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ZEPHANIAH
(640 B.C.)
10
Zeph 3:1 Ah, sullied,
polluted,
Overbearing city!
She has been disobedient,
Has learned no lesson;…
The officials within her
Are roaring lions…
Her judges are wolves of the
steppe;…
Her prophets are reckless,
Faithless fellows;
Her priests profane what is holy…
Zeph 3:5 The wrong doer knows no shame.
This is addressed to an ancient
city. I offer it as an example of the scriptural image of
many cities as places of great evil. As always, the
harshest criticisms are against the leaders; political,
economic, religious, and otherwise:
Zeph 3:8 But wait for Me –
says the Lord –
for the day when I arise as an
accuser:
when I decide to gather nations,
to bring kingdoms together.
To pour out my indignation on them,…
Zeph 3:9 For then I will make
the peoples of pure speech,
so that they will invoke the Lord by
name,
and serve Him with one accord…
Zeph 3:11 In that day,
You (Israel & Judah) will no longer
be shamed for all the deeds
By which you have defied Me.
For then I will remove the proud and
exultant within you,
And you will be haughty no more
In My holy land.
But I will leave within you
A poor, humble folk,
And they shall find refuge
In the name of the Lord.
The remnant of Israel
Shall do no wrong
Zeph 3:13 And speak no
falsehood;…
Zeph 3:14 Shout for joy, Fair
Zion,
Cry aloud, O Israel!
Rejoice and be glad with all your
heart,
Fair Jerusalem!
The Lord has annulled the judgment
against you
He has swept away your foes.
Israel’s Sovereign the Lord is
within you;
You need fear misfortune no more.
When "the Lord" comes he will act
as a judge of the nations whom he gathers together. The
judgment is very negative and so he is an "accuser."
Reunited Israel will be "shamed no
more" because the judgment against them for breaking their
covenant with God will be "annulled," as if it never was.
This will be done because the "proud and exultant" leaders
will be "removed" from within Israel and, from within the
world’s nations. It is very important to notice that the
cause of the broken covenant is the presence and leadership
of this same "proud and exultant" group who have led the
majority of the people astray. The world will be getting
a leadership transplant! Out with the bad and in with
the good. Also, the poor and humble folk will find refuge in
the Lord and are among the remnant. Among the remnant is the
remnant of Israel who are Christians that have been
perfected through the trial period and now "do no wrong" and
"speak no falsehood." Also notice that "Israel’s Sovereign"
dwells personally among the peoples of reunited Israel. I
believe this to be Melchizedek, the new Planetary Sovereign.
The next verse Zephaniah 3:16 through 3:20 (the end) is also
regarding the Messianic period and covers similar territory
to what we have just been over.
Next in line is the great prophet
Jeremiah. |
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