Zephaniah
3 reminds me of an expression my mom used; “clean off your own
stoop first”. That was her way of calling out those too quick to
find fault in others. A “stoop” is the term for the wide stone
or brick stairway that led from street level to the main floor of
urban housing in old NY neighborhoods. They were gathering places
for conversations, and a place for keeping an eye on things out
front. Listen to today’s stoop conversation, “Woe
to her…rebellious and
defiled! She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not
trust in the Lord, she does not draw near to her God“.
My goodness we do not want her living next door. More than that,
“her rulers are evening wolves,
who leave nothing for the morning. Her
prophets are unprincipled… Her
priests… do
violence to the law“. We
can’t have these kinds of people in our neighborhood! I picture
the prophet leaning out the window above, dispensing wisdom, “The
Lord within her is righteous; He does no wrong… He
does not fail… yet the
unrighteous know no shame“.
Many heads nod in agreement, until he adds God’s perspective, “Of
Jerusalem I thought, ‘Surely you will fear Me and accept
correction!’“. In stunned
silence they realize that they
themselves are the rebellious ones, “still
eager to act corruptly“.
God speaks warning to the people in the
streets of Jerusalem, “Therefore
wait for Me, for the day I will stand up to testify“.
Some of us have done a good job of silencing the witnesses of our
past by moving uptown, but leaving home does not remove our history.
He describes a coming world-wide judgment, “I
have decided to
assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out My
wrath“. Remember, God’s
standard is perfection. Perhaps you have avoided jail time, but
according to Romans 3:23, “All
have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God“.
God offers full restoration! Have you been busy tidying up your
life?
I believe the last section refers to the
time after judgment, when Christ reigns again in the old
neighborhood. The book closes with a list of promises from God
beginning with “I will“.
There will come a day when God “will
purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the Name
of the Lord
and serve Him“.
He continues, “On that day…
I will remove from you your
arrogant boasters“. This
probably includes all who think too proud to ask for God’s
forgiveness. “The remnant of
Israel will trust in the Name of the Lord“.
Do not miss the significance, “The
Lord has taken away your punishment“.
Messiah does not eliminate the punishment, He took it onto Himself.
He paid our penalty on the cross, and this is why Zephaniah calls
Him, “the Mighty Warrior who
saves“.
After the sin that separates us
is removed, “in His love He
will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing“.
For now we lift our praises up, but then, He will sing in the midst
of His people. Finally He adds, “I
will remove… your appointed festivals, which is a burden… for
you“. The old traditions will
no longer be needed because every one of them will be fulfilled in
His return. “At that time…
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes
before your very eyes“.
Friend, is it time to stop sweeping up your mess and ask God to renew
your whole life?