God desires a heart of holiness for persons and nations!
May we come into God’s presence today looking forward to taking a spiritual bath so we can enjoy being with the One who loves us so intensely He came to earth to relieve us of our heavy weight of sin. Hallelujah!
“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).
Such an uplifting word this is! We most appreciate encouragement when we are discouraged. Light is the most brilliant in darkness, by way of contrast.
Have you ever thought how God might feel when we are pursuing evil, ignoring His precepts and rejecting His love?
This was written when the nation of Israel was divided. The kingdom of Judah was small in size with only two tribes. God considered her sins big in relation to her size. When I was little and got myself into trouble doing bad things, my mom used to say I was getting too big for my britches.
God gave Zephaniah a piece of His mind to share with Judah what He thought about her defiant attitude toward Him. He made clear what He didn’t like. First, people swore by God and swore by Malcham (a false god) (1:5). Second, there were those who served others with violence and deceit (1:9). Third, some said “in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will He do evil” (1:12).
Those who had “turned back from the LORD” were in God’s sights. Those that had “not sought the LORD, nor inquired for Him” were the ones God wanted to reach (1:6).
God will never let wicked behavior go unpunished.
“The just LORD is in the midst thereof; He will not do iniquity: every morning doth He bring His judgment to light, He faileth not.” On the other hand, “the unjust knoweth no shame” (3:5).
God was about to pour out His punishment not only on Judah but the surrounding nations as well. Zephaniah faithfully passed on the news of God’s plans.
At the same time God offered hope to those who were sensitive to His voice. “Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger” (2:3).
We have a tendency not to like strong words about ungodliness and punishment, especially if we feel they are directed at us personally. We recoil when we are rebuked.
Disciple not punishment.
God has a unique way of embracing us with His love at the same time He calls us out for our sinfulness. He prefers we cultivate a soft heart toward Him. If we are accustomed to throwing off the Holy Spirit’s work of forming Christ’s character in us, He will need to take drastic measures to purge any corruption He finds.
After God has dealt with the evil that blocks our view of Him, we are more apt to pay attention when He speaks. The key is recognizing God is holy and will not tolerate sin. After we let this truth permeate our entire being, we are able to see clearly. Now God is not against us, but for us.
God sings over us with joy.
Then we can be glad because “the LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing” (3:17).
May we come into God’s presence today looking forward to taking a spiritual bath so we can enjoy being with the One who loves us so intensely He came to earth to relieve us of our heavy weight of sin. Hallelujah!
Holiness is what I long for – Micah Stampley
Shirley Logsdon
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