{"id":9460,"date":"2020-05-24T20:00:34","date_gmt":"2020-05-25T03:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=9460"},"modified":"2020-05-24T15:53:27","modified_gmt":"2020-05-24T22:53:27","slug":"zephaniah3_1-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/zephaniah3_1-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Makes All The Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zephaniah 3:1-19 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

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Today’s passage is Zephaniah 3:1-19.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/div>\n
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Zephaniah 3:1-7 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Woe to the city of oppressors,\u00a0rebellious and defiled!
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0She obeys no one,\u00a0she accepts no correction.\u00a0She does not trust in the\u00a0LORD,\u00a0she does not draw near to her God.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Her officials are roaring lions,\u00a0her rulers are evening wolves,\u00a0who leave nothing for the morning.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Her prophets are arrogant;\u00a0they are treacherous men.\u00a0Her priests profane the sanctuary\u00a0and do violence to the law.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0within her is righteous;\u00a0he does no wrong.\u00a0Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,\u00a0and every new day he does not fail,\u00a0yet the unrighteous know no shame.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I have cut off nations;\u00a0their strongholds are demolished.\u00a0I have left their streets deserted,\u00a0with no one passing through.\u00a0Their cities are destroyed;\u00a0no one will be left–no one at all.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I said to the city,\u00a0‘Surely you will fear me\u00a0and accept correction!’\u00a0Then her dwelling would not be cut off,\u00a0nor all my punishments come upon her.\u00a0But they were still eager\u00a0to act corruptly in all they did.<\/em>On verses 1-7:\u00a0 Chapter 3 of Zephaniah begins with God expressing His utter displeasure with the city of Jerusalem.\u00a0 He describes the people of Jerusalem as rebellious and unholy (v1), disobedient and unteachable (v2a), refusing to trust God or draw near to Him (v2b).\u00a0 He describes Jerusalem’s political and military leaders as lions and wolves (v3), her prophets as arrogant and deceitful (v4), and her priests as hypocrites (v5).\u00a0 The only One righteous in Jerusalem is the Lord Himself (v5), who “does no wrong” (v5) and who continues to act justly despite the unrighteousness around Him (v5).\u00a0 In verses 6 and 7, the Lord laments how despite disciplining Jerusalem with hardship, the people of Jerusalem continued to act corruptly.What can we learn from this?\u00a0 There are a number of lessons we can learn from this:
\n1. God has a heart not just for individuals, but for cities as well.\u00a0 God has a heart for your city.
\n2. God’s heart is grieved when people, especially leaders, act corruptly.
\n3.\u00a0God is faithful even when people are unfaithful.\u00a0 His integrity is not dependent on His environment.\u00a0 May we be the same way.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zephaniah 3:8-10 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore wait for me,” declares the\u00a0LORD, “for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them– all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0and serve him shoulder to shoulder.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-13:\u00a0 Verses 8 to 13 are the turning point of chapter 3.\u00a0 Before verse 8, the Lord was speaking of how displeasing Jerusalem was to Him.\u00a0 After verse 13, the Lord will speak about Jerusalem in glowing terms.\u00a0 What happened in verses 8-13 that caused such a change in the Lord\u2019s attitude toward Jerusalem?\u00a0 \u00a0It was nothing that the people did; rather it was what God would do.\u00a0 In verses 8-10 God promises to pour out His wrath and fierce anger on the nations (v8), purify the lips of the peoples (v9) and gather them together (v10) so that they would call on the name of the Lord and serve the Lord shoulder to shoulder (v9).\u00a0 The Lord also promises to remove all the prideful from Jerusalem (v11).\u00a0 Yet He also promises to leave a remnant of people in the city who are meek and humble before the Lord (v12).\u00a0 God promises to protect this remnant (v13).<\/p>\n

In other words, to summarize verses 8 to 13, God decides to do something about the problems He sees in Jerusalem, to make whatever changes are necessary to transform Jerusalem from a “city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled” (v1) to a city that God takes great delight in (v17).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Our God is a proactive God.\u00a0 When He sees problems, God is not the type to just complain about it.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Rather God is proactive about finding solutions to those problems.<\/strong>\u00a0 Likewise, when you see problems in your city, workplace, school, church or home, don’t just complain about it, criticize or blame others for it.\u00a0 Be part of the solution.<\/p>\n

Zephaniah 3:14-20 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The\u00a0LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“The sorrows for the appointed feasts I will remove from you; they are a burden and a reproach to you.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the\u00a0LORD.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 14-20:\u00a0 Here the book of Zephaniah ends with an exciting and hopeful vision for the city of Jerusalem.\u00a0 It’s a vision of God removing punishment, fear, and shame from Jerusalem and instead infusing Jerusalem with rejoicing.\u00a0 It’s a vision of God delighting in Jerusalem and restoring her to a place of honour once again.
\nI believe verses 14 to 20 are a picture of what God would do for us through His Son Jesus Christ.\u00a0 For example:<\/p>\n

– Through Jesus Christ, we went from being objects of God\u2019s wrath who had every reason to fear, to objects of God\u2019s mercy who have every reason to rejoice (v14).\u00a0 (“Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!”)
\n– Through Jesus Christ, the punishment we deserve has been taken away (v15a \u2013 \u201cThe Lord has taken away your punishment; he has turned back your enemy\u201d).
\n– Through Jesus Christ God is now with us (v15b \u2013 \u201cThe Lord, the King of Israel, is with you).
\n– Through Jesus Christ God\u2019s perfect love drives out fear (v15b-16).\u00a0 As verse 15b says, \u201cnever again will you fear any harm\u201d.
\n– Through Jesus Christ we know that God is \u201cmighty to save\u201d (v17), that He takes \u201cgreat delight in you\u201d (v17).
\n– Through Jesus Christ we know the intimacy of His loving presence.\u00a0 As verse 17b says, \u201cHe will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.\u201d
\n– Through Jesus Christ our sorrows are removed and our burdens are lifted (v18).
\n– Through Jesus Christ we have someone to defend us against those who had oppressed us, someone to rescue us when we were lost and scattered, someone to honour us in those very places where we experienced shame (v19).
\n– Through Jesus Christ we have someone to gather us and bring us home (v20), someone to restore us and give us honour (v20).<\/p>\n

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all of God\u2019s promises in verses 14 to 20.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You that though at one time You were displeased with us, You proactively sent Your Son Jesus Christ to take on Your wrath on our behalf, to purify us, to gather us to Yourself so that with Your Son and with other brothers and sisters in Christ we can stand shoulder to shoulder and worship You.\u00a0 Jesus, thank You for being the One who took away God’s displeasure toward us and made possible God’s pleasure toward us.\u00a0 Thank You for being the fulfillment of every good and favourable promise God has made.\u00a0 In Jesus’ name, AMEN!<\/em><\/div>\n
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This brings our look at the book of Zephaniah to a close.\u00a0 What are the most impactful lessons you learned from this book?\u00a0 I encourage you to write them down in the margins of your Bible and keep them in a note near Zephaniah so that whenever you come across this book you’ll be reminded of what the Lord taught you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today’s passage is Zephaniah 3:1-19.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

Zephaniah 3:1-7 (NIV)\u00a0
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Woe to the city of oppressors,\u00a0rebellious and defiled!
\n2\u00a0\u00a0She obeys no one,\u00a0she accepts no correction.\u00a0She does not trust in the\u00a0LORD,\u00a0she does not draw near to her God.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0Her officials are roaring lions,\u00a0her rulers are evening wolves,\u00a0who leave nothing for the morning…….<\/p>\n

On verses 1-7:\u00a0 Chapter 3 of Zephaniah begins with God expressing His utter displeasure with the city of Jerusalem.\u00a0 He describes the people of Jerusalem as rebellious and unholy (v1), disobedient and unteachable (v2a), refusing to trust God or draw near to Him (v2b).\u00a0 He describes Jerusalem’s political and military leaders as lions and wolves (v3), her prophets as arrogant and deceitful (v4), and her priests as hypocrites (v5).\u00a0 The only One righteous in Jerusalem is the Lord Himself (v5), who “does no wrong” (v5) and who continues to act justly despite the unrighteousness around Him (v5).\u00a0 In verses 6 and 7, the Lord laments how despite disciplining Jerusalem with hardship, the people of Jerusalem continued to act corruptly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9461,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9460","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\/9460","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=9460"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9463,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9460\/revisions\/9463"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}