Remnant Restored
Opening Prayer
Sing (or speak) a song of praise to the Lord!
Read Zephaniah 2:4–15
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
4 Gaza will be abandoned
and Ashkelon left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
5 Woe to you who live by the sea,
you Kerethite people;
the word of the Lord is against you,
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
and none will be left.”
6 The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and pens for flocks.
7 That land will belong
to the remnant of the people of Judah;
there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will care for them;
he will restore their fortunes.
Moab and Ammon
8 “I have heard the insults of Moab
and the taunts of the Ammonites,
who insulted my people
and made threats against their land.
9 Therefore, as surely as I live,”
declares the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel,
“surely Moab will become like Sodom,
the Ammonites like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder them;
the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.”
10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,
for insulting and mocking
the people of the Lord Almighty.
11 The Lord will be awesome to them
when he destroys all the gods of the earth.
Distant nations will bow down to him,
all of them in their own lands.
Cush
12 “You Cushites, too,
will be slain by my sword.”
Assyria
13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,
leaving Nineveh utterly desolate
and dry as the desert.
14 Flocks and herds will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owl and the screech owl
will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
rubble will fill the doorways,
the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15 This is the city of revelry
that lived in safety.
She said to herself,
“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”
What a ruin she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!
All who pass by her scoff
and shake their fists.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
If this were a current judgment pronounced on our world, how would it differ?Here Zephaniah becomes more specific in naming those who will be destroyed in the coming judgment. He lists cities and nations which have mocked the people of God (8) and have been filled with pride (10,15), believing that the Lord would not respond. The places they have built and trusted in will either be turned over to nature and wild animals (13,14) or will become home to God’s faithful people (7–9).
If the end of yesterday’s passage suggested that there might yet be hope for some to escape the judgment, today we are introduced to the idea of a “remnant”—a group of God’s faithful people who are to benefit from the judgment. The concept of the “remnant” can be found throughout Scripture, especially in the prophetic books. While the Lord had to judge his people many times, he did not allow them to be wiped out completely.
As Christians in modern society, we often feel like a misunderstood minority. We may face insults, taunts and threats just like the remnant of God’s people in Zephaniah’s day (8). Our hope is not that a city will be emptied so that we can move in. The Day of the Lord that we are looking forward to is the return of Jesus. Our hope is not for a temporary salvation in this world, but for the eternal reign of Christ.
Apply
What kind of persecution do you face in your life? Are you ready to stand firm for Christ when hard times come?
Closing prayer
Lord, I pray that the church will be a faithful remnant, both here and abroad, even when facing persecution.
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