Tag: mighty to save
God’s delight in His people!
Scripture reading for September 25th: Zephaniah 1-3
“The Lord your 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.“ Zephaniah 3:17
Zephaniah was a prophet around 630 B.C. during the reign of Josiah, a good king of Israel. God warned that He would sweep everything from the face of the earth. (Zephaniah 1:2-3) He was going to take man completely from the face of the earth, and the animals, birds, and fish in the sea as well! That sounds similar to the great flood of Noah’s day! Even God’s people were worshiping Baal, the Canaanite fertility god. Some of the priests were worshiping Molech and the starry host using astrology. (Zephaniah 1:4-5)
Astrology is popular today in America. Almost every newspaper has a horoscope and some people seek it daily in an attempt to order their lives by the stars. Many follow the bad example of Judah in Zephaniah’s day, and turn away from following the true God. They are complacent or have followed gods of convenience and pleasure. (Zephaniah 1:12)
Zephaniah cried out to this complacent and sinful people that their appointed time was coming. Trouble, clouds, darkness and death were on the horizon. Their money could not save them on the day of wrath that would come suddenly. (Zephaniah 1:17-18) The only remedy offered by Zephaniah was to seek the Lord with humble hearts. Those who responded would be sheltered by the Lord. (Zephaniah 2:2-3)
We know from history that the young king, Josiah, turned to the Lord and led a revival that removed the idols and cleansed the land. He likely was responding to this prophet’s strong preaching. When we repent, God relents! He would rather be mighty to save us than mighty to judge us! He takes great delight in His people and desires to quiet us in His love. He rejoices over us with singing! Picture God spinning around in delight singing a song of joy over our return to Him! (Zephaniah 3:17) God is so merciful! Why not turn to Him today before the coming “day of the Lord”?
Mighty to Save!
Scripture reading for September 25th: Zephaniah 1-3
“The great day of the Lord is near–near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. . . Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. In the fire of His jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for He will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.” (Zephaniah 1:14, 18)
Zephaniah was raised up during the time of Josiah, a godly king of Judah who led in a revival. (2nd Chronicles 34:1-7) Josiah cleansed the temple and the land of idols and repaired the temple. However, this revival was shallow and did not deter God’s people from their complacency and half-hearted worship. Zephaniah was given an end-time message of coming judgment for the wicked on the ‘day of the Lord’. This day would come suddenly with no time to escape. It would come to all who live on the earth! (Revelation 22:12-13)
“Gather together, gather together, O shameful nation, before the appointed time arrives and that day sweeps on like chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s wrath comes upon you. Seek the Lord, 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 Lord’s anger.” (Zephaniah 2:1-3) The remedy for this coming day of wrath was to gather together as God’s people and humbly seek Him! It sounds so simple and yet is so profound. God gives grace to the humble but opposes the proud. (1st Peter 5:5)
“Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! For the Lord has taken away your punishment, He has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. . .The Lord your 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.” (Zephaniah 3:14-15,17) These are some of the most encouraging and comforting words in the Old Testament. God answers prayer and does for His people what they cannot do! He saves us with His mighty love!
God Rejoices Over You With Singing!
Scripture reading for September 25th: Zephaniah 1-3
“The Lord your 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.“ Zephaniah 3:17
Zephaniah was a prophet around 630 B.C. during the reign of Josiah, a good king of Israel. He spoke some pretty strong words to the nation of Judah concerning the coming day of the Lord. Through Zephaniah, God warned that He would sweep everything from the face of the earth. (Zephaniah 1:2-3) He was going to take man completely from the face of the earth, and the animals, birds, and fish in the sea as well! Wow! That sounds like a very thorough cleaning similar to the great flood of Noah’s day!
Even Judah was warned of God’s hand against those in that nation who were idolaters. There were those who claimed to be Abraham’s descendants but were worshiping Baal, the Canaanite fertility god. Even some of the priests of God’s house had fallen into idolatry. They were worshiping Molech and the starry host using astrology. (Zephaniah 1:4-5) By the way, astrology is popular today in America. Almost every newspaper has a horoscope and some people read it daily and try to order their life by the predictions of the stars. Many follow the example of Judah in Zephaniah’s day, and turn away from following the true God. They are complacent or have followed gods of convenience and pleasure. (Zephaniah 1:12)
Zephaniah cried out to this complacent and sinful people that their appointed time was coming when judgment would bring a day of wrath and destruction. Trouble, clouds, darkness and death were on the horizon. Their money could not save them on this day of wrath that would come suddenly at the appointed time. (Zephaniah 1:17-18)
The only remedy offered by Zephaniah was to seek the Lord with humble hearts. Those who responded would be sheltered by the Lord. What was needed in this time of complacency, was a desire to seek God! An appetite for God must come from a heart that is humble and not centered on idols or upon oneself. (Zephaniah 2:2-3) Idolatry is all about making a god that gives me what I want, instead of serving the God who made me to do what He wants!
We know from history that the young king, Josiah, turned to the Lord and led a revival that removed the idols and cleansed the land. He likely was responding to this prophet’s strong preaching. When we repent, God relents! He would rather be mighty to save us than mighty to judge us! He takes great delight in His people and desires to quiet us in His love. He rejoices over us with singing! Picture God spinning around in delight singing a song of joy over our return to Him! (Zephaniah 3:17) This reflects the thought of the Hebrew words of this verse! God is so merciful; turn to Him today before the coming “day of the Lord”.