1:1 The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
1:2 “I will [a]utterly consume everything From the face of the land,” Says the Lord;
1:3 “I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens The fish of the sea,
And the [b]stumbling blocks along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the [c]land,” Says the Lord.
1:4 “I will stretch out My hand against Judah, And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. [d]I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, The names of the idolatrous[e] priests with the pagan priests—
1:5 Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord,
But who also swear by [f]Milcom;
1:6 Those who have turned back from following the Lord, And have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.
1:7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord God; For the day of the Lord is at hand, For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has [g]invited His guests.
1:8 “And it shall be, In the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, That I will punish the princes and the king’s children, And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.
1:9 In the same day I will punish All those who leap over the threshold, Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
STUDY:
Before the call of Zephaniah, a wicked king, Manasseh, had ruled in Judah for fifty-five years. Manasseh’s drove the kingdom into in a terrible and decayed spiritual state which was worse than the original Canaanites who were known for wickedness and immoral acts. The Lord raised Zephaniah the prophet to warn them as he revealed the judgment of God and the coming destruction of Judah and Jerusalem, for their wickedness. The people sold themselves to the devil and engaged in anti-God practices such as worship of Baal, worship of stars, and engaging in foreign religious practices, against the commandments of God.
Beloved, the biblical stories of the wickedness of people in the past and the consequences that followed, reminds every believer in Christ to be watchful. You must be aware and sensitive to the wickedness of the present day, especially the evil practices and occurrences around you. Every impure thought and extreme desire is evil (Gal. 5:19-21). You must not be part of the present day wickedness; do not take part in the present day evil. Flee all appearances of evil (IThess. 5:22). You must stand against evil and wickedness and warn the sinner about the judgment of God on wickedness and sinful acts (Psa. 37:10). Stay away from anything that can lead you astray from God.
Prayer:
Lord, keep and uphold me with your right hand of love; give me the grace to stay away from the present day wickedness in Jesus’ Name.
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