Sunday, March 12, 2017

A CITY NOT ALWAYS HOLY



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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled! She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord, she does not draw near to her God.”

“Her officials within her are roaring lions; her rulers are evening wolves, who leave nothing for the morning. Her prophets are unprincipled; they are treacherous people. Her priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the law.”

“The Lord within her is righteous; He does no wrong. Morning by morning, He dispenses His justice, and every new day He does not fail, yet the unrighteous know no shame.”

“I have destroyed nations; their strongholds are demolished. I have left their streets deserted, with no one passing through.  Their cities are laid waste; they are deserted and empty. Of Jerusalem I thought, ‘Surely you will fear Me and accept correction!’ Then her place of refuge would not be destroyed, nor all My punishments come upon her. But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did.”

“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the Lord, “for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out My wrath on them—all My fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of My jealous anger.”

Zephaniah 3:1-8

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It was the crown jewel city of Israel, the city where people would come from far and wide to celebrate prescribed feasts and festivals such as Passover. It was where God’s temple was located, the divine and sacred place where His presence could be found. Indeed, it was a city renowned for its holiness, a city like no other, a city called Jerusalem.

But something terrible happened. As we see in today’s opening verses from Zephaniah 3, sin established a foothold, influencing people from the top down, showing us that God’s holy, cherished city wasn’t always that way. Look again at today’s passage:

“Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled! She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord, she does not draw near to her God.”

“Her officials within her are roaring lions; her rulers are evening wolves, who leave nothing for the morning. Her prophets are unprincipled; they are treacherous people. Her priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the law.”

“The Lord within her is righteous; He does no wrong. Morning by morning, He dispenses His justice, and every new day He does not fail, yet the unrighteous know no shame.”

“I have destroyed nations; their strongholds are demolished. I have left their streets deserted, with no one passing through.  Their cities are laid waste; they are deserted and empty. Of Jerusalem I thought, ‘Surely you will fear Me and accept correction!’ Then her place of refuge would not be destroyed, nor all My punishments come upon her. But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did.”

“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the Lord, “for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out My wrath on them—all My fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of My jealous anger.” Zephaniah 3:1-8
  
How far had Jerusalem fallen?

Note that the Lord called the people within oppressors, rebellious, and defiled while adding that they were a disobedient lot who had turned away from God in trust and faith. The issues were systemic in nature with even those in positions of leadership inclined toward wickedness over righteousness. God likened the officials to “roaring lions”, the rulers to “evening wolves” who devour, the prophets to those who were without principle, and the priests to those considered profane and murderous. God summed it all up by saying the unrighteous knew no shame, committing their transgressions in plain sight of the God who righteously dwelled among them in Jerusalem, the God who never did wrong nor failed, the God who perfectly dispensed judgment,

It was that last truth about God that Jerusalem would soon experience first-hand. For God was about to send judgment on His beloved city. He had hoped the Israelites would wake up, change their ways, and fear Him but they didn’t reverse course. Instead, they eagerly acted corrupt in all they did.

And so God sent the Babylonians under the command of King Nebuchadnezzar and not only Jerusalem but the kingdom of Judah as a whole was utterly plundered, destroyed, and left in ruin. Even God’s temple was demolished before the Babylonians hauled the Israelites away into seventy years of captivity. God’s wrath had come and come in a big way, not only on Judah and Jerusalem but on other nations as well who had chosen to oppose Him by living in sin.

In the end translation, God commanded and then expected His people to be holy as He is holy. He did so then in Zephaniah’s day and He still calls us to holiness today.

If we choose to comply with this call, then we can live in God’s favor and blessing, abiding in the peace that comes from pleasing Him.

However, if we choose to not be holy, to live in wickedness by conforming to the ways of the world then we can expect the same fate as Judah, Jerusalem, and the surrounding nations who basked in iniquities. For God will not stand for blatant, willing, willful sin and will take corrective action against anyone who travels that road to destruction.    

Given this, where do you stand today? In God’s favor or in the crosshairs of His punishment?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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