Zephania: Seek The Lord Series

ILLUSTRATION:

French writer Alexis de Tocqueville (TOKEVILLE), after visiting America in 1831, said, “I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests—and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning—and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!”

COMMENT:

The America that Alexis saw in 1831 is not the same America today. I may have been rather naïve, but I believe the America that I grew up in as a boy is not the same America that my grandchildren are growing up in today. If Alexis were alive today and visited America for the first time, I personally don’t think he would have written: “America is great because America is good.”

A. Throughout our study of the Minor Prophets, we have seen over and over that God is concerned with what

NATIONS and GOVERNMENTS do.

1. In fact, a NATION is as GREAT as is its ALLEGIANCE to God. -“Blessed is the nation whose God

is the Lord . . .”- Psalm 33:12a

COMMENT:

We have seen this to be true throughout the MINOR PROPHETS. Israel and Judah were blessed as long as they served the Lord, but when they turned away from God the BLESSINGS ceased.

2. Sadly, statistics reveal that America is becoming less and less a nation who recognizes God is Lord

a. I truly believe that there are concerted efforts by our current government to eradicate Christianity

from the United States of America.

ILLUSTRATION:

The TEN COMMANDMENTS are being removed from COURT HOUSES. CROSSES that have stood for DECADES on public grounds are being TAKEN DOWN. NATIVITIES can no longer be displayed on CITY SQUARES. CHRISTMAS VACATION is being taken out of SCHOOL CALENDARS and replaced with WINTER HOLIDAY. MILITARY CHAPLAINS are being ordered not to use the BIBLE in COUNSELING with others.

Our government sanctions the INFANTICIDE of one million UNBORN BABIES each year. GAY MARRIAGE is not only legal in America, but PASTORS and CHURCHES are now being taken to COURT because of their REFUSAL to PARTICIPATE in a PRACTICE that they wholeheartedly believe VIOLATES God’s TEACHINGS.

b. How much longer will God allow America that was founded upon the principles of WORSHIPING God FREELY, to continue down a PATH that is moving further and further AWAY from Him?

B. The Southern Kingdom of Judah was LEARNING the answer to a similar question: “How much longer

would Judah be allowed to continue down a PATH that was TURNING the nation FURTHER away

from the Lord God?”

1. The answer: NOT LONG! God- “I will stretch my hand against Judah, and against all who live in Jerusalem”- Zephaniah 1:4

2. Zephaniah was written around 625 BC during the reign of Josiah, the last good king that Judah had.

a. The prophet traces his ancestry back four generations to King Hezekiah, his great-great grandfather.

COMMENT:

His message hits hard the RULING CLASS of Judah for their part in leading the people down a path of IMMORALITY, CORRUPTION, and IDOLATRY. Undoubtedly when he mentions PRINCES (king’s sons) he is denouncing his own RELATIVES, but boldly presented God’s Word.

b. Zephaniah’s name means: “THE LORD HIDES.”

C. BACKGROUND to Zephaniah’s message:

1. “Judah, under the rule of Josiah, had undergone a complete RELIGIOUS REFORM”- 2 Chron. 34.

COMMENT:

Josiah took the throne at 8 years of age. The KINGS before him, his father and grandfather, were very WICKED. They rebuilt and began to WORSHIP the IDOLS that King Hezekiah had removed from the land. At 16, Josiah began seeking after God. At 20, he began to purge Jerusalem of IDOLATRY. And at 26, he began to rebuild the long forsaken TEMPLE of God.

During the renovation of the temple, Hilkiah, the HIGH PRIEST, found the BOOK of the LAW that had been NEGLECTED for years. They brought it to the King, and immediately he realized the significance of it and was OVERJOYED. After consulting with Huldah, the prophetess, concerning the book, Josiah called together all the elders of Judah to come to the temple. There the king renewed the COVENANT with God to CLEAR the land of all IDOLATRY and to have the people of Judah to

ABIDE by all the COMMANDMENTS written in the book of the Law.

However, in spite of Josiah’s efforts of RELIGIOUS REFORM, the people were still vey WICKED. It became more of an OUTWARD REFORM than an INWARD one. Many continued to worship BAAL and other gods.