Zephaniah 3:1-8 Judah’s Judgment

Judah’s judgment is fast approaching in the time of Zephaniah. This won’t be her only judgment but it will be significant. It will change her forever.

I don’t know if Zephaniah saw the end of Judah or not. His time was after the most ungodly time in Judah’s history; that of Manasseh’s rule. We are told he was in the time of Josiah.

Josiah brought the people back to God but not everyone came with their whole heart. Many hung onto the practices of idol worship. Many came back in half measures; not with their whole heart. This was NOT what God required or requires today.

The kings who followed Josiah did NOT follow after his heart. Most of them were ‘puppet kings’ who served other nations as their vassal rulers. NONE held Judah faithful to their God. Most of them persecuted anyone speaking out for the Lord. Jeremiah is a prime example of such treatment. He was mocked, beaten, put in the stocks, thrown in a cistern, and kept in the guardhouse. Then, when Judah finally fell, he was carried to Egypt against his will. We haven’t seen yet how Zephaniah was treated for his words. We are pretty sure that his words weren’t accepted any better than the other prophets.

Judah refused to listen, so she would suffer the consequences. God was not about to punish the rest of the world and leave Judah unscathed. Judah was the one who was supposed to be closes to Him. She was to show the rest of the world what a relationship with God offered. They were to show a TRUE heart that would follow His commands.

We all know how THAT didn’t happen. So, God made a different kind of example of them. He not only showed his judgment but would show His restoration too. No other nation in history has fallen and risen again like Israel. Each time she falls, she learns another lesson about following the Lord. After this first captivity, I don’t believe she ever brought idols into God’s house again. She certainly didn’t preserve God’s Temple’s holiness, or Jesus wouldn’t have had to “clean” it at LEAST once. But neither were other gods allowed to have sacrifices offered on His alters.

Judah was about to learn a lesson that she refused to learn any other way. God will NOT share the hearts of His people. Israel, today, still has a vital lesson to learn. That is that their Messiah IS the very One that they refuse to accept. But their refusal to accept Him is what opened the way for you and I to receive Him. And, that too, was part of God’s plan.

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE looking back and seeing how God’s plan has unfolded throughout the ages. There are MANY places where I want to take the one in the story by the shoulders and SHAKE THE SNOT OUT OF THEM because of how I see that they have ‘missed it’. The generation who fell in the wilderness would be on the top of my ‘shaking’ list. The Sanhedrin of Jesus’ time would be another group. Them PAYING the guards to lie about Jesus’ resurrection is the ‘icing on the cake’ for me. They KNEW He rose, yet perpetuated their own lies.

One thing that strikes me as ironic about that last story is that they EXPECTED something to happen on the third day. They thought it would probably be His disciples who ‘pretended’ He rose. While His own disciples didn’t expect anything to happen. They weren’t even looking at the third day with ANY anticipation. Those who didn’t believe in Jesus gave more attention to His words than those who walked with Him daily. The women who went to the tomb that day didn’t come to see a risen Savior but a dead body.

Pretty ironic if you ask me. I wonder if that will be the case with end times events. I wonder what I will miss because I’m focused on myself instead of Him.

Father God, THANK YOU for Your discipline. As hard as it is, it has saved my life on more than one occasion. Thank You for the direction and redirection You have put into my life that has drawn me closer to You. I don’t even want to think about where I would be without it!!!

Help me NEVER lose the changes the lessons You have brought for me have written into my life. Keep me learning every day too.