The Great Day of the Lord
Opening Prayer
Ask the Lord to help you see clearly and gain a true picture of where you stand with him.
Read Zephaniah 1:14-2:3
[14] The great day of the LORD is near- near and coming quickly. The cry on the day of the LORD is bitter; the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry. [15] That day will be a day of wrath- a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness- [16] a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. [17] “I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like dung. [18] Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD’s wrath.” In the fire of his jealousy the whole earth will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live on the earth. [1] Judah Summoned to Repent Gather together, gather yourselves together, you shameful nation, [2] before the decree takes effect and that day passes like windblown chaff, before the LORD’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the LORD’s wrath comes upon you. [3] Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What will the "day of the Lord" bring?It would be nice to think that everything is going to turn out right in the end. It gives you a kind of comfortable feeling. In the Old Testament this was expressed by the term “the day of the Lord” (14). This was seen as the day when all God’s promises would be fulfilled, the wicked would be put in their place, and those who worship and love God would get their promised reward. That was the popular view. To the prophets, however, this was sheer self-deception. So Amos declared that the day of the Lord was to be “darkness, not light” (Amos 5:18), and Zephaniah clinches it with those eleven hammer blows of 1:15,16. A glorious future in God’s Kingdom is only for those who live in accordance with Zephaniah 2:3. This does not annul the Christian hope that comes to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Far from it. The Lord Jesus makes our future all the more sure as we trust in him for salvation. But self-deception is what we are being warned against, and we may well need that warning.
Apply
“Seek the Lord…. Seek righteousness, seek humility” (3). What does that say to you today?
Closing prayer
Ask the Lord to help you avoid self-deception about what you deserve. Thank him for your acceptance in Christ.
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