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John 1:6-8, various

John Was Just a Voice

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 17, 2023

After introducing his readers to the reality of the existence and glory of God seen in the light of Christ, John turns his attention to the last Old Testament prophet, John the Baptist. The Gospel writer says in John 1:6-8, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him.  He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light.” A web blogger talked about John the Baptist and said, “Most everyone, believer and non-believer alike, has heard of John the Baptist. He is one of the most significant and well-known figures in the Bible. While John was known as ‘the Baptist,’ he was the first prophet called by God since Malachi some 400 years earlier. John’s coming was foretold over 700 years previously by another prophet….”[1] That other prophet was Isaiah. The passage being referred to is Isaiah 40:3-5. It says, “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be lifted, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’”

John’s prophetic mission was to shine the light “on the light of the world.” God presented Himself to the world in the person of His Son, Jesus. He was made flesh, and everyone could see him. He was the light! He cleared up things. He made, and makes, sense out of everything. John was not the light, as we’ll read later in this, the fourth gospel. “Seeing” John was not important. Boice says, “Certainly, John was a charismatic figure. We read that droves of people went out to him, much as they later did to hear the Lord Jesus Christ. This following was so substantial that it even disturbed the priests and Levites in Jerusalem, who sent delegates to investigate John’s teaching.”[2] John was not the light, he was the “sound.” Quoting the prophecy concerning him, John the Baptist said that he was just a voice crying out in the wilderness. John insisted on growing less and less significant as Christ grew more and more significant. John had some extraordinary humility. He often denied being anyone of importance but simply wanted to point the way to the “Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.” Jesus was the point of John’s ministry.

Psalm 1 tells us about the “one” who lives the perfect life. The Psalmist lists all the wonderful traits this person will manifest. He doesn’t listen to wicked advice. He’s not a scoffer. He delights in the law of the Lord. He doesn’t participate in the popular sins of the day. Other things are also associated with the “one” praised in the first Psalm. The only perfect person in this scenario is the Lord Jesus, Himself. We are all sinners and have fallen short of God’s standards. But Jesus didn’t. This is why we all need a savior. The one that John pointed to. The preaching of Psalm 1 focuses primarily on trying to live up to the standard presented there. I don’t think any mere human could do it. It seems more relevant to point out from that Psalm how far we fall short and how Jesus lived up to that standard for us. Jesus is “The One.” Jesus taught us that “the one” who humbles himself will be exalted. John certainly did humble himself. He wasn’t the light. He wasn’t the prophet. He was just a voice. Yet, when Jesus was questioned about John, he said, “Among those born of a woman, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist, yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than John.”

[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/life-John-Baptist.html

[2] Boice, James Montgomery. 2005. The Gospel of John: An Expositional Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

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Luke 1:10-11, Various

The Hour of Incense

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 16, 2023

Zachariah was chosen by lot to be the one priest to enter the holy place to burn the annual incense as God had directed in the Bible. While he interceded for his people, they would be in prayer for him. It’s been said that when the high priest would enter the holy of holies, they would tie a rope to his ankle in case God would be displeased with his offering and kill him.  His robes also had bells on the bottom so that the people outside could hear him walking around. If the bells became silent, they would know something had happened to him. They would be able to pull him out without anyone else having to enter the vengeful presence of God. I’m unsure if this was true or if it applied to Zachariah on this occasion, but the deed seems very solemn. He would enter into the presence of God to bring an offering, and the people would be praying that it would be acceptable. You never know what might happen when you enter God’s presence. Luke 1:10-11 tells us what happened to Zachariah, “And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.”

 The phrase “angel of the lord” is often used in the Old Testament to refer to the pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus. One blogger argues that this designation for Christ ended with the incarnation.  He says, “The appearances of the angel of the Lord cease after the incarnation of Christ.”[1] It makes sense to me. Once Jesus appears in the flesh, there is no need for the supernatural manifestation of Him as an angel. Besides, we know from a latter verse in the first chapter of Luke that this angel identifies himself as “Gabriel.” It seems Gabriel had a special role in the prophetic announcement of the coming of the Savior. The dark era of silence from God since the prophet Malachi ended the Old Testament with his prophecy of the coming of a forerunner in the power of Elijah was coming to an end. So, Gooding says, “And so in the last few months before sunrise, the angel Gabriel was sent to tell Zechariah that he and his wife were soon to have a child.”[2]

Gabriel is well known as the angel with the trumpet. When Jesus comes again, His arrival will be announced by the “sound of the trumpet” according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” Since Gabriel is one of only three Archangels mentioned in the Bible, the trumpet has become known as “Gabriel’s Trumpet.” But many argue that the Bible does not identify Gabriel as the blower of the trumpet. It’s just the sound of the trumpet that ushers in the last days. According to another ancient text (not canonical), the Gospel of Laodice, the Lord instructed Gabriel to leave his trumpet on earth when returning to heaven. We don’t know why, but many speculators suggest that God wanted the second coming of the Lord to be heralded by mortals.[3] The search for Gabriel’s Trumpet would make another great Indiana Jones movie, don’t you think?

Intercessory prayer was of significant note here. We see the citizens praying for Zechariah, and we see his standing next to the altar of incense. This altar has often been recognized as symbolic of the prayers of the saints. In Revelation 8:3, John’s vision explains the smoke and incense as the sweet-smelling savor of intercessory prayer. Osborne summarizes this verse, “The right side signifies God’s favor, and it is fitting that God’s temple is the place where the events are set in motion that will end with the births of the messianic forerunner and the Messiah himself.”[4]

[1] Got Questions Ministries. 2002–2013. Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

[2] Gooding, David. 2013. According to Luke: The Third Gospel’s Ordered Historical Narrative. Myrtlefield Expositions. Coleraine, Northern Ireland: Myrtlefield House.

[3] https://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Gabriel%27s_Trumpet

[4] Osborne, Grant R. 2018. Luke: Verse by Verse. Edited by Jeffrey Reimer, Elliot Ritzema, and Danielle Thevenaz, Awa Sarah. Osborne New Testament Commentaries. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

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Mark 1:5

Down to the River!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 15, 2023

One of my favorite songs from “Oh Brother, Where art thou?” was sung by Alison Krauss. You’ve heard it. Here are some of the lyrics,

As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol’ way
And who shall wear the starry crown?
Good Lord show me the way

 O sinners, let’s go down
Let’s go down, come on down
O sinners, let’s go down
Down in the river to pray.

As I read the fifth verse of Mark’s Gospel, chapter 1, I had to think of that song. It says, “And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” There was a great spiritual revival. It was in anticipation of what was to come. John, the baptizer, was the one to come as a forerunner of the Messiah, as the Prophets foretold. During my five tours to Israel, I ensured our groups had the opportunity to be baptized in the Jordan River. That was always one of the highlights of the tour. It was an exciting time and was seen as an exercise of renewal. Everyone on tour had already been baptized, but this was symbolic. The cry in and around all of Judea and its capital city, Jerusalem, was the last verse of that song, “O Sinners, let’s go down!” John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins according to Mark 1:3. Baptism is a public proclamation of one’s sinfulness. That’s called confession. Calvin saw this act as the natural outcome of conviction of sin and the outward expression of that at a public baptism. It affects the whole community when it happens. He writes, “But when the mind is effected as it ought, it cannot but give vent to itself in external manifestation, especially when it tends to the common edification, that all, by openly confessing their sin, may render praise to the divine justice, and by their example mutually encourage each other.”[1]

In the history of America, we will find two periods in which “revival” was prominent. Those periods are called “awakenings.”  One blogger says, “They came from God and were sent to wake up a people to their spiritual condition bringing about great conviction of sin and widespread repentance. So, we have the First Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening in America. They did not come because the Christians had all repented and brought on the Awakening. On the contrary, the Awakenings came as a surprise and brought repentance with it. Iain Murray writes, ‘The sheer unexpectedness of such events bears equally against the view that revivals are conditioned by the preceding actions and efforts of Christians. Those who believe that a certain line of conduct or prayer must secure revival have history against them. Revivals come unheralded. They are, as Edwards witnessed in Northampton in 1735, the surprising work of God’. Of the Great Awakening of 1740, it is said that ‘it broke upon the slumbering churches like a thunderbolt rushing out of a clear sky.’”[2] This is radically different from the “woke” culture of today. It refers to social awareness of current situations. It looks at perceived injustices committed against you, not the injustices you may have committed against God and others. Wokeness calls for action! That action is often very violent. Spiritual awakenings deal with the awareness of one’s own sinfulness and the need for forgiveness.

[1] Calvin, John. 1997. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

[2] https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/watchman-radio-hour/read/articles/which-comes-first-repentance-or-revival-11815.html

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Matthew 1:19, Various

Mercy for Sinners!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 14, 2023

The virgin birth is a doctrine that is not fully accepted within Christian circles today. The liberal wings of various denominations do not see it as an important doctrine. It’s not hard to understand this because it’s something that must be taken by faith. It’s certainly nothing we would be able to verify scientifically, and all experiences in our lives speak against it. Matthew reminds us in Matthew 1:19 that even Joseph had trouble with it. It says, “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” Joseph is called a “just” man.  It seems that to Joseph, “mercy” had to be involved with Justice. Leon Morris says, “Joseph, being just, saw that he was unable to consummate the marriage, but he did not want to be harsh. Perhaps we should say that Joseph being just before God included an element of mercy.”[1]  Augustine, in the 4th Century, had an interesting take on this passage. He writes, “If you alone have knowledge of a sin that any has committed against you, and desire to accuse him thereof before men, you do not herein correct, but rather betray him. But Joseph, being a just man with great mercy, spared his wife in this great crime of which he suspected her. The seeming certainty of her unchastity tormented him, and yet because he alone knew of it, he was willing not to publish it but to send her away privily, seeking rather the benefit than the punishment of the sinner.”[2]

The idea of being “a just man” in Israel during Christ’s day meant that Joseph, although not describing him as perfect, he was an observant Jew. Morgan writes, “He was not only morally upright; he was a man who kept the law of God. But it also meant that he had respect and awe for God’s plan of salvation. We see that in his dealing with Mary. He was not prepared to subject her to any public ridicule. Much less was he prepared to see her possibly tried and stoned for ‘adultery.’ Joseph was a man who was open to the things of God. Indeed, there is one school of thought that has Joseph belonging to a Jewish group called the ‘Anwim’ or ‘poor ones,’ men and women who were devout and committed to living a life of holiness and obedience to the law; Mary, Elizabeth, and Zechariah were thought to be a part of the Anwim as well.”[3]

I can’t help but believe that Joseph had feelings for Mary. He doesn’t want to hurt her. The religious leaders that Christ faced throughout his stay on earth had no such feelings for the woman caught in adultery. They drug her into the public square to shame her. Joseph wasn’t at all like the sect of the Pharisees. Usually, those who live up to their own codes of conduct are often very critical and condemning of others who fail. But Joseph has strict behavior standards for himself and yet is compassionate towards others. Yet, there was no way he could maintain his standards and continue his engagement with Mary. Thus, his intention was to break it off, even though it would cost him personally. It’s often said that Jesus loved the sinners but hated the sin. Like Father like Son doesn’t apply to Jesus and Joseph in the literal sense. Yet, Jesus’ actions towards the adulterer who met with public disgrace at the hands of the religious leaders must have pleased his earthly father.  Micah tells us that God wants three things from us: To live justly (have a strong code of ethical standards), to love mercy (be gracious to sinners), and to walk humbly with your God.

[1] Morris, Leon. 1992. The Gospel according to Matthew. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.

[2] Thomas Aquinas. 1841. Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers: St. Matthew. Edited by John Henry Newman. Vol. 1. Oxford: John Henry Parker.

[3] Morgan, Robert J. 2007. Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook. 2007 Edition. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

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Malachi 1:4-5, Various

A God For All People

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 13, 2023

God’s love for His people throughout the Old Testament has been displayed often as he has favored them over the pagan nations all around them. Malachi points out the difference between His chosen people and their sworn enemies. He points out the Edomites specifically. They were the descendants of Esau and represented those that would rather have red stew than God’s blessing. I’m convinced that God will not bless those with hard hearts. Instead, they will face the consequences of rejecting the “true” truth of the one and only God, who is not only God of the Israelites but God of the whole world. Malachi 1:4-5 says, “If Edom says, ‘We are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins,’ the Lord of hosts says, ‘They may build, but I will tear down,’ and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’ Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, ‘Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!’”

 God deals kindly with His people but harshly with his enemies. This is even seen as early as the days of Abraham when He promises to bless all those nations that bless Abraham’s descendants and to curse those who curse Israel. One must not miss the sharp contrast between Jacob, whom God chose, and Esau, his twin brother, who did not value his rightful inheritance. They were presented as two men with very different personalities. Esau was the hunter and man of the field who didn’t have time for things like blessings and inheritances. According to the book of Jubilees, Jacob was a man of letters who could read and write. Esau did not have time for such things. Abraham, their grandfather, loved Jacob more than Esau as well and gave Rebekah instructions on how to trick Isaak into giving Jacob the blessing rather than Esau. But, as long as Esau remained aloof from Jacob and did not harm him, God blessed him in the land. Jubilees records Abraham’s blessings on Ishmael, Esau, and his other children by his wife, Keturah. But when the descendants of Esau turned against Jacob’s descendants, we see God turn against Esau. The descendants of Esau are the Edomites; the Prophet, Obadiah, addresses the Edomites specifically and says that they will ultimately be eliminated. Historically Herod the Great was the last recorded “Idumean” or Edomite. The nation is not more.

God is referred to twenty times in Malachi as “The Lord of hosts,” a majestic name of military leadership, but more than that. It’s often translated as “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” It means that the Lord is the one who commands all the forces of the universe. Joy awaits His orders. Peace is ready in His hands. Success is stored in His warehouse and given at His discretion. Although the nations that cursed Israel are also cursed by God, individuals of every nation can enter into the joyful blessings of serving the one true God. Isaiah 56:6-7 says, “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, …these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Paul leans on this truth as well when he preaches to the Gentiles in Rome. He argues in Romans chapter three that God is not the God of the Jews only but also the God of the Gentiles as well. God will justify and bless each person according to their faith. Instead of being cursed by God, they are now forgiven and blessed by God. In Romans 4:7-8, Paul speaks not of God’s curse upon sinners but blessings upon them through faith in Jesus. He writes, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” He says it in another way also “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

 

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Zechariah 1:7-8

The Man on the Red Horse

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 12, 2023

The children of Israel did not repent when called to by Zechariah. They continued their evil ways. God’s patience was wearing thin, and the time for God’s judgment was at hand. God sends Zechariah as He does with many of the OT Prophets, a series of visions predicting the judgment of God. Phillips compares these visions with the visions of Charles Dicken’s familiar Christmas Carol. He writes, “Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future. These visions leave Scrooge a changed man; no longer the champion of humbug, he becomes a paragon of charity and joy. The book of Zechariah tells us about a night even Dickens never dreamed of, in which the prophet received not three but eight visions, and not fantasy ghost visits but actual revelations from the God of heaven. One after another, they came, all in one restless night, and the record of these visitations makes up the first six chapters of this book. Like Scrooge, that night of visions changed Zechariah forever. He became a prophet and a messenger of good news to the people.”[1] Zechariah points out the exact time and date of his first vision of God’s coming Judgment. In Zechariah 1:7-8, he says, “On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, ‘I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red sorrel, and white horses.’” The three images of the vision are important, a man riding a red horse, myrtle trees in the glen, and three more horses.

The man riding the “red horse” is a mystery until we consider the rest of the visions. The rider appears to be “The angel of the Lord.” He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Lord’s army of angels to bring mercy and restoration to all of Israel. Feinberg discusses the rider and agrees with this conclusion. He says, “Jerome says, ‘The Jews suppose the man on the red horse to be the Angel Michael, who was to avenge the iniquities and sins against Israel.’ Students of the passage can be arranged on one of two principal sides: those who maintain that he is an ordinary angel as the other riders and those who hold him to be the Angel of Jehovah. We take our stand with the latter, finding clear proof and confirmation in verse 11. There the man among the myrtles is definitely stated to be the Angel of Jehovah. The other riders report to Him their findings in a manner that reveals His authority over them and His separate position from them.”[2] Shepherd agrees and says, “The Angel of the Lord appeared in Zechariah’s fourth vision, rebuking Satan and declaring Jerusalem and the nation as the cleansed and restored people and the priesthood of God. With this declaration comes the promise of the coming Messiah and His kingdom.”[3]

If red represents war, it’s the spiritual warfare during which Jesus wins the ultimate battle with Satan. Red is the color of blood. Knap says, “The Man on the red horse is the Mediator of the New Testament in His blood and at the same time as Lord of the angels. We are under His protection. He sends out His angels as quick messengers to serve our salvation. The cluster of myrtle trees, ignored by the world, is the focal point of heavenly powers—the angels of God surround us, even if we do not see them, and above all, there is the Man in our midst for our consolation!”[4] This war began before time began when Satan fell. It continued in the Garden of Eden, and it can be traced through the entire history of mankind, but it finds its conclusion at the cross of Christ, where the Messiah Himself shed his blood to pay the penalty for our sins.

[1] Phillips, Richard D. 2007. Zechariah. Edited by Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Iain M. Duguid. Reformed Expository Commentary. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

[2] Feinberg, Charles Lee. 1940. “Exegetical Studies in Zechariah.” Bibliotheca Sacra 97: 436.

[3] Shepherd, Richard L. 2004. Life Principles for Following Christ. Following God Series. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.

[4] Knap, J. J. 1997. The Loins Girded. Translated by Martien C. Vanderspek. Ontario, Canada.

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Haggai 1:7-11

Who Serves Who?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 11, 2023

Haggai calls for the people of Israel to “consider” their lives. He wants them to think about things to “reason together” over what they see and hear in the world around them but, most importantly, what they have experienced in their lives themselves. Haggai points out that the situations the people of Israel face should cause them to forsake their idolatries and return to worship the true God. Once again, like in the days past, Israel had focused their energies on their own interests and neglected true worship. It’s only when God is put first in our lives that we can truly enjoy the many blessings we have. Haggai 1:7-11 points this out clearly, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, and it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? Declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore, the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”

Those who ventured out of their homes in Babylon to return to Israel expected God’s blessing in their efforts. The New American Commentary explains this well. It says, “They had expected much in return for their hard labor and sustained efforts, but their anticipations had not come to fruition. Instead, the return for their work had been poor agricultural conditions resulting in failed crops, spiraling inflation accompanied by miserably low incomes, and a standard of living that plunged many of them into despair and depression. No doubt some of them were led to ask, as people of faith have often asked with regard to disappointing circumstances, ‘Why has the Lord not prevented all of this?’ Many of the returnees would have found it difficult to understand the absence of prosperity in the land and the incredibly difficult times that the residents of the country were experiencing. After all, the return to the land had been undertaken in the belief that the Lord was finally bringing to an end the disciplinary hardships of the exile and was at long last renewing his magnanimous blessing upon a restored covenantal people. But those optimistic expectations were not being realized in any tangible sort of way. Instead of prosperity, there was economic depression; instead of abundance, there was deprivation; instead of joy, there was frustration over present difficulties and anxiety with regard to the future. A heavy cloud of discouragement cast its darkening shadows over the people.”[1]

It wasn’t that God had simply failed to bless their efforts. According to Haggai, it was God who caused their hardships. Why did God curse all their efforts? It appears that the people had seen God as being there to serve them. He was supposed to make them prosperous. He was supposed to shower His blessings on them. God existed for their benefit. The people decided to leave the Temple in ruins and focus on their own lives instead of their corporate mission of restoring the worship of the one true God. We often fall into that mindset. D. A. Carson wrote, “It is important to say that again and again and again and again in this generation because this generation does not really want a God to whom we are reconciled. It wants, instead, a God who is a powerful genie to serve us. Religion becomes like the bottle of the genie; you rub it the right way, and out he pops and gives you a blessing. Thus, you have a nice, domesticated God.  He serves me. Oh, I have to pay homage to him, sing, go to church now and then, but at the end of the day, I hold to spirituality, to fulfillment and freedom, and all those good things. Then, in addition, this God serves me.”  According to Carson, having a God that serves you rather than a God that you serve is “How you know the spirit of truth and the spirit of the antichrist.”[2]

[1] Taylor, Richard A., and E. Ray Clendenen. 2004. Haggai, Malachi. Vol. 21A. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[2] Carson, D. A. 2016. “1 John—Part 4.” In D. A. Carson Sermon Library, 1 Jn 4:1–5:4a. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife.

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Zephaniah 1:7-9, Various

Choose Life!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 10, 2023

God is waiting for the wicked to repent. He is patient and doesn’t want anyone to perish. But those suffering at the hands of the wicked, godless leaders have no recourse for justice. They are at the mercy of pagan leaders who have no regard for God and God’s laws. The Psalmist, Psalm 46:10-11, tells those suffering in such a state to trust God.  He sings, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” This is what Zephaniah tells his listeners also. To quietly rest in faith that God will indeed bring justice to the wicked. Zephaniah 1:7-9 says, “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.” Barber says, “In executing judgment upon the earth, God would be manifested in His sovereign majesty. He would demonstrate that He alone has the right to administer justice on the earth. For this reason, noise and clamor are to give way to silence. Before Him, every mouth is to be shut, and those who will have so far offended His Majesty with seeming impunity must then endure His enmity.”[1]

“The Day of the Lord” seems to be a technical phrase that refers to the coming day when all wrongs will be put right, when God will settle all disputes, and when God will judge the wicked and vindicate the righteous. It’s used with great urgency. Jesus said that day would come as a “Thief in the night.” It will not be expected, but it is imminent. Bridger observes, “Today, in the twenty-first century, those who speak most urgently about coming disasters and ‘time running out’ for our planet tend to be the scientists and environmentalists who warn us about the dangers of global warming and the failure of most of us to do anything about it.”[2] But the call of Zephaniah and all the prophets focused on the urgency of sinners to get right with God. John the Baptist, as well as Jesus Himself, came preaching the importance of repentance for salvation.

Speaking of “foreign attire” by Zephaniah and the offering of sacrifices points directly to the fact that the leaders of the Nation have deserted the Biblical principles and standards laid down for the Nation, which would result in prosperity and a happy, wholesome life for each individual and the nation as a whole.  They have exchanged the ways of life for the ways of death. 2 Kings 10:22 speaks of the special clothing for Baal worshippers. It says, “Bring out the vestments for all the worshipers of Baal. So, he brought out the vestments for them.” They then went into the house of Baal to offer sacrifices. The religion of Baal was sexual promiscuity. The sacrifices to Baal were children. I can’t help but think the “sacrifices” that God has prepared will be the nation’s leaders who have traded that which is important to God for that which is worthless. Pleasure, power, and possessions will never bring meaning and purpose to one’s life. Those that pursue the three P’s at the expense of the innocent will face God’s judgment on the day of the Lord. Zephaniah is calling for the nation to repent of its sin and embrace once again the life-affirming message of the Scriptures.

 [1] Barber, Cyril J. 1985. Habakkuk and Zephaniah. Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Chicago, IL: Moody Press.

[2] Bridger, Gordon. 2010. The Message of Obadiah, Nahum and Zephaniah: The Kindness and Severity of God. Edited by Alec Motyer and Derek Tidball. The Bible Speaks Today. Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press.

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