8 October 2017
I. Introduction
-- turn
in Bibles to Zephaniah 3:9-17
9“Then I will
purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call on the name of
the Lord
and serve him shoulder to shoulder.
10
From beyond the
rivers of Cush
my worshipers, my scattered people,
will bring me offerings.
11
On that day you,
Jerusalem, will not be put to shame
for all the wrongs you have done to me,
because I will
remove from you
your arrogant boasters.
Never again will
you be haughty
on my holy hill.
12
But I will leave
within you
the meek and humble.
The remnant of
Israel
will trust in the name of the Lord.
13
They will do no
wrong;
they will tell no lies.
A deceitful tongue
will not be found in their mouths.
They will eat and
lie down
and no one will make them afraid.”
14
Sing, Daughter
Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and
rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15
The Lord has taken
away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King
of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
16
On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear,
Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
17
The Lord your God
is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great
delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
-- last
Sunday evening the deadliest shooting in American history occurred as Stephen
Paddock began shooting at concert-goers in a nearby venue from the 32nd floor
of the Mandalay Bay hotel -- in the aftermath of the shooting, 58 people were
killed and over 500 wounded before police stormed Paddock’s hotel room and
found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound
-- this
incident is the latest in a series of violent attacks in our country, and
although crime and violence has trended down over the last fifteen years,
attacks like this one in Las Vegas point to the devastation and heartbreak
involved -- especially when the attacks involve multiple fatalities or injuries
-- since
9-11 there have been over 210 terrorist attacks in this country, with many more
being thwarted by law enforcement -- in the last decade, there has been an
increase in violent protests over a variety of issues -- and our news is
commonly filled with stories of violence
--
adding to all this are the unprecedented natural disasters -- experienced not
only here, but around the world -- just this year, we have had major hurricanes
in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico -- a large earthquake in Mexico -- and
continuing famine in Africa
--
everywhere we look, we see tribulation unfolding -- trials unimaginable --
difficulties abounding
-- the
question on everyone’s lips this week -- the question we always ask after an
act of violence or a natural disaster -- is always “Why?” -- why is this
happening? -- Why doesn’t God do something about it?
--
that’s exactly what the Book of Habakkuk was about -- that was the indictment
of Habakkuk against God -- “God, why don’t you do anything about the evil in
the land?” -- Habakkuk 1:2, we read, "Yahweh, how long will I cry, and
you will not hear? I cry out to you “Violence!” and will you not save?"
-- those
very same questions were heard this week around the country
-- so,
what is the answer to this question? -- why do trials and troubles and
tribulations come to all of us? -- since we know God to be all-powerful and
all-loving, why does this happen?
II. Trials and Tribulations
-- there
are many reasons we experience these in our world today:
--
first, we experience trials and tribulations because we live in a fallen world
where sin and chaos abound -- as we saw this week in Las Vegas, the consequences
of sin and evil reach beyond the individual and impact the many -- and much of
the trouble in this world comes because of sin
--
additionally, the chaos and the curse from the fall in the Garden of Eden
affected not only mankind, but all creation -- the Bible tells us that thorns
and thistles came after the fall -- and, as we move farther and farther away
from God’s original, perfect creation, all of nature is affected -- resulting
in the chaos of natural disasters that affects all our lives
--
thankfully, as horrendous as these trials and tribulations may be, we
experience God’s grace in the midst of the storm -- God redeems these trials through
acts of grace -- speaking out to an unbelieving world to call them to the cross
and a saving knowledge of Jesus
-- the
second reason why believers might experience trials and tribulations may be
because of unconfessed or unrepentant sin -- the Bible tells us that God brings
chastisement and discipline on believers as an act of loving kindness -- the
same way we discipline our children to steer them from wrong to right, God
disciplines those He loves to lead us towards repentance, renewal, and
restoration
-- the
third reason is that God sometimes allows trials and tribulations into our
lives for the purpose of testing our faith -- Spurgeon wrote: “our heavenly
Father sends us frequent troubles to try our faith -- if your faith be worth
anything, it will stand the test -- it is a poor faith which can only trust God
when friends are true, the body full of health, and the business profitable --
but [it is a] true faith which holds by the Lord’s faithfulness when friends
are gone, when the body is sick, when spirits are depressed, and the light of
our Father’s countenance is hidden”
-- this
testing of our faith serves to strengthen it so we can withstand the storms of
life without wavering -- just to give you an example -- right before the
hurricane, we had a timber harvest at work -- we went through a stand and
thinned it -- removing about half of the trees there and leaving the rest so
they could grow -- these trees had been sheltered their whole lives -- they had
been surrounded by other trees and so had never felt the effect of the winds
and rains alone -- because of this, their roots had not grown deep -- they were
not as strong as a tree which grows alone and experiences stresses to make it strong
--so, when the hurricane hit our area last month, the majority of the remaining
trees fell -- they could not resist the storm and were toppled over -- by
testing our faith, God strengthens it so we won’t topple and fall when trials
and tribulations hit us
-- one
of other thing these trials and tribulations do for believers is to increase
our longing for heaven and the presence of God -- to quote Spurgeon once again:
“present afflictions tend also to heighten future joy -- could we be so
supremely blessed in heaven, if we had not known the curse of sin and the
sorrow of earth? -- will not peace be sweeter after conflict, and rest more
welcome after toil? -- will not the recollection of past sufferings enhance the
bliss of the glorified?”
--
suffering trials and tribulations here make us look longingly towards our
eternal rest and the glories of heaven that await
III. Scripture Lesson (Zephaniah 3:9-17)
-- we
all have to go through trials and tribulations in our lives -- we experience
loss and heartbreak -- sickness and death -- some of us experience violence and
crime and the effects of natural disasters -- regardless of what we are going
through -- regardless of the reason why God allows it -- we certainly have
asked the question, “Will it ever end? “
-- that
is one of the themes of the Book of Zephaniah -- Zephaniah is one of the twelve
minor prophets -- the minor prophets is the term used for the last twelve
prophetic books of the Old Testament -- they are called “minor,” not in terms of
their importance, but because of the length of the book -- these are all small
books with few chapters, but it includes such notable authors as Jonah,
Habakkuk, Zechariah, and Micah -- Zephaniah is one of these authors
-- Chapter 1 through the eighth verse
of Chapter 3 is a prophecy of trials and tribulations awaiting the nation of
Israel and the world -- it points to the exile of the people of Judah as a
consequence of their sins and addresses God’s wrath on the nations surrounding
Judah during the Old Testament days
--
however, scholars agree that the trials and tribulations identified in this
book point to the coming Great Tribulation from the Book of Revelation -- when
God’s wrath will be poured out against all the nations because of their sin and
their rejection of His Son Jesus Christ
-- the
basic premise and warning of the Book of Zephaniah is that judgment is coming
-- that the wrath of God is coming to purge the earth of sin and evil in order
to cleanse and purify the earth in preparation for the second coming of Jesus
-- but
after his dire prophetic pronouncement of God’s wrath and tribulation coming
against the earth, Zephaniah answers that question, “When will it end?” --
let’s look at his answer to this question now
-- if
you would, look back with me at verse 9
9“Then I will
purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call on the name of
the Lord
and serve him shoulder to shoulder.
-- verse
9 opens with the word, “then” -- when reading prophecy, pay attention to words
like “therefore” and “then” -- these indicate a turn -- a change -- a time when
the Lord is moving in response to what went before -- when you see the word
“then,” you should ask, “When is then?” and “What happens then?”1
-- in
this case, “then” marks the transition between the horrors of God’s wrath and
judgment on the world -- of the effects of the trials and troubles of the Great
Tribulation -- to the glorious coming of the Lord -- the inauguration the
millennial kingdom -- the restoration of all things and the passing of evil and
sin once and for all
-- God
tells us that He will purify the lips of the people -- “purified lips” speaks
of salvation -- of being born again -- of being pure inside and out -- as Jesus
said in Matthew 15:18, “the words we speak come from the heart” -- it also
calls to mind Isaiah’s vision before the throne, when the seraphim touched his
lips with a hot coal to purify them
-- it
says, “all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve Him shoulder to
shoulder” -- this is the realization of the moment Paul wrote about in
Philippians 2:10 that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord -- the picture here is of one people -- a
holy nation comprised of Jews and Gentiles together -- existing in one accord
and serving God together to bring Him glory
-- the
holiness and unity of the people stand in stark contrast to the sin, rebellion,
and division in this world today
-- vs.
10
10
From beyond the
rivers of Cush
my worshipers, my scattered people,
will bring me offerings.
-- “from
beyond the rivers of Cush” -- Cush is another name for Ethiopia -- “from beyond
the rivers of Cush, my worshipers, my scattered people” -- the Lord is
referring here to the true believers scattered in the lands beyond Israel -- including
both the believing Jews outside of Israel -- the Diaspora -- and the believing Gentiles
-- the
picture we are given is of all peoples and all nations streaming to Jerusalem
to worship Christ as King and making offerings of love and gratitude above
those prescribed in the law -- if you remember from John’s vision of the throne
in Revelation 4, he wrote of the twenty-four elders and the worshipers who
would throw down their golden crowns around the glassy sea -- these are the
offerings Zephaniah speaks of here
-- verse
11
11
On that day you,
Jerusalem, will not be put to shame
for all the wrongs you have done to me,
because I will
remove from you
your arrogant boasters.
Never again will
you be haughty
on my holy hill.
12
But I will leave
within you
the meek and humble.
The remnant of
Israel
will trust in the name of the Lord.
13
They will do no
wrong;
they will tell no lies.
A deceitful tongue
will not be found in their mouths.
They will eat and
lie down
and no one will make them afraid.”
-- these
verses speak of the coming revival among the Jews, as the Jewish people come to
know Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah -- in the Book of Revelation, we read
of the 144,000 Jewish witnesses who God raises up during the Great Tribulation
to preach to the remnant of Israel -- what we are seeing in these verses is the
result of their efforts -- it speaks of the remnant of Israel who have come
through the Great Tribulation and have come to faith in Jesus as their Lord and
Savior
--
Zephaniah writes of the change in these believers -- they will no longer feel
shame from the wrongs they have done -- their pride is replaced with humility
-- they do not wrong -- they speak no lies -- there is no deceit in their
mouths -- and they live in complete peace and unity
-- these
verses demonstrate the spiritual principle that true repentance leads to
righteousness -- to removal of sin and shame -- as we put our faith and trust
in Jesus’ atoning death on the cross
-- sin
and shame and guilt will pass from us forever -- these will not be present in
heaven -- these will only be a memory eclipsed by the grace of God
-- verse
14
14
Sing, Daughter
Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and
rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15
The Lord has taken
away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King
of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
16
On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear,
Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
17
The Lord your God
is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great
delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
-- these
verses dramatically answer the question, “when will the trials and tribulations
-- when will these troubles end?”
-- this
is a passage of triumph, as God’s wrath and judgment come to an end -- His
atoning and restoring work is completed -- the Kingdom of Christ is established
-- sin and death are vanquished and the bride of Christ is finally joined with her
Bridegroom
-- the
scene we are given in this passage is one of joy and love and exultation and
happiness -- we will finally experience the true meaning of the emotions
expressed in the song, “Oh, Happy Day”:
“Oh, happy day
Oh, happy day
Oh, happy day
When Jesus washed
Oh, when He washed
When Jesus washed
My sins away, yeah
He taught me how, how to watch
How to fight and pray, fight and
pray
And living rejoicing everyday
Oh, happy day
Oh, happy day”2
-- keep
in mind, this is a Jewish prophet speaking to the Jewish people -- this passage
is, first and foremost, concerning the return of the Jewish people to the true
Messiah -- it speaks of the joy they will experience as they come to know Jesus
and see the long-awaited for redemption of Israel
--
however, this passage also speaks to us, because our joy will be made complete
when we are finally joined with our Lord and Savior in the heavenly kingdom --
what Zephaniah says the Jews will experience and do in these verses can
certainly be extended to us, although we can never share the joy they will feel
as they see Jerusalem and Israel redeemed and restored as promised by God to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to the remnant that experienced the exile into
Assyria and Babylon
-- the
scene around the throne proclaimed to us here will be one of exultant praise --
Zephaniah tells us we will sing and rejoice at our salvation made whole -- eternity
with Christ will be a time of “unsurpassed joy”3 -- as J.B. Phillip
wrote: “only a redeemed people can truly sing” -- Zephaniah tells us that the
Lord, the King of Israel, would be with us -- we will live with Him and in Him
-- we will truly experience Jesus’ words where He told us He would never leave
us nor forsake us -- and we will truly know Him as Immanuel -- God with us
forever
--
couple other things before we move on:
-- in
verse 15, Zephaniah prophesied the atoning death of the Messiah -- this is a
description of the redemption of Jesus on the cross of Calvary -- Jesus took
our punishment -- He endured the wrath of God so that we might have forgiveness
of sin and reconciliation with the Father -- He turned back our enemies of sin
and death
-- one
other interesting note about these verses -- there is a parallel between verses
14 and 17 -- it is almost a duet, as we rejoice in God and sin our praises to
Him and He rejoices in us and sings His glory over us -- look at the
similarities:
--
we rejoice in God and God rejoices in us
--
we sing to God and He sings over us
--
we pour out our love and we experience the quiet and rest of His love poured
out onto us
-- these
verses are verses of joy and hope for those caught in the midst of the storms
of life -- it is light for those in the darkness -- it is salvation and
redemption from the trials and tribulations of earth
-- as
someone once wrote: “You may be downcast, despairing, depressed, or
disillusioned this day, but look up dear one, for a new day is dawning -- a day
of righteousness and truth and justice in the presence of the Righteous One
Himself, the long awaited and longed for Messiah -- Hasten that glorious day,
Lord God, when our mourning is turned into dancing!”1
-- the
message of the Book of Zephaniah is that when things look the darkest, know
that God is with us -- He is mighty to save -- His hand will redeem and He will
restore us and protect us in the day of evil
IV. CLOSING
-- so,
while we look forward to joining the Lord in the realization of this passage in
heaven, we are still going to leave here and go back to a world filled with sin
and evil -- we will walk out those doors and into a world where evil destroys
the innocent -- where lives can be lost because of the sin of just one man
-- so,
until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ again -- until we experience the
wedding feast of the Lamb in heaven and rejoice before the throne forever --
what do we do
-- in
light of the events of Las Vegas this week, what can we do when evil and sin --
when trials and tribulations -- enter our lives and our world?
1. Just as God taught Habakkuk, we should wait
for the Lord’s judgment -- in Zephaniah 3:8, God tells us, “therefore, wait for
Me -- elsewhere in Scripture, God said, “vengeance is mine”
--
although it may sometimes feel like evil is winning, know that God is still in
charge -- He is not incapable -- He is merely holding His hand at this moment --
judgment is coming -- God’s wrath will come against the sin and evil -- we
should wait on His hand to move -- as it says in Zephaniah 3:8, God Himself will
right the wrongs and restore the righteous
2. In Zephaniah 3:2, we are told to seek the
Lord and be obedient to His commands -- we should seek righteousness and
humility -- we are to walk humbly with our God and strive to demonstrate His
love in our loves to those around us
-- we
should not react to evil in similar fashion, but show love to those who strike
us -- love to those who do us wrong -- in this way, we will live pure and holy
lives in the light of God’s grace and mercy
3. We need to pray to God that those who do not
know Him would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ -- pray for our
families, our friends, our neighbors, our country, and our enemies
--
Christians should remember that the government does not hold the answer to sin
and evil -- you cannot legislate morality -- people’s hearts will not change in
response to legal mandates -- also, laws are fickle and change based on the
current political, social, and cultural environment
-- our
country has been instituting laws for years that are opposed to the laws of God
-- what was once considered immoral is now celebrated in our streets -- so laws
will not change this world -- gun control will not change the hearts of those
bent on destruction -- the only thing that will change this world is the saving
grace of Jesus Christ
4. We need to fulfill the Great Commandment and
the Great Commission -- we need to love the Lord our God with all our heart and
mind and soul and strength and we need to love our neighbor as ourselves -- we
need to reach out to those around us with the love of God and make disciples of
all nations
-- this
means ministering to people around you physically, materially, financially, and
spiritually
-- how
can you help those in Las Vegas? -- how can you help those affected by the
natural disasters? -- one way is to reach out to them by supporting
organizations that are on the ground ministering to them or by directly
ministering to them if they are in your area
-- the
message of the Book of Zephaniah is one of hope -- despite events like Las
Vegas -- despite the hurricanes and the earthquakes -- the crime and the
violence -- hope springs eternal -- good is coming -- the King is coming -- and
His kingdom will be established on earth
-- by
holding on to the promise of Heaven, we will be strengthened in our faith and
will be able to stand against the storms of life
-- do
not give up hope -- do not despair -- for God is in control and all things will
come to pass as His word proclaims
-- let
us pray
2 http://www.metrolyrics.com/oh-happy-days-lyrics-aretha-franklin.html
3 NIV Study Bible
