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Please turn in your Bibles to 
Zephaniah chapter 2. Zephaniah chapter 2, as we continue 
our study in the Minor Prophets, remember that Zephaniah prophesied 
according to verse 1 of chapter 1, during the reign of Josiah, 
the son of Amon, king of Judah. His reign was from 640 B.C. to 609 B.C. The nature of the sins indicated 
would suggest that Zephaniah prophesied at the beginning of 
Josiah's reign. In 621-622, thereabouts, the 
law of God was found by Hilkiah the 
high priest that was given to Josiah and subsequent reforms 
took place in Judah under the blessing of God. But the kind 
of things that are mentioned specifically in verses 5 and 
6 in chapter 1 seem to indicate that this was given, this prophecy 
was given prior to that finding of the law, prior to that time 
of revival and reformation in Judah. I'll just pick up reading 
in chapter 2 at verse 1. Gather yourselves together, yes, 
gather together, O undesirable nation, before the decree is 
issued, or the day passes like chaff, before the Lord's fierce 
anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger comes 
upon you. Seek the Lord, all you meek of 
the earth, who have upheld his justice. Seek righteousness, 
seek humility, It may be that you will be hidden in the day 
of the Lord's anger. For Gaza shall be forsaken, and 
Ashkelon desolate. They shall drive out Ashgod at 
noonday, and Ekron shall be uprooted. Woe to the inhabitants of the 
seacoast, the nation of the Karathites. The word of the Lord is against 
you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines. I will destroy you, so there 
shall be no inhabitants. The seacoast shall be pastures, 
with shelters for shepherds and folds for flocks. The coast shall 
be for the remnant of the house of Judah. They shall feed their 
flocks there. In the houses of Ashkelon they 
shall lie down at evening, for the Lord their God will intervene 
for them and return their captives. I have heard the reproach of 
Moab and the insults of the people of Ammon, with which they have 
reproached my people and made arrogant threats against their 
borders. Therefore, as I live, says the Lord of hosts, the God 
of Israel, surely Moab shall be like Sodom, and the people 
of Ammon like Gomorrah, overrun with weeds and salt pits, and 
a perpetual desolation. The residue of my people shall 
plunder them, and the remnants of my people shall possess them. 
This they shall have for their pride, because they have reproached 
and made arrogant threats against the people of the Lord of hosts. 
The Lord will be awesome to them, for he will reduce to nothing 
all the gods of the earth. People shall worship him, each 
one from his place, indeed all the shores of the nations. You 
Ethiopians also, you shall be slain by my sword. And he will 
stretch out his hand against the north, destroy Assyria, and 
make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as the wilderness. The herd 
shall lie down in her midst, Every beast of the nation, both 
the pelican and the bittern, shall lodge in the capitals of 
her pillars. Their voice shall sing in the 
windows. Desolation shall be at the threshold, 
for he will lay bare the cedar worth. This is the rejoicing 
city that dwelt securely, that said in her heart, I am it, and 
there is none besides me. How has she become a desolation, 
a place for beasts to lie down? Everyone who passes by her shall 
hiss, and shake his fist. Woe to her who is rebellious 
and polluted, to the oppressing city! She has not obeyed his 
voice, she has not received correction, she has not trusted in the Lord, 
she has not drawn near to her God. Her princes in her midst 
are roaring lions, her judges are evening wolves that leave 
not a bone till morning. Her prophets are insolent, treacherous 
people, Her priests have profaned or polluted the sanctuary. They 
have done violence to the law. The Lord is righteous in her 
midst. He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning he brings his justice 
to light. He never fails. The unjust knows 
no shame. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we come again to a sober reading of your holy 
scripture. We pray for your spirit to be 
upon us now. We pray that you would give us 
grace to make the application to our own generation concerning 
your word. We know, Lord God, there is nothing 
new under the sun and the sins that punctuated Judah and surrounded 
them in the various nations are the same sins going on today. 
Lord, we confess so often we live as if there is no God. We 
just pray that you would forgive us We pray that you would help 
us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ, 
and truly, God, to glorify you with the knowledge of your holy 
will. We ask that you would forgive us now and cleanse us from all 
sin and unrighteousness, and we thank you that you have provided 
a perfect atonement in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in his 
most blessed name that we pray. Amen. Well, if you remember back 
in chapter one, there was an announcement of the day of the 
Lord. in the first half of chapter 
one, and the prophet begins with a universal scope or a worldwide 
application in verses two and three, and then he narrows his 
focus down specifically from verses four to the end of the 
chapter with a specific address to Judah. And it ends, or the 
section ends, with a description, a vivid description of the Day 
of the Lord in verses 14 to 18. And then in chapter 2, verses 
1 to 3, there is an exhortation. There is an exhortation to seek 
the Lord. When calamity is coming, when 
God Most High has aroused Himself and He will visit with judgment, 
the people of God, those who take heed to the Word of God, 
ought to take serious this threefold exhortation of verse 3. Seek 
the Lord, seek righteousness, seek humility. And then the prophet 
now does essentially the same thing, but he gets very specific. He begins outside of Israel in 
the remaining portion of chapter 2, verses 4 to 15. It is a pronouncement of God's 
judgment upon the nations. And then in chapter 3, verses 
1 to 5, he returns to Judah. Though Judah is not named, we 
can tell that that is most specifically the city that is in view. She 
is the one that had not drawn near to her God. He is the one, 
or God is the one who had dwelt in her midst, and yet she rejected 
Him. So the prophet starts outside 
of Israel, and then he ends up back in Judah to indict them 
for their particular sins. Now, I want to consider first 
the judgment upon the nations, verses 4 to 15, and then we'll 
look upon the judgment of Judah in chapter 3, verses 1 to 5. And basically, what the prophet 
is doing is highlighting God's sovereignty and lordship over 
all the nations. Now, people in this world don't 
believe God is sovereign. In fact, the Bible tells us the 
fool has said in his heart, there is no God. So, as he is busying 
himself seeking to suppress the knowledge of God that he does 
possess, it ought not to surprise us that he says not only that 
God is not, but that God is not sovereign. In fact, Don just 
showed me an ad campaign that's taken off over in the UK, and 
it's going to be hitting Canada here very soon. It's the atheists 
who are saying, you know, there is probably not a God, so therefore 
go and have fun. Don't worry, be happy. There 
is probably not a God. What kind of insipid, feeble, 
weak atheism is that? There is probably not a God? 
They are more sounding like they want to involve people in adhering 
to Pascal's wager rather than denying the very godhood of God. But nonetheless, that's what 
we face. So it shouldn't surprise us that 
the world says God isn't sovereign over the nations. There is within 
the Christian church something like this as well. That God really 
doesn't hold all the nations to bear with reference to the 
same standard. I mean, he only judges Israel 
and the church based on his word. Well, a study of his word will 
simply show that's not the case. God has one law, and it is applicable 
to all men everywhere. And we see that very specifically 
in this indictment of the nations surrounding Israel. And essentially 
what Zephaniah does is he points to the West, he points to the 
East, he points to the South, and he points to the North. And 
he says, all of your surrounding neighbors are guilty before our 
God. and He will hold them in contempt. To the West, it is Philistia. To the east it is Ammon and Moab, 
to the south it is Ethiopia or Cush, and to the north it is 
the Assyrians. Those are the nations whom God 
would judge in history as a result of breaking his most holy word. Now notice that verse 4 begins 
with the word for, and that indicates that it's a reason. There's probably 
a two-fold reference here. The first, There's a connection 
here. What we have, as we've seen in 
chapter 1, he starts universally, the earth is going to be judged 
and consumed, and then a specific reference to Judah. Here, the 
same kind of thing. He's picking back up in this 
4 with the nations outside of Israel. Or it could be a reason 
for the exhortation of verse 3. Seek the Lord, seek righteousness, 
seek humility. Why? Because it may be that the 
Lord will hide you in the day of His wrath, and also because 
God is going to judge your neighbors. Learn from the judgment of God 
upon others that you are to seek Him. This is always a great motivator 
in the Holy Scriptures. God's judgment poured out on 
others ought to cause us to take notice and seek Him and flee 
to Him. This was the whole doctrine of 
God setting forth the judgment of Israel, the northern tribes, 
before Judah in Jeremiah chapter 3. Judah was going down the very 
same road as was Israel. Well, God judged Israel. God 
sent the Assyrians to destroy the northern tribes. Certainly 
He would do the same for Judah. And that was to be a reason for 
them to see that God does in fact mean business. He is a holy 
God. He is a just God. He is a righteous 
God. He doesn't simply look away when 
we sin. If we don't seek the Lord, if 
we don't seek righteousness, if we don't seek humility, the 
Lord God will judge us. So we need to take heed to that. 
Notice, first of all, Philistia, the sin of the people. Philistia was a military tough 
nation that often oppressed the people of God. You remember the 
Philistines, right? Samson had to deal with them. 
David had to deal with them. They were Canaanites, and they 
did not get dispossessed from the land, and they always lived 
alongside of the people of God, and they brought harassment. 
They brought judgment. They brought plagues and chastisement 
and all sorts of problems. Notice the standard by which 
they would be judged. Verse 5, The word of the Lord 
is against you. They weren't supposed to scratch 
their heads and say, wait a minute, we're not part of the covenant 
community, Lord. That's not fair that you bring 
your word to bear upon us. This was the reason why the Canaanites 
were originally supposed to be dispossessed from the land, because 
they violated God's law. You have to understand that. 
The law of God is vitally connected to all of God's creatures. When we break it, He judges us. Notice the judgment to come. 
The prophet speaks of them being forsaken, desolate, and uprooted, 
which is suggestive of military assault and overthrow. There 
would, however, it seems, in verses six and seven, be a benefit 
for the remnant, for the faithful people of Judah. The seacoast, 
verse six, shall be pastures with shelters for shepherds and 
folds for flocks. The coast shall be for the remnant 
of the house of Judah. They shall feed their flocks 
there. In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening, 
for the Lord their God will intervene for them and return their captives. 
So when Philistia is judged, it opens up some land of blessing 
for the nation of Judah or the remnant within Judah that God 
would bless. He moves on secondly to the east, 
Moab and Ammon. Where did Moab and Ammon come 
from? Moab and Ammon came from the 
relationship that Lot had with his daughters. So they were essentially 
cousins to Israel. God in Deuteronomy said that 
the nation of Israel was to treat kindly the Moabites and the Ammonites. They were not allowed in the 
assembly of the Lord. They were not allowed the privileges 
of the people of God. But nonetheless, the people of 
Israel were to show some degree of kindness and consideration 
to the people of Moab and Ammon. Now, the Moabites and Ammonites 
did not respond in kind. The Moabites and the Ammonites 
caused great problems for the people of Israel. On Numbers 
22, we see that hostility emerge. It continues according to Judges 
3 and 11 and 1 Samuel 11 and 12 and 14. We see the very specific 
sin of the people of Moab and Ammon. It was pride. It was arrogance. It was taunting the people of 
Israel. I have heard the reproach of 
Moab, and the insults of the people of Ammon, with which they 
have reproached My people and made arrogant threats against 
their borders. Notice specifically in verse 
10, This they shall have for their pride, because they have 
reproached and made arrogant threats against the people of 
the Lord of hosts. There's nothing wrong with a 
little bit of righteous patriotism. but to be an arrogant, boastful, 
proud, wicked nation, the Lord God will visit with punishment. 
Remember that account of Herod in Acts chapter 12, when the 
people were saying, this is the voice of a God and not a man. 
What did Herod do? Herod soaked it in. Herod in 
all of his pride and his arrogance. Herod sounding very much described 
in the same language here. But what did God do? He struck 
him down immediately. He died and he was eaten by worms. God is not for the proud. In fact, the book of James and 
Peter both rehearse for us. God is opposed to the proud, 
but he gives grace to the humble. This was a sin of Moab and of 
Ammon. Notice the destruction of the 
people, verse 9. Therefore, as I live, says the 
Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, surely Moab shall be like Sodom 
and the people of Ammon like Gomorrah. This is a prophetic 
motif for divine overthrow. Just as God overthrew Sodom and 
Gomorrah, so he would overthrow Moab and Ammon. There would be 
a benefit, again, for the remnants of the people of God. Verses 
9 to 11. Notice, overrun with weeds and salt pits and a perpetual 
desolation. The residue of my people shall 
plunder them, and the remnants of my people shall possess them. 
This they shall have for their pride, because they have reproached 
and made arrogant threats against the people of the Lord of hosts. 
The Lord will be awesome to them, for he will reduce to nothing 
all the gods of the earth. People shall worship him, each 
one from his place, indeed all the shores of the nations." Zephaniah 
is getting into that biblical universalism, not the heresy 
that every man, woman, boy, and girl who have ever lived are 
saved, but biblical universalism, that God will save sinners from 
every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. It'll be 
rehearsed later as we continue in our study in the Minor Prophets 
in Malachi chapter 1 and verse 11. It is enforced by Jesus in 
his teaching with the woman at the well. Woman, the hour is 
coming and now is. We won't just worship at this 
mountain. The worship of God will be universal. 
It'll be by spirit and truth. It is to emphasize what God teaches 
in Revelation 5 and verse 9, that there is a glorious mass 
of humanity redeemed from every tribe, tongue, and people and 
nation. The prophet is introducing this. The prophet is highlighting 
this. But as well, notice how he identifies 
his people. Beautiful statement, the residue 
of my people, the remnant of my people, against the people 
of the Lord of hosts. Alec Motyer says the great principle 
that the Lord knows those who are His, 2 Timothy 2.19, has 
earthly as well as eternal implications. We do not always take the Lord's 
side, but He never fails to take ours, for we are the people of 
the Lord of hosts. Praise God, He never fails to 
take ours. You don't ever have to look back 
and wonder if God's there. Right? You don't have to scratch 
your head and say, where are you, Lord? God is always with 
us. God is always present. God is 
always vindicating His elect. Shall not God avenge His own 
elect, Jesus said, who cry to Him day and night? Is Romans 
8, 28 a reality? Of course it is. We know this. This is an axiom of our faith. You don't have to prove axioms. 
That's why they're axioms. They're already true. They're 
the foundation upon which you prove other faiths. And it's 
axiomatic for the people of God that we know that he will work 
good in our lives. That's a blessed axiom. Notice 
Ethiopia, short statement, verse 12. You Ethiopians are kush also. You shall be slain by my sword. He's looking west, he's looking 
east, he's looking south. In that short verse, though, 
we learn three significant truths. The day of the Lord will be comprehensive. 
You Ethiopians also. The day of the Lord would be 
a judgment unto death. You shall be slain. And the day of the Lord would 
be executed by the Lord himself. He calls it my sword. And then he finishes with Assyria. 
This was a superpower at the time of Zephaniah's prophecy. We know the prophecy was written 
prior to 612 BC because that's when Assyria, specifically the 
capital Nineveh, fell. And it's very, very outlined, 
or it's very much opened up in the prophet Nahum, how Nineveh 
would fall. But notice the sin of the people, 
verse 15. This is the rejoicing city that 
dwelt securely, that said in her heart, I am it, and there 
is none besides me. If you're thinking New Testament, 
you cannot miss the reference. This is what Babylon, Mystic 
Babylon, Revelation 18 says, I am it and there is none besides 
me. Ecstasy or joy, probably all 
manner of wicked joy is what she had. This is the rejoicing 
city. She had a degree of security. Remember, in our study of the 
prophet Nahum, Assyria, or Nineveh, rather, was a city surrounded. 
It was impregnable, as far as they were concerned. She had 
ecstasy, security, and self-sufficiency. That was her threefold sin. Notice 
the particular reference there in verse 13, too. It says, He 
will stretch out His hand against the north, destroy Assyria, and 
make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as the wilderness. It's interesting. As dry as the wilderness, this 
place that was once lush, this place that was once just abundant 
with every good thing imaginable. Again, Alec Monk here. It's good. 
I've mentioned that commentator, Ralph Davis, who writes, who 
has written commentaries on the former prophets, Joshua, Judges, 
1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings. Excellent commentator. I've recommended 
his books here. Well, you always find out good 
things when you read a man like him. Just find out who he reads. 
And one of the men that he likes is a man by the name of Alec 
Motyer, and he has a commentary on the prophet Zephaniah that 
is just beautiful. And he comments here on this 
reference in verse 13, which says, "...and make Nineveh a 
desolation as dry as the wilderness." He says, As he records the consequences 
of self-sufficiency as a philosophy of life, Zephaniah begins with 
a grim transformation in the environment. The well-watered 
Nineveh transformed into an arid desert. In Genesis 3, 17-19, 
there was an environmental consequence of Adam's bid for self-sufficient 
freedom from God's law, and it is always so. The creation always 
sides with its creator against the rebel. The holy life of God 
that makes nature fertile only grudgingly lends itself to the 
needs of sinful humans and ultimately will cease to do so. God's world 
will not forever support God's enemy. Nineveh is part of scripture's 
early warning system. That was profound. And that's 
what happened to Nineveh. So you see, the prophet looks 
to the west, he looks to the east, he looks to the south, 
he looks to the north, and he says, all those nations around 
you, God has found them guilty. God is going to bring judgment 
upon them. God is going to bring the heat. Now, lest the Judahites sit back 
and say, those dirty, rotten sinners, they are getting what 
they deserve. The prophet comes to deal with 
them. And I must confess, verses 1 to 5, if you think enthusiastically, 
and by that I mean you think churchy, you should think in 
terms of what really is going on in the church today. Chapter 
3, verses 1 to 5 are very scary. Very scary. Basically, what we 
have is a general statement of their sinfulness. We have specific 
indictments or charges of their sinfulness. We have guilty parties 
highlighted, and then we have the faithfulness of God exhibited. We'll look at that in just a 
moment. Notice verse 1 of chapter 3. This is the general statement. 
Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted to the oppressing 
city. Woe to her. Now, God does not 
hold guiltless the peoples around Israel. But neither does he hold 
Israel guilty. It's time for reckoning. It's 
time for judgment. It's going to begin at the household 
of God first. Woe to her who is rebellious. She is rebellious first and foremost 
to God. There's something here that Paul 
does in Romans chapter one that we'll see in just a moment. Woe 
to her who is rebellious and polluted. Polluted here probably 
has to do with their worship. She's rebellious toward God. 
She's polluted in her worship. And then notice, thirdly, she 
is an oppressing city. She has a city wherein people 
are afraid to go outside at night for fear of being robbed. She's 
a city where you no longer can leave your front door unlocked 
because some brutes are going to come in and mug you and take 
your stuff. She's a city that's become apostate, 
defected from God, and therefore her horizontal interactions have 
been affected. Isn't this what Paul does in 
Romans 1 18? For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against 
all what? All ungodliness and unrighteousness 
of man. What we think about God precedes 
how we live in this world. What Judah thought in terms of 
God affected how she related with one another in the city 
square. Woe to her who is rebellious 
to God. She is polluted in her worship 
and therefore her widows, her orphans, her poor, her oppressed 
are being sinned against. Crime is going on against them. This was the failure of the social 
gospel movement in the early part of the 20th century. Social 
gospelists taught that if you just cleaned up society, then 
everything would be right with God. That's not the way it works. We have to get on our face before 
God. We have to get right with God 
and then society will be cleansed. We cannot be social gospelists, 
not in light of chapter 3, verse 1. Again, social reformation. And by this, I'll say things 
like abortion, things like sodomy. Our pastor prayed against those 
particulars. Things like domestic violence. 
People addicted to alcohol and drugs. People addicted to sports. The Sun said today, how many 
people didn't go to church today because they were going to be 
watching the Super Bowl? People that are given to that 
as if it's a religious offering, that a society given over to 
pleasure and to leisure, hedonism, whatever makes me happy. He says, 
social reformation arises from a return to God and individual 
moral integrity. To seek to reform society in 
the hope that this will produce high standards and good people 
is to put the cart before the horse. It is converted and godly 
individuals that make a good society. Unfortunately, the church 
doesn't even really believe this either. We don't actually believe 
that the Spirit of God wants to save sinners and will do so 
through faithful gospel preaching. We need to change our minds. 
We need to change our hearts. We need to read Zephaniah 2, 
verse 11, that he will reduce to nothing all the gods of the 
earth. People shall worship him, each 
one from his place, indeed all the shores of the nation. We need to see that conversion, 
that revival, that awakening, that gospel preaching will proceed 
any impact on society. So we cry out to the one who 
has power. You might say, well, that's hopeless. 
No. What's easier, to appeal to a rabid abortionist or to 
a merciful God? You know, rabid abortionists, 
we think you ought to give up your six figures, seven figures 
a year. and come to our way of thinking and just clean up society 
or pray to the God of mercy and kindness and compassion. This 
is the hopeful way. This is the way that we are to 
operate to pray to the Lord that you would help us, Lord God, 
not to be rebellious toward you, not to be polluted. I don't know 
if you've noticed, but something very tragic has happened in the 
churches. Churches have become a place of entertainment. Not 
a place for drawing nigh unto God. Not a place of reverence. Not a place of holiness. Not 
a place of faithful exposition of God's Word. But places where 
we come in to feel good. Places where we come in to experience. Places where we come in to have 
mystical, irrational movements of conscience, rather than to 
meet with the living and true God. This is an indictment upon 
us. Woe to her who is rebellious. We have not lived the way God 
calls us to. We are not faithful. We're not 
obedient. Later we're going to see that 
the priest did violence to the law. The church has pretty well 
evicted the law probably about 150 years ago from even a place 
in the church. What's it say? Oh, Lord, we haven't 
done violence to your law. We just don't even think about 
it. You've got us to do violence to it. Woe to her who is rebellious 
and polluted to the oppressing city. Why is the divorce rate 
so high in the church? Why is the abortion rate so high 
in the church? Why are there homosexuals who 
come week in and week out to churches and don't feel bad because 
of their sins? I'm not saying homosexuals aren't 
invited here. Come one, come all. Please, please, we want 
to preach the gospel to you. We want to tell you the good 
news that Jesus saves. We want to tell you what Paul 
said to the Corinthians, and such were some of you. But you 
were washed, but you were justified, but you were sanctified. But 
for a homosexual to come in and sit under a meat ministry every 
week and not be convicted of sin? Look at her, who is rebellious 
and polluted to the oppressing city. All these horizontal sins 
that go on in the midst of the church are indicative of our 
state before God. We just need more fellowship. 
No, maybe we need to lament and mourn and hate. We just need 
more programs. Well, maybe we need more closets. We just need more of that. We 
need more God. That's what we need. I tell you, as a pastor in a 
foreign Baptist church entering into the 21st century, and the 
only hope I have is in God, I'm pretty well convinced no one 
out there wants what we've got. Oh, that's bleak, that's pessimistic. 
Hey, I struggle, okay? Sorry. You got me. We need more of God. That's what 
we need. That's what Judah needed. Notice 
the specific indictment in verse 2. No attention, no submission, 
no reliance, no fellowship. The similarities between Judah 
in the 7th century B.C. and the church in the 21st century 
A.D. are uncanny. She's not obeyed 
his voice. No attention. I used to have this zany idea 
that you shouldn't have to beg people to read their vials. You shouldn't have to beg a newborn 
to breathe. You shouldn't have to beg a newborn 
to eat. You shouldn't have to. Literally, 
we have to beg people to read the Bible. Please read it. It is 50 reasons why. Yeah, OK, 
we'll do that. But man, there's got to be something 
in your heart as a professing Christian that says, I want God's 
Word. I want God's Word more than I want the sports. I want 
God's Word more than I want whatever. I want God's Word more than I 
want American Idol, or Nintendo, or food. I want God's Word like 
the psalmist wanted it. More desirable than much fine 
gold. We want our gold today. The collapse 
is coming. The economy is going to go bad. It may just well do that. Hold 
your Bible first and foremost. And if you can gather some gold, 
fine. A man was once asked, what would you rather have? or silver. He said, I'd rather have Jesus 
and silver. That's a legitimate biblical response. But note the 
priority, Jesus first. No attention, no submission. 
She's not received correction. No submission to the word of 
God. See, that's just as bad. Oh, yeah, I read the Bible. I 
know the Bible. I can recite the Bible. I know theology. I 
got all the theology books in my office. I've studied them. 
I know every doctrine. I know what infralapsarianism 
is. I know what superlapsarianism is. I know the millennial positions. 
Do you receive God's correction? Well, no. I'm an arrogant, proud 
wretch. Okay, right on. That's one of 
my fears with pop Calvinism. It's cool to be a Calvinist. 
No, it's cool to obey God and fear Him. That's what's cool. 
That's what the cool kids are doing. They're fearing God and 
obeying Him. She has no reliance. She's not trusted in the Lord. 
You see this? She's not trusted in the Lord. 
These are esoteric, difficult concepts. I know that. I know 
that you've got to be trapped in there. I know it's late. I 
know Sunday night is tiring. We're all tired. We've all had 
a long day. Clear up your minds. Listen. Because this is us. This is where we're at. Not all 
those bad Arminians out there. I recollected or recalled the 
sermon today. I actually said feminized Arminian liberals. 
That's not very nice. I mean, that's a bad category 
to be in for sure. But it wasn't like I came to 
the pulpit today to pick on feminized Arminians. Liberals. This is 
not an indictment to the feminized or neoliberal. This is an indictment 
for us. No reliance. I alluded to this 
quotation this morning. We rejoice in justification by 
faith and find that this simplicity of trust in Christ deals with 
the offense of sin and secures peace with God and our place 
in heaven. Then in the face of life's demands 
we turn from the way of faith. and trust human efforts and expedience. 
The great experience of the power of faith somehow does not carry 
over into the areas of intrinsically lesser demand. We trust him for 
salvation, Acts 16.31, but not in storms, Mark 8.46. And this 
would be very applicable in Israel's history. When they were seeing 
the threats from the north, specifically Assyria, seeing later the threats 
from Babylon, Instead of submitting to God, trusting in God, they 
would send their envoys over to the Assyrians and to the Babylonians 
and say, we want to pay you tribute. We want to pay you protection. 
We want to pay what you're blackmailing us with. We want to grease your 
palms so you don't come in and hurt us. That's how it manifested 
itself in Zephaniah's day. And notice, no fellowship. She's 
not drawn near to her God. There was no delight of the Lord's 
people in the Lord himself. There's a problem there. You 
see that? Verse 2, last statement, she's 
not drawn near to her God. You've got the temple, you've 
got the true and the living God, you have the sacrificial system, 
you have a God of grace and mercy and kindness, you have all these 
things in place, and yet, you've not drawn near to Him. So don't 
be surprised when His judgment comes upon you. Don't be surprised 
when you have no attention, no submission, no reliance, and 
you have no desire for fellowship when the Lord God sends an invading 
army and strips everything you know away. Don't say, what happened? It's obvious. It's evident. It's clear. You 
know, read the letters in chapters two and three of the book of 
Revelation. Jesus is very clear. If you keep 
doing this, I will take your lampstand away. If they kept 
doing it and he took their lampstand away, they shouldn't say, what 
happened, Lord? Neither should we. We know what 
the Lord requires of us. Notice the guilty parties, verses 
three and four, the administrative and judicial leaders, princes 
and judges, and the religious leaders, prophets and priests. 
Isn't it interesting, back in chapter 2, it was said that Nineveh 
would be occupied by beasts. The sign of God's judgment would 
be this, that Assyria as a nation, and specifically Nineveh as a 
capital, would fall. And then beasts, animals, would 
come and be in that city. A sign that there was no more 
human occupancy. The beasts have taken over. It's 
interesting, in Judah the beasts were already present. Verse 3, 
her princes in her midst are roaring lions. Her judges are 
evening wolves that leave not a bone till morning. They too 
were ministers of God's word. They were to be governed by his 
word and they were to possess a concern for the people of God. Remember the prophet Micah, his 
question for the magistrate? Is it not for you to know justice? See, we've come to accept a civil 
magistrate that gives no regard whatsoever to God's law for fear 
that we may breach some church-state separation. It's nothing to do 
with that. It's everything to do with the 
standard of one holy and true God. and what he requires. We 
Christians are like, oh, you can't pray that way. You can't 
do what Pastor Porter says because the civil magistrate today, he 
really doesn't see himself as a minister of God. Whether he 
sees himself that way or not doesn't change the fact. There 
is no authority, Romans 13, 1 to 4, except from God. Let's learn from the prophets 
that these men are actually accountable to the thrice holy God. Knowing 
that, we ought to pray fervently for them. Knowing that, we ought 
to take pen to paper. I preached on abortion recently 
and one of the dear sisters said, have you ever thought about sending 
your sermon or your notes and your studies to President Obama? No, I never thought of that. 
I should pray about that and do it. I have that freedom, and if I 
don't, they'll lock me up and take me away and do all kinds 
of bad things to me. The administrative and judicial 
leaders were acting in complete defiance to the law of God, but 
so were the religious leaders. They were to be governed by the 
word of God and with a concern for the people. Notice verse 
4, her prophets are insolent, treacherous people. Now, of course, 
Zephaniah is not including himself there. He is referring to the 
false prophets in Israel. I could just hear him now. Oh, 
Zephaniah, you think you're better than us? You're holier than us? You really got yourself thinking 
that you're it and we're this? Yeah, because that's what the 
Bible says. It wasn't Zephaniah's standard. It was God's standard. 
And notice her priests. Her priests, verse 4, have polluted, 
have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the 
law. What does that mean, they've done 
violence to the law? They misapplied them. They mistaught 
them. They neglected them. In certain matters of adjudication, 
the priests were the final level of appeal. Deuteronomy 17, 8 
and 9. in cases that were very severe, when the judges needed 
help. See, today we all seek the lawyers. 
See, back then they sought the priests, because they knew the 
law of the Lord. And they would give God's Word 
with reference to the particular case. Not so in Zephaniah's day. The prophets were insolent, treacherous 
people. The priests had polluted the 
sanctuary. The priests had done violence to the law of the Lord. 
And then verse 5, God summarizes. with his faithfulness. Why does 
he do this? To underline, to bold, to highlight, 
to emphasize the problem wasn't with God. The problem is never 
with God. And I submit that the faithfulness 
of God displayed here in verse 5 exacerbates or highlights just 
how bad the sin was. When a man sins against great 
grace, He said, what kind of a fool are you? You've had all 
of this given to you? I mean, wasn't this God's take 
with David through the prophet Nathan? Through his indictment 
for his sin with Uriah's wife and killing Uriah? God says, 
I gave you, I gave you, I gave you, I gave you. And if that 
hadn't been enough, I would have given you more. What does that 
do? But it shows us all the more 
the stark contrast between God's goodness and our sin. That's 
what the Lord does here. He speaks of His character. The 
Lord is righteous in our midst. His conduct. He will do no unrighteousness. His wisdom. Every morning He 
brings His justice to light. His constancy. He never fails. So you're not dealing with law. 
You're not dealing with Baal. Remember the prophet Elijah? 
at Mount Tarmel could mock the prophets of Baal and say, where 
is your God? Maybe he's away. Maybe he's resting. Maybe he doesn't hear you. I 
always have this great picture of Elijah just cracking up. Huh? Where's your God? He's a 
God. What's he doing? Where is he? Maybe he's relieving himself. 
That's one of the things the prophet says. You see what Israel's not dealing 
with? They're not dealing with Baal. They're not dealing with 
Moloch. They're not dealing with Chemosh. 
They're not dealing with Asherah. They're dealing with a God who 
does no unrighteousness. A God who brings His justice 
to light every morning. A God who never fails. That's 
the God with whom they had to do. And there is a direct contrast 
between what is said here of God and what they had been doing 
in verse 2. God spoke and was always present, 
but the people had not listened to Him. God made His will known, 
but the city would not receive His correction. God is completely 
trustworthy, but the people would not trust in Him. God was always 
available. He was intermixed, but they did 
not draw near to Him. You see, that highlights all 
the more their sin and the beauty and the righteousness of God's 
judgment upon them. We'll end there, pick up, God 
willing, the next section next Lord's Day evening. We do learn 
that God is Lord of all the earth. By naming four nations, Zephaniah 
presents a typical world view. Militarily tough Philistia, volatile 
Moab and Ammon, distant and vaguely known Cush, and the overshadowing 
superpower Assyria. The prophet says that they have 
all violated the law of the Lord and therefore God will judge 
them. God is Lord of all the earth. He is not a ghetto God. He is not a mascot. He is not 
simply one of a pantheon. He is the God of all the earth 
and he holds men accountable. Secondly, God controls the entire 
historical process. Nations rise and nations fall 
because of God. Please don't think like an atheist. 
Please don't affirm God's grace and sovereignty and predestination 
and all that in your salvation, but not in who's sitting in Ottawa 
or who's sitting in the White House. God raises men up. God puts men down. God has the heart of the king 
in his own hand, according to the Proverbs. He turns it wherever 
he wishes, like he does the rivers in the earth. President, this 
is to provide comfort and encouragement that we don't have some wacky 
leaders running around unchecked and just doing whatever it is 
they want to do. I sent out a quote a few weeks 
or probably a couple of months ago now from Ralph Davis commenting 
on Sennacherib. Sennacherib, leader of Assyria. And what he says is predestination, 
of course, makes some Christians nervous. They shudder at the 
mention of the P word. All I can say is, if you don't 
want predestination, well then, go ahead and live a comfortless 
life. Bite your nails and swallow your tranquilizers and eat your 
guts out as you watch the evening news. Some of us prefer, however, 
the pillow of predestination. That is, of having a God big 
enough that he is never surprised by the blathering synacoribs 
of this age. Amen. Amen. I couldn't have said it better 
myself, that's why I read Mount Davis. And then, lastly, we need 
to remember the promise of 2.3. Paul's guilt. The prophet wrote, 
so that men would seek the Lord, so that men would seek righteousness 
and seek humility. That's sort of the center of 
this entire book. We're not to stray too far from 
there. Yes, judgment is coming and it's 
going to be horrific. Seek the Lord. Seek righteousness. 
Seek humility. God's going to destroy all the 
nations surrounding you. He's going to destroy Judah as 
well. Seek the Lord. Seek righteousness. Seek humility. 
That's what Zephaniah continues to press on us. That's why the 
message of these minor prophets is still uniquely valuable and 
applicable in our own generation and in our own churches. And 
of course, if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, that's 
the Lord you seek. Believe on Him and you will be 
saved. Seek Him first. Don't stop. Don't put your head on your pillow 
tonight until you know Jesus Christ. You know Him as Lord 
and Savior. And then whatever happens in 
the coming days, and weeks and months and years, you will be 
safe and secure from all life's alarms. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we give you thanks for these prophets. We 
give you thanks for their application in our day. We do pray that you 
would help us not to be rebellious toward you, not to pollute the 
sanctuary, not to oppress one another. We have a high ethic 
in our New Testament. We have a high calling to live 
as Jesus Christ, and we pray that you would forgive us that 
we often fall short of this. We pray that you would cleanse 
us afresh and give us a renewed vigor and a desire to know our 
scriptures and to put them into practice. I pray that you would 
go with each one of us now, that you would watch over us and protect 
us and grant us the grace, Lord, to glorify you in whatever situation 
we find ourselves in. We ask through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen.