Welcome to this edition of the Weekend Sermon. I hope that all of you are doing well this week. Thank you for taking the time to read this week's sermon.
Today, we will be starting a two week series on the book of Zephaniah. Zephaniah is one of the books in the Old Testament known as the Minor Prophets. There are called this because of the size of the books not because the message that they present is of any less importance than the Major Prophets. The Major Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
Let's get a little background on Zephaniah. Zephaniah 1:1 tells us that Zephaniah spoke the words of his prophecy during the reign of Josiah. Zephaniah would have been born during the reign of Manasseh who was a very wicked king. The brief genealogy of Zephaniah that we are given lists a man named Hezekiah as one of Zephaniah's ancestors. It is possible that this is the Hezekiah that was the King of Judah. If that is the case, Zephaniah would have been a member of the royal family.
We know that Zephaniah wrote this book during the reign of Josiah, but we don't know exactly when. Josiah's reign had two distinct parts. Josiah became king when he was a young boy. About 10 years into his reign, Josiah began a restoration of the worship of the Lord. He worked to eliminate idolatry, and he restored the worship in the Temple. He was considered to be one of the most righteous kings who ruled over the people of Judah. The majority of Bible scholars believe that Zephaniah was written before the reforms begun by Josiah.
Zephaniah was just one of the prophets that was ministering in Judah. Jeremiah was also speaking the words of the Lord at this time. We also know that Josiah consulted a prophetess named Huldah during the time of his reforms.
The first part of the book of Zephaniah tells that the Lord is angry with the people, and He is about to bring about judgment. Why was the Lord angry with the people? Zephaniah tells us that the Lord was angry because the people were worshiping false gods such as Baal. The people were also worshiping the heavenly bodies, and they were worshiping the gods and goddesses of the surrounding nations. Some were praying to the Lord, but then they were also worshiping other gods as well.
The Lord was also angry with the people because of the fact that violence and fraud were taking place throughout the land. The people had totally rejected the righteous requirements of the law of the Lord.
Because of the way that the people were behaving, the Lord speaking through Zephaniah told the people that a day of judgment was coming. The people were hearing this same message from the prophet Jeremiah.
Zephaniah 2:1-3 lets us know that the Lord still wants the people to turn away from their sinful ways and turn to Him in repentance. If they will repent, He will forgive them.
So, what can we learn from the first part of the book of Zephaniah. First of all, the Lord will not tolerate idolatry. The Lord alone is God. There shall be none other worshiped but Him. The One True and Living God has a righteous standard that He expects people to follow. If that standard is rejected, judgment is to follow.
One thing that I see in the book of Zephaniah, and in the other books written in and around this time by the other prophets, is that the Lord gave the people many opportunities to repent and come back to Him. We see this over and over again in the Bible.
When the people had sinned in the days of Noah, the Lord had Noah preach to the people for years before the flood came. He is always providing a way for the people to come to Him in repentance and faith.
All people have sinned and fallen short of God's righteous standard. Because of this, the Lord Jesus came into this world to be the one to take away sins. Jesus bore the penalty for our sins on the cross. He bore our sins in his body on the cross. Whoever will turn to Him will be saved.
The Bible makes it quite clear that there is an ultimate day of judgment that is coming. When Jesus comes again, He will judge the living and the dead as it tells us in the Bible and in the Apostles' Creed.
The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Jesus has instructed His followers to go into all the world and tell people that they can be forgiven and receive eternal life. They can pass from judgment to the glorious light of Jesus Christ. One of the reasons that Jesus has not yet returned is that people are being given the opportunity to come to faith in the Lord Jesus.
God is merciful and filled with love. He is also a just God. He provided a way for the people in Zephaniah's time, and He has provided a way for us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayer Requests And Other Matters.
This has been a good week in writing, and I want to thank the Lord for the blessings that He has provided for me. I want to thank everyone for their prayers about the storms. We did not have too many problems, and I am thankful for that.
In prayer this week, let us continue to pray for those who are in the hospital in El Paso and Dayton. Let us pray that violence in the US will come to an end.
Please pray that the fires in the Amazon will be controlled and extinguished. This is a terrible situation, and something needs to be done about it right away.
Please pray for those in Congo who are dealing with the Ebola virus. Pray that the sick will recover and that the virus will be eliminated soon.
Continue to pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Pray for peace in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for the nations of Brunei and Mauritius. Pray that many will come to know the love of the Lord Jesus.
Next week, I will post the verses on Monday. I will have a review or a poem on Wednesday. The second and final part of our series on Zephaniah will be posted on the Weekend Sermon on Saturday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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