In The Word
Read: Zephaniah 2:1-3:7
Judgments on Judah’s Enemies
2 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather,
O nation without shame,
2 Before the decree takes effect—
The day passes like the chaff—
Before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you,
Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
3 Seek the Lord,
All you humble of the earth
Who have carried out His ordinances;
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will be hidden
In the day of the Lord’s anger.
4 For Gaza will be abandoned
And Ashkelon a desolation;
Ashdod will be driven out at noon
And Ekron will be uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
And I will destroy you
So that there will be no inhabitant.
6 So the seacoast will be pastures,
With caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7 And the coast will be
For the remnant of the house of Judah,
They will pasture on it.
In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;
For the Lord their God will care for them
And restore their fortune.
8 “I have heard the taunting of Moab
And the revilings of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have taunted My people
And become arrogant against their territory.
9 “Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
“Surely Moab will be like Sodom
And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah—
A place possessed by nettles and salt pits,
And a perpetual desolation.
The remnant of My people will plunder them
And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”
10 This they will have in return for their pride, because they have taunted and become arrogant against the people of the Lord of hosts. 11 The Lord will be terrifying to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.
12 “You also, O Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”
13 And He will stretch out His hand against the north
And destroy Assyria,
And He will make Nineveh a desolation,
Parched like the wilderness.
14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,
All beasts which range in herds;
Both the pelican and the hedgehog
Will lodge in the tops of her pillars;
Birds will sing in the window,
Desolation will be on the threshold;
For He has laid bare the cedar work.
15 This is the exultant city
Which dwells securely,
Who says in her heart,
“I am, and there is no one besides me.”
How she has become a desolation,
A resting place for beasts!
Everyone who passes by her will hiss
And wave his hand in contempt.
Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations
3 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
The tyrannical city!
2 She heeded no voice,
She accepted no instruction.
She did not trust in the Lord,
She did not draw near to her God.
3 Her princes within her are roaring lions,
Her judges are wolves at evening;
They leave nothing for the morning.
4 Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men;
Her priests have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the law.
5 The Lord is righteous within her;
He will do no injustice.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He does not fail.
But the unjust knows no shame.
6 “I have cut off nations;
Their corner towers are in ruins.
I have made their streets desolate,
With no one passing by;
Their cities are laid waste,
Without a man, without an inhabitant.
7 “I said, ‘Surely you will revere Me,
Accept instruction.’
So her dwelling will not be cut off
According to all that I have appointed concerning her.
But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). God is love, but He is also just. He is coming back, but not as a Lamb; instead, He will come in all His glory. If we have followed God’s teachings, then we will humbly seek Him, looking forward to His coming instead of dreading the Day of Judgment. However, those who are rebellious, who do not listen to His voice, who do not follow His teachings, who mock Him and His people, they will be judged. Their pride will be exchanged for destruction.
It’s easy to be deceived or even fooled when you don’t really know the Truth. Yahshua is the way, the truth, and the life. He desires a relationship, not a form of religion. In Jeremiah 4:22, God says, “For My people are foolish, they know Me not.” It is not enough to only know about Him and only read His Word. He reminds us in Matthew 7:26 that, “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” Have you had a true personal encounter with Him? If you have encountered Him, have you entered into a personal, intimate, daily relationship with Him? We get to know Him more by spending time with Him and following His teachings; when we do that, we won’t be deceived.