will leave in the city
Those who truly trust in the name of the Lord.
This is cause for rejoicing.
In 3:14 Zephaniah writes –
Sing – o Daughter of Zion;
Shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart.
For God has taken away your punishment.
Never again will you need to fear harm.
Oh how we need to hear those words today.
“Do Not Fear”
You know I read that that phrase or its equivalent
Appears 365 times in the Bible!
One time for every day of the year.
It must be a word we need to hear.
And it is, isn’t it?
There is so much that seems to threaten us.
There are so many things that can overwhelm us.
We fear the results of a medical test.
We always seem to anticipate the worst.
We might fear the economics of our time.
Grocery bills keep getting higher and higher.
Used to be an average of $10 a bag, now its $20 – sometimes even more.
Utility bills, rents, taxes – all those things keep going up.
And we can have the fear of making ends meet.
We can be afraid and insecure of our relationships
We see families breaking apart all around us
And we might worry – is that going to happen in my family?
We worry about our children
Grandchildren.
What’s going to become of them with the world
Seeming to go the way it's going.
Sometimes we just have this vague fear of the future.
I’ll never forget I was teaching a Sunday School class.
It was getting near the end of the year –
And we were all sharing our hopes and dreams
For the year ahead –
But one woman spoke up and said –
‘I’m sorry” –
“I can’t share your enthusiasm.
When I think of the year ahead
I just feel anxiety.
I worry.
What bad thing is going to happen next”
And she was not a generally negative person.
I was surprised by her comment.
Do not fear
God says.
We might want to respond to God –
Why?
Why should we not be afraid?
Then in verse 17 there is a great promise.
And it is true, that this promise was first given
To those who either remained or would return to Isreal
After the exile –
But as I read it, there is nothing that
Keeps it from being applied to us.
The word that goes out from Zephaniah –
After all the warnings
After all the punishments
After all that will happen to them.
There are some profound words.
Words that we can count on to be true.
It's in these words that we can have hope.
It is these words that dispel fear.
To me, verse 17 is one of the best verses.
In the Old Testament.
There are five parts of it.
1. The Lord your God is with you.
Wow, I love that simple statement.
Just seven words.
Wow – seven words – imagine that –
The perfect number in scripture.
7 is meant to convey completeness.
And those seven words are so good for us to know.
The Lord your God is with you.
You are never alone!
No matter what difficulty you may have to face
No matter what danger you are in
No matter what – you are not alone!
God is with you.
And knowing that makes all the difference.
You don’t have to rely on your own wisdom
On your own power
On your own merit.
Your own courage even!
You have God with you!
You do not have to be afraid.
My mom once told me that the loneliest time
For someone is in the hospital.
After your loved ones have let go of your hand
And kissed you
And you are taken off on the gurney
To the operating room.
Ever been there?
I have.
And at first, I thought I agreed with my mom.
But then I remembered
I am not alone.
Yes, my wife no longer holds my hand.
But God does.
God is with me.
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want!
He makes me lie down in green pastures –
He does not tell me to go to green pastures –
He is right there with me.
He leads me (that means he is with me!)
Beside still waters.
He restores my soul
He guides me in paths of righteousness (again, he does not
just tell me where the path is – he is guiding me – right here, right now)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death –
I will fear no evil
For you, God, are with me!
Your rod and your staff they comfort me.
YOU prepare a table before me
In the presence of my enemies….
He does not just give us directions to the restaurant!
He is there, preparing the table before me.
You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows –
Again – its God doing the anointing!
The 23 Psalm is always a comfort –
I think because it talks so much
About God being WITH us.
By the way …if you have not been to the Psalm 23 Prayer Garden
Just outside of New Holland on Shirk Road –
I highly recommend it to you.
It’s a beautiful place –
With places that depict each phrase of Psalm 23.
You could walk through it in not much time –
Or better yet, take the time to linger
As God leads.
The Lord your God is with you.
2. He is mighty to save.
Not only is God with us – he is mighty!
He is all powerful!
There is no illness that he can not cure.
There is no harm that can overcome us
There is no fear that need paralyze us.
God is mighty!
Our Uke group sings a song –
God is Bigger than all my problems!
Greater than all my fears!
God is mighty to save – and he will do just that
Save us.
We are not always spared the suffering
But God gets us through it.
I know that.
I have experienced that.
I put my full truest in that.
God is with you.
God is mighty.
And I love this next part –
3. God will take great delight in you.
Oh precious child of God –
Do you know that?
Do you know that your are his precious child.
Do you know that God takes delight in you?
Imagine that!
It's true!
God takes delight in you!
When God thinks of you, He smiles.
He is so glad that you are you.
He made you –
And he delights in how he has made you.
Each of us is different.
We are all unique –
But somehow, every single one of us
Are God’s favorite!
We think – oh no – there can only be one favorite
A dear friend of mine gave me a t-shirt –
“God loves all his children – but I’m his favorite!”
I saw a video online the other day–
A teacher wanted to show her students
Who was her favorite.
One by one she called them to her desk.
She had a decorated box with a lid.
They were told to lift the lid
And look inside to see who her favorite was.
There was a mirror in the bottom of the box.
Each child , when the looked, saw their own reflection.
They walked away from the teachers desk smiling.
God invites us to look into the box of his word.
He takes great delight in each of us.
Sometimes I look at my life and say
God, I don’t know why you take delight in me.
I’ve messed up time and time again.
I am not worthy of your love, let alone your delight.
But when I am feeling that way,
God just takes me in his arms,
If I will allow it –
And says
Child of mine – I love you.
You are mine and I am yours.
It's true, you are not perfect,
But I love you with a perfect love.
Speaking of that –
4. God quiets us with his love.
Oh…think of a crying baby.
And how a parent, a mother, a father –
Can quiet them with their love.
Same way with God.
We get all frantic
We get all worked up
We worry
We fret
We get anxious
My my my.
But then God takes us in his arms
He quiets us with this love.
He says…shhhhh…
Be still
Be still and know that I am God
Trust me.
Trust me
Trust me.
My mom’s birthday was this week.
I found this block in Hobby Lobby.
It said.
“Give it to God” in big bold letters –
And then in smaller cursive script it said
“and go to sleep”
“Give it to God and go to sleep”
When you can’t sleep.
When you are up at night with all those thoughts
Running through your head.
Pray.
Give it to God.
Trust him
And go to sleep.
Let him quiet you with his love.
And then finally -
5. God will rejoice over you with singing.
Wow – can you imagine what it would sound like
To hear God sing?
Won’t that be a great moment in heaven
When we are with God face to face –
And we get to hear him sing!
I can’t even imagine it –
But it will be amazing.
But even now God is rejoicing over you with singing.
Because he can see what we can not see.
He knows what we do not yet know
He loves us not only for who we were, and for who we are
But for who we will be.
He’s still working on me.
He’s still working on you.
God does amazing things.
When you are finished – God will welcome us into heaven
And say as he did at the end of each day of creation –
“You are good”.
People of God –
Do not fear.
The Lord your God is with you.
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you.
He will quiet you with his love
And he will rejoice over you with singing.
Amen.