In The Word
Read: Zephaniah 3:8-20
8“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the Lord,
“For the day when I rise up as a witness.
Indeed, My decision is to gather nations,
To assemble kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All My burning anger;
For all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of My zeal.
9 “For then I will give to the peoples purified lips,
That all of them may call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
10 “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
My worshipers, My dispersed ones,
Will bring My offerings.
11 “In that day you will feel no shame
Because of all your deeds
By which you have rebelled against Me;
For then I will remove from your midst
Your proud, exulting ones,
And you will never again be haughty
On My holy mountain.
A Remnant of Israel
12 “But I will leave among you
A humble and lowly people,
And they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.
13 “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong
And tell no lies,
Nor will a deceitful tongue
Be found in their mouths;
For they will feed and lie down
With no one to make them tremble.”
14 Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away His judgments against you,
He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
You will fear disaster no more.
16 In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not be afraid, O Zion;
Do not let your hands fall limp.
17 “The Lord your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
18 “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts—
They came from you, O Zion;
The reproach of exile is a burden on them.
19 “Behold, I am going to deal at that time
With all your oppressors,
I will save the lame
And gather the outcast,
And I will turn their shame into praise and renown
In all the earth.
20 “At that time I will bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will give you renown and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
“Therefore wait for Me,” declared the Lord. He said that He would give His people purified lips so that they might call on the name of the Lord. He declared that His worshipers would be a humble people who would bring His offerings, and they would take refuge in the name of the Lord. No lies and no deceitful tongue would be found in their mouths. They would shout for joy because the Lord, the Victorious Warrior, was in their midst. The Lord would rejoice over them with His shouts of joy. He would save the lame and gather the outcast; He would gather His people together and restore them.
Isaiah saw this firsthand in his vision (Isaiah 6:1-13). He humbly realized his need to be cleansed while in the midst of the Lord, the Holy King. However, Isaiah wasn’t cleansed to wait to spend eternity in heaven. The Lord has a mission for each of us. He asks, “Who will go for Me?” Have we said, “Here I am, send me”? Don’t just wait for your future time in heaven, go and tell people about Jesus. Shout the Good News with the voice of triumph and praise. Don’t grow weary in doing good deeds. Isaiah 40:31 says, “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength…they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Run and walk His ancient paths in His strength today.