Zephaniah 2:1-3 Gather yourselves together,yea,gather together,O nation not desired;(2) Before the decree bring forth,before the day pass as the chaff,before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you,before the day of the LORD’s anger come upon you. (3) Seek ye the LORD,all ye meek of the earth,which have wrought his judgment;seek righteousness,seek meekness:it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.
This week we are continuing our look at the Book of Zephaniah which we began a month ago. If you will remember,the Book of Zephaniah speaks of God’s Wrath,but it also demonstrates God’s Tough Love for His people. In chapters 2 and 3,we will see the judgment of God upon the world as well as upon His people,the Israelites.
Zephaniah 2:1 Gather yourselves together,yea,gather together,O nation not desired;
God is calling the Israelites to come together to look to God and pray to Him for forgiveness. They have sinned against God by consorting with other nations,which was against His commandments. They have sinned against God by worshiping idols and false gods. They have sinned against God by not following Him and His righteousness,instead seeking their own righteousness. God wants them to come together and humble themselves before the All Holy God. 2Chronicles 7:14 If my people,which are called by my name,shall humble themselves,and pray,and seek my face,and turn from their wicked ways;then will I hear from heaven,and will forgive their sin,and will heal their land. This was a promise made by God to the Israelites and throughout their history,when they repented of their sin and returned to God,He did heal their land. God calls Israel:“O nation not desired”,why? Because there was nothing desirable about them. They were not the strongest people. They were not the smartest people. They were not the best looking people. But they were the people God chose to call out and separate from the rest of the world. Sadly,their sins against God had made them even less desirable,and now judgment was going to be coming upon them. The Israelites had reached the point where they were dead to their realization of what their sins were doing to themselves and their relationship with God. They were no longer sensitive to their sin. We can become that way too. We may choose to continue a particular sin and if we continue long enough in it,we become immune to the pricking of the Holy Spirit. We lose our sense of shame about the sin.
Zephaniah 2:2 Before the decree bring forth,before the day pass as the chaff,before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you,before the day of the LORD’s anger come upon you.
God is urging His people to come together for prayer and come together for repentance and come back to God. Zephaniah is telling the Israelites that the judgment day is coming – the day of the LORD’s anger is coming,and when it arrives it will be too late to stop. Remember,the chaff is the portion of wheat that is not used and when it is removed,it is never coming back. Our days are the same way – each day ends and we can never get it back,that is why we need to make the most of each day for the glory of God. Look at the decline of this country:there may not be more sin than there was 100 years ago,but sin is more visible today because there is no shame over sin. Instead,people celebrate sin and applaud sin. The day of the Lord’s anger will come upon this nation if it continues on the path it is on. This nation needs to come together in prayer and repentance to the Almighty God.
Zephaniah 2:3 Seek ye the LORD,all ye meek of the earth,which have wrought his judgment;seek righteousness,seek meekness:it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.
The LORD is urging His people to seek Him and to return to Him. God is not hiding from His people,He is in the same spot as He was when the people were obediently following Him. God did not leave His people,they left Him and He wants them to come back. His people should be meek,not prideful,not impatient,and not full of self-righteousness. They are to return to Him and seeking His righteousness and seek to follow Him in meekness. Too many people are filled up with pride and self-sufficiency rather then truly seeking His righteousness and wisdom. Too many people are coming up with their own ideas and then using the Bible to look for verses to prove their point. We are to seek God’s righteousness and do it meekly! The Apostle Paul knew that he had nothing of himself to glory in other than in the cross of Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory,save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,by whom the world is crucified unto me,and I unto the world. By the world’s standards,Saul had everything to glory in,but Paul knew He had nothing if He did not have Jesus Christ.
The last phrase of verse 3:it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger. If His people would return to Him then He would protect them from His Wrath. God’s Wrath was coming,so the Israelites had to choose which side they were to be on. Remember the showdown between Elijah,the prophet of God,and Ahab,Jezebel and the 400 Baal worshipers?
At Mount Carmel,before the sacrifices were performed,Elijah spoke to the Israelites:1Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people,and said,How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God,follow him:but if Baal,then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Elijah is asks the Israelites How long halt ye between two opinions? When we think of the word “halt”,we think of stopping. What Elijah is declaring to the Israelites that they are fence sitters:sometimes they lean toward God and follow Him and sometimes they lean toward Baal and follow him (or it). Elijah is telling the Israelites to stop half-heartedly following God. One of the definitions for halt is “hop” and that is what the Israelites were doing. They would hop to the side of God for a moment and then hop to the side of Baal. The Israelites were lukewarm toward God and stayed with the side that they viewed was most profitable for them. Or most comfortable for them. Rather than stay on the side that glorifies and honors God.