{"id":9350,"date":"2020-05-22T20:00:32","date_gmt":"2020-05-23T03:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=9350"},"modified":"2020-05-22T21:50:03","modified_gmt":"2020-05-23T04:50:03","slug":"zephaniah2_1-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/zephaniah2_1-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Plunder Hell, Populate Heaven"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zephaniah 2:1-15 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Zephaniah 2:1-15.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Zephaniah 2:1-15 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Gather together, gather together, O shameful nation,
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0before the appointed time arrives and that day sweeps on like chaff, before the fierce anger of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0comes upon you, before the day of theLORD’s wrath comes upon you.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Seek the\u00a0LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the\u00a0LORD’s anger.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-3:\u00a0 Here Zephaniah implores the people of Judah to seek the Lord and to humble themselves before it is too late, \u201cbefore the day of the Lord\u2019s wrath comes upon you\u201d (v2).\u00a0 Later on in this chapter, Zephaniah will introduce the idea of the \u201cremnant\u201d, that is, a group within the people of Judah who continued to seek the Lord and humble themselves before Him despite the widespread sin and rebellion around them.\u00a0 Zephaniah and other Old Testament prophesy about how the Lord will preserve and rescue this remnant from the destruction He pronounced on the land of Judah.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 While God has wrath toward sin, He also has compassion toward those who humbly seek Him.\u00a0 The same God who warns about coming destruction almost always seems to provide a way of escape as well.\u00a0\u00a0Praise God that when we were subject to certain wrath and destruction, God made a way for us to escape through Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>When we seek humility by trusting in Jesus Christ and not in ourselves, we become part of a remnant whom God will preserve and save from His wrath.<\/p>\n

Zephaniah 2:4-7 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Woe to you who live by the sea, O Kerethite people; the word of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines. “I will destroy you, and none will be left.”
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The land by the sea, where the Kerethites dwell, will be a place for shepherds and sheep pens.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; there they will find pasture. In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon. The\u00a0LORDtheir God will care for them; he will restore their fortunes.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 4-7:\u00a0 Zephaniah describes a time when Judah\u2019s long-time enemy the Philistines will be destroyed and their land turned over to God\u2019s people as pasture for their sheep (v6).\u00a0 In taking over the land of the Philistines, God will restore the fortunes of His people.\u00a0 As verse 7 says, \u201c\u2026The Lord their God will care for them; he will restore their fortunes\u201d.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 Here in chapter 2 when Zephaniah describes what the Lord will do to the enemies of Judah, I see this as a picture of what Jesus will do to His enemies as well.\u00a0 For example, here we see that God will restore the fortunes of His people by taking over the land of the Philistines.\u00a0 Likewise,\u00a0Jesus has come to restore you by taking back what His enemy Satan has stolen from you, including peace, joy, hope, purpose, and freedom.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zephaniah 2:8-11 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I have heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammonites, who insulted my people and made threats against their land.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the\u00a0LORD\u00a0Almighty, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will become like Sodom, the Ammonites like Gomorrah– a place of weeds and salt pits, a wasteland forever. The remnant of my people will plunder them; the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.”
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0Almighty.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the land. The nations on every shore will worship him, every one in its own land.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 8-11:\u00a0 In return for their pride, insults and threats against God\u2019s people (v8, 10), God will ensure that His people will plunder the Moabites and Ammonites and inherit their land (v9).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Just as the Lord would cause His people to plunder their enemies, Jesus is activating His church to plunder hell and populate heaven.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0As He says in Matthew 16:18, \u201cI will build my church and the gates of hell will not overcome it.\u201d\u00a0 Church, our commander in chief Jesus Christ has given us a mission to search for and rescue those who are held captive by our enemy Satan.\u00a0 You have an important role to play in this mission by leading those around you to Jesus, the One who can rescue them.
\n
\nZephaniah 2:12-15 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“You too, O Cushites, will be slain by my sword.”
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Flocks and herds will lie down there, creatures of every kind. The desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns. Their calls will echo through the windows, rubble will be in the doorways, the beams of cedar will be exposed.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is the carefree city that lived in safety. She said to herself, “I am, and there is none besides me.” What a ruin she has become, a lair for wild beasts! All who pass by her scoff and shake their fists.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 12-15:\u00a0 Here the Lord speaks against Cush (v12) and Assyria (v13-15), predicting destruction for both of these nations. Assyria in particular was seen as a \u201ccarefree city that lived in safety\u201d (v15), a city in love with herself \u2013 \u201cI am, and there is none beside me\u201d (v15).\u00a0 Yet, as history would show, Assyria would be brought down from her powerful heights.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 Pride goes before a fall.\u00a0\u00a0When things are going well, beware becoming prideful and complacent as Assyria did.\u00a0 For God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, You sent Your Son Jesus to die on the cross and to rise again so that You could plunder hell and populate heaven.\u00a0 Holy Spirit fill me today that I would be a useful player on Your team, someone You use to plunder hell and populate heaven by leading others to You.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Zephaniah 2:1-15.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

On verses 1-3:\u00a0 Here Zephaniah implores the people of Judah to seek the Lord and to humble themselves before it is too late, \u201cbefore the day of the Lord\u2019s wrath comes upon you\u201d (v2).\u00a0 Later on in this chapter, Zephaniah will introduce the idea of the \u201cremnant\u201d, that is, a group within the people of Judah who continued to seek the Lord and humble themselves before Him despite the widespread sin and rebellion around them.\u00a0 Zephaniah and other Old Testament prophesy about how the Lord will preserve and rescue this remnant from the destruction He pronounced on the land of Judah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9350"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9353,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9350\/revisions\/9353"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}