This week, we discussed the judgment of God in Zephaniah 1 & 2. I'll be honest and tell you that #1, I have never studied Zephaniah and #2 it is hard for me to grasp the judgment of God. However, you cannot understand God's love and grace without God's law. By God giving us His law, He is gracious and loving.
In Zephaniah 1 God says,
4" And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarim with the priests; 5 and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship, that swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam;
6 and them that are turned back from following Jehovah; and those that have not sought Jehovah, nor inquired after him."
Phew! Those are some pretty hard words to swallow. When we read this passage, our group talked about the saying that "God hates the sin but loves the sinner". However, after studying this passage can we say that is true? It seems to me that God hates the sin and the sinner. God is righteous and glorious. The fact is that a person won't understand grace until they understand their need for grace.
Zephaniah 1:10-13 was what really struck me though. It says,
"On that day," declares the LORD,
"a cry will be heard from(T) the Fish Gate,
(U) a wail from(V) the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11(W) Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders[c] are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12At that time(X) I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
(Y) who are complacent,[d]
(Z) those who say in their hearts,
'The LORD will not do good,
nor will he do ill.'
13Their goods shall be(AA) plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
(AB) Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
(AC) though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them."
He will punish people who are complacent and those who say in their hearts, The LORD will not do good nor will he do ill. As a believer, we should continually be striving to conform more into the image of Christ. This does not mean we will reach perfection. At the end of Paul's life, he still claimed to be the "chief of all sinners". However, each day we should continually strive to be more like Christ (with His grace and help), refusing to be complacent."a cry will be heard from(T) the Fish Gate,
(U) a wail from(V) the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11(W) Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders[c] are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12At that time(X) I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
(Y) who are complacent,[d]
(Z) those who say in their hearts,
'The LORD will not do good,
nor will he do ill.'
13Their goods shall be(AA) plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
(AB) Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
(AC) though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them."
The most dangerous thing that I could do is fall into complacency and rob God of the glory He deserves. It is a daily battle but should be one that I continually fight with God's help. At the end of our GCG, we were left with the statement, "If I didn't have __________ I wouldn't be content". What would fill that blank in your life? Can you be content in Christ alone or have idols formed in your heart that have caused you to fall into complacency?
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