Keeping the faith in the bad Times

 Read Zephaniah 2.

The devastation during the coming "day of the LORD" will be global; "all the lands of the nations" (v.11b).    Zephaniah's message includes both near-term and the ultimate earthly judgments of God.

God's anger will be displayed in all four directions.
-To the west (vv.4-6): Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ekron.  These were the coastal cities occupied primarily by the Philistines.
-To the east (vv.8-9): Moab and Ammon.  These were descendants of Lot from incest after the rescue from Sodom.  Interestingly, their judgment is compared to Sodom and Gomorrah.
-To the south (v.12): The people of Cush were descendants of Ham.  They became the Ethiopians and controlled the lands south of Judah, including Egypt.
-To the north (vv.13-15): Assyria.  The capital city of Nineveh was considered impenetrable.  But their pride went far beyond physical defense.  "I am and there is no one else" (v.15b).  Their sense that they were untouchable by man or God would result in their downfall.

Three insights for our faith:
1. God has hope for the future.
The second part of "the day of the LORD" will bring hope and restoration.
"For the LORD their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes." (v.7b)
No matter how awful things become in this world, God's plans for His earthly kingdom and our eternal home will unfold right on time.

2. God sees and hears our circumstances. (v.8)
"I have heard the taunts...and the revilings...how they have taunted my people and made boasts against their territory."  Every generation has had those who stated goal was/is to annihilate the Jews and drive them from their God-promised land.  The LORD has heard every word and will respond accordingly.  That is not only true of the Jews but equally applies to Christians under persecution.  "The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry" (Psalm 34:15).

3. God will be honored by every person. (v.11)
"...to him shall bow down."  People may now claim to have their own beliefs but in that day the exclusive worship of the LORD will be seen.  "So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:8-9)  

His invitation in verse 3 is simple.  Life-change is evident in three areas:
Seek the LORD-upward
Seek righteousness-outward
Seek humility-inward

 

The cause and cure of God's coming Judgment

 Read Zephaniah 1.

The Holy Spirit revealed to Zephaniah a vision concerning "the day of the LORD."  The phrase is used 20 times in these 53 verses.  It refers to both the future judgment and the future blessings God has in store.  This prophecy majors on judgment.

Immediately, the message proclaims worldwide punishment on everything (vv.2-3).  Pointedly, Judah and the capital of Jerusalem will be among the targets.  This indicates that the prophecy blends the impending invasion by Babylon and the ultimate judgment of God on the earth.  Often, the prophets' visions of the events to come were joined and not separated by time, as is the actual case

The Apostle Peter wrote of the earth's judgment as still future.  "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed." (2 Peter 3:10)

What is the root cause of such a horrific future?
"Because they sinned against the LORD" (v.17b).  It is the sin of "those who have turned back from following the LORD who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him."  Instead, people have turned away from Him to their own devices.  Verses 4-5 provide just a few examples: Baal worship, following idolatrous spiritual leaders, looking to the planets and stars for guidance, and the Ammonite god Milcom (Molech).

What is a common response to God's announced judgment?
"The LORD will not do good nor will he do ill." (v.12b)  In other words, they do not believe God cares about their beliefs or behaviors.  They willfully ignore the plain statements of God's words to them.  His warnings do not prompt them to change the spiritual direction of their lives.

Jesus taught the same messages of warning.
"The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:41-42)

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." (Matthew 24:29)

What is the only hope?
"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains of him." (John 3:36)

When our prayers are not answered as we Imagined

 Read Habakkuk 3.

The prophet wanted to know why God was not responding to the sin in Judah.  God answered by saying that He had prepared the Babylonians to come and mete out His discipline.  That was not what Habakkuk wanted to hear.  He presented his complaints to God and waited.  In chapter two God answered the prophet a second time in clear and no uncertain terms. 

God's powerful plan for Judah's captivity by a foreign nation scared Habakkuk.  His whole body trembled at God's words (3:16).  But, under the inspiration and movement of the Holy Spirit, Habakkuk wrote chapter three as a song of prayer.  It tells us what he learned and of his faith commitments as he faced the future.

1. Prayer Requests (v.2)
Though the title of this chapter is a prayer, there are only two requests:
-He asked that God display a refreshing of His people in the middle of this adversity.
-He asked that God display mercy during this time of discipline.

2. Powerful Reminders (vv.3-15)
-Who God is.  The LORD is God Almighty.  All nature and nations are in His control and do His bidding at His command.  As Israel witnessed in the Exodus, God needed no assistance in defeating the entire Egyptian army.  The same would be true of the Babylonians.
-Why God acts.  In verse 13, there are two reasons for His intervention.  First, He is preserving the nation of Israel.  This temporary discipline was part of His long-range plan of fulfilling the unconditional covenant made with Abraham and his descendants.
Second, He is preserving the lineage of the Messiah who will ultimately redeem His people and restore them to world prominence when He rules and reigns from Jerusalem.

3. Praise Commitments (vv.16-19)
Again, the true awesomeness of God shook Habakkuk emotionally and physically.  Spiritually, however, the prophet was refreshed.  He announced two faith-commitments that changed his attitude and his life. 
-"Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come..."  He knew what would happen and his commitment was to not to panic or fret.  He could quietly wait because he also knew God was in charge.  His prayer from chapter one was being answered but not in the way he imagined.
-"Yet I will rejoice in the LORD..."  This is not an emotional celebration because it is a happy occasion, but this rejoicing is an act of the will.  It is a choice to trust God through tough times, knowing one is in the center of His will.  As Nehemiah encouraged the people, "And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10b)

 

God's response to those who question Him

 Read Habakkuk 2.

The prophet complained and then tried to argue with God.  He appeared so confident in taking a stance and waited to see what the LORD would say to his logic.  God responded as forthrightly as possible.  "Write this down!," He ordered, so it could be clearly communicated.

Having gained the prophet's attention and with pen in hand, God unfolded His plan to Habakkuk.  Indeed, the Babylonians were wicked.  They were greedy, evil, violent, pride-filled, given to drunkenness, and idolaters.  The LORD did not overlook one of their sins.  In His time, He will judge that empire.  But, in the meantime, God’s people needed some national discipline.

Three insights we all need to learn from verses 2-4:
1. God wants everyone to know what He has revealed.
"The vision" is the Word of God that He revealed and, therefore, is totally reliable and without error.  As the Apostle Peter explained, "...we did not follow cleverly devised myths...no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 2:16, 21).  We have in writing and, thankfully, in our own language exactly what God wants us to know. 

2. God acts on His time schedule, not ours.
He will not be late in carrying out His plans.  All will be fulfilled.  Those who love God need not be discouraged about the sin in this world and the difficulties in this life.  Solomon wrote: "He has made everything beautiful in its time" (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
 
3. Our response to God's plan and timing is to trust Him.
It may seem that the wicked get away with their sin and ungodly behaviors.  But those who know the LORD see beyond the current circumstances and look to the One who is control of all things.  He is worthy of our trust.  He is ever faithful.  In great contrast to the world around us, "the righteous shall live by his faith" (v.4).

The plan of God also looks forward to a day when every wrong will be made right.  In that day, when Jesus rules and reigns in the Millennial Kingdom, "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (v.14).  So, let the idolaters cease crying out to their made-up objects of worship and life-guidance, and stop complaining or questioning God.  The LORD is in control, "in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him" (v.20).

 

Why doesn't God do something?

 Read Habakkuk 1.

This is the only book in the Bible where the prophet initiates the message.  Habakkuk was frustrated.  Everywhere he looked in Judah all he could see was sin and injustice.  He complained directly to God, "Why aren't you doing something about the sin in this nation?"  He falsely assumed that God was somehow idle or ignoring the blatant wrong-doing.

In verses 5-11, we have the response.  God had all along been preparing to activate His plan for Judah.  In verse 5, God explained why He did not reveal His intentions to Habakkuk.  The prophet would neither believe it, nor would he like it.  The LORD empowered the Babylonians to conquer the Assyrians.  With their rise to world power, Judah would be the next Babylonian target.  God's plan was to use that wicked, violent, ungodly empire to discipline His people.

As predicted, this was not what Habakkuk wanted to hear at all.  He reacted with what he thought were two strong, irrefutable arguments:
1. God is too holy to use sinners to accomplish His work. (v.13a)
2. Judah was more righteous than the Babylonians. (v.13b)
With that, the prophet seems to smugly believe that he had God cornered and in 2:1, he said, "I will take my stand" and wait to see how God will answer now.

Three insights for us to know about the sovereignty of God:
1. God is always active fulfilling His plans for individuals and nations.
"'I am the Alpha and Omega," says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'" (Revelation 1:8)  He eternally knows and controls the beginning and the end of all things.

2. God can use anyone to accomplish His will. 
"Surely the wrath of man shall praise you." (Psalm 76:10)

3. God’s decisions regarding His plans become tests of our faith.
If we could see the future, we probably would react a lot like Habakkuk.  There would be things we would not like or want to hear.  Trusting the steadfast love of God in the uncertainty of life and the hardships that come is the essence of living by faith.  God will teach the prophet this in the next chapter.  "But the righteous shall live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4b)

 

5 behaviors that brought God's Judgment

 Read Nahum 3.

Nineveh thought that their city was impenetrable.  The walls were high and wide.  Water surrounded the city, forming a natural barrier.  In addition, Assyrian soldiers were well-known for their fierce brutality.  Who would dare even try to conquer them?

Chapter three continues to describe the Babylonian assault on Nineveh with even more graphic detail.  The city walls were breached with a flood of their own water.  Babylonian attackers came upon them so quickly that the assailants tripped over the dead bodies as they advanced (v.3). 

Why did God inflict this punishment upon Assyria?
1. They were infamously cruel. (v.1a)
They did not merely conquer enemies.  They slaughtered them.  Thus, God referred to Nineveh as a bloody city.

2. They were full of lies. (v.1b)
The Assyrian Empire had been built on deceiving other nations in order to control and conquer them.

3. They plundered in excess. (v.1c)
In conquering, they stripped the cities and nations of all valuables, especially gold and silver.  Moreover, they excised enormous tax burdens to feed their greed.

4. They betrayed their neighbors with enticements. (v.4a)
God compared them to prostitutes.  They would do anything for selfish gain and control.  Their offer to aid and help others was a hook to reel them into their snare.

5. They practiced witchcraft and divinations. (v.4b)
In attempts to make decisions, to seek guidance, to gain success, and to know the future they committed themselves to doctrines of demons.  Charms, necromancy, astrology, various kinds of readings, and worship practices were all present in Nineveh.  God asked, "For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?" (v.19c).

Their independent pride of power and wealth caused them to believe that no one, not even God Himself, could touch them.  But the LORD truly is Almighty.  He said he would shake them like fig trees with ripened fruit (v.12).  All Nineveh's defenses and security systems will fail.

Individuals can fall into the same pride-filled trap.  Ego and self-protection cause people to mistreat others, lie to others. use others for personal gain, live a lifestyle of deception, and turn to anything but God and His Word for life-guidance.  Every false way will eventually fall as sure as did Nineveh.

There is only one certain personal security in the entire universe.  Jesus promised, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

 

The lion's roar is no More

 Read Nahum 2.

God used the Assyrians to discipline the northern kingdom of Israel.  Now, about a hundred years later, it was Assyria in need of punishment.  The Holy Spirit revealed to the prophet Nahum the sights and sounds of the Babylonian attack on Nineveh in 612 B.C. about thirty plus years in advance.  The details are amazing, intense, and confirmed by archaeology.

What they did to others will be done to them.  They killed and scattered the northern tribes throughout their empire.  The Babylonians will kill and scatter them.  There will be no defense against the attackers.

In verses three and four, even the clothing of the soldiers, their shields, the chariots, and spears are all described.  So swift will be the battle that the destruction will come upon them like a torrential flood.  Indeed, the diggings around the site show two dams that the Babylonians may have built then breached, to overwhelm the city.

The once proud empire that referred to itself as a lion in the world, and often used the symbol of a lion, is mocked in verses ten through twelve.  "Where is the lions' den?"  Instead of roaring and devouring its prey, Nineveh became the hunted.  "Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins."

Babylon could take no credit.  God is in control.  He is working out His plans among the nations.  See these statements from the LORD to Nineveh in verse 13.
"I am against you."
"I will burn your chariots..."
"I will cut off your prey from the earth and your messengers shall no longer be heard."

Where is the hope for God's people?
In verse two, the LORD stated that He is relieving them of the Assyrian oppression and He promised to one day restore the "majesty of Jacob."  That full restoration has yet to take place.  The Millennial Kingdom and Israel's exaltation will be when Jesus comes again.