December 15, 2014
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Clean Sweep

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Opening Prayer

Mighty Father, Your power is great and Your love never fails. I lift my praise to You.

Read Zephaniah 1:1-13

[1] The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah: [2] “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. [3] “I will sweep away both man and beast; I will sweep away the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea- and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.” “When I destroy all mankind on the face of the earth,” declares the LORD, [4] “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests- [5] those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the LORD and who also swear by Molek, [6] those who turn back from following the LORD and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him.” [7] Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited. [8] “On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice I will punish the officials and the king’s sons and all those clad in foreign clothes. [9] On that day I will punish all who avoid stepping on the threshold, who fill the temple of their gods with violence and deceit. [10] “On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills. [11] Wail, you who live in the market district; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be destroyed. [12] At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’ [13] Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished. Though they build houses, they will not live in them; though they plant vineyards, they will not drink the wine.”

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

“We live in a vast world of inter-connectedness, and the connections have consequences-either in things or in people-and all the consequences come together in God. The biblical phrase for the coming together of the consequences is Judgment Day” (Eugene Peterson).

A catastrophic event is coming and two things are clear: its total impact and its inevitability. Much Old Testament prophecy works on a conditional basis–unless there is change there will be consequences–but this is different. Nothing can now avert the impending disaster. It will affect the whole of society, sweeping through the city of Jerusalem (10-12). The leaders, both political and religious, are singled out (5,8). All of creation will be swept away–in contrast to the undertaking to Noah (Gen. 9:11)–and Jerusalem will be destroyed despite the promise to David 

(2 Sam. 7:15). How can this be? Perhaps it is because (although it is not spelled out here) beyond the devastation lies restoration. This is purging rather than a total and final destruction. Evil must be removed to prepare for a new and better future.

The root cause of this is worship of other gods. God’s patience is exhausted. Pagan shrines had existed in the Jerusalem area since at least the time of Solomon (1 Kings 11:7,8) but Manasseh had taken this to new levels (2 Kings 21:1-9). The worship of anything but the Lord was acceptable.

Even as the destruction hangs over the people, their attitude is one of careless complacency (12). God had no place in their world. The parallels with our own situation are evident. Any god will do, preferably one of our own making who does not make demands on us. We live, at least in most rich societies, for our own pleasure, building, planting, preparing for a future that we think is secure (13). Recession has undermined some of the old certainties, but we still tend to assume that we are in control, that we can solve any crisis from economic meltdown to global warming. We continue to worship our modern idols convinced that God, if he exists, will not or cannot do anything.

Apply

Spend some time reflecting on your society. What parallels do you see to the society that Zephaniah describes? Try to catch something of God’s heart for our world.

Closing prayer

Lord, it is a sobering thought to realize that my faith must impact all of my life. I pray that the way I treat people may be a true reflection of my love for You.

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