If you have a stainless-steel refrigerator, you know it’s very hard to keep clean. But what if you owned a stainless-steel car?
That’s what worried Matt McClure even before he purchased his brand new $100,000 Tesla Cybertruck. He spent hours researching the internet for tips on keeping the exterior clean and received several suggestions. One Reddit user proposed WD-40. Another advised glass cleaner as the safest option. Some others suggested Goo Gone, an adhesive remover, while others swore by Bar Keepers Friend.
In still another reply, Chris Leiter said he often worries about “the stainless-steel panel above the front bumper becoming a massive graveyard for bugs.” He submitted a photo of the bug massacre to ChatGPT, which estimated about 4,600 deceased bugs.
After hours of research, McClure shelled out $500 for cleaning products and settled on a multistep process to wash and coat his new car. 1st, wash with car shampoo. 2nd, apply a stainless-steel rust remover. 3rd, clean with Bar Keepers Friend and Windex. 4th, dry thoroughly. 5th, wipe the vehicle down with isopropyl alcohol. Then finish with ProtectaClear, a coating for metal that helps hide fingerprints (Ben Glickman, “The Toughest Part About Owning A Tesla Cybertruck? Cleaning It,” The Wall Street Journal, 9-24-24; www.PreachingToday.com).
Wow! That’s a lot of work, but not near so much as keeping your soul clean. So how do you do that? How do you clean and keep clean your own soul, which lasts forever?
That was Judah’s concern 700 years before Christ. For 55 years, they had suffered under the evil reigns of Hezekiah’s son Manasseh (695–642 BC) and grandson Amon (642–640 BC). Idolatry, violence, and injustice had deeply stained the nation. Then Josiah, a godly king came to power (640-609 B.C). He led the nation back to God. When they were repairing the Temple, Hilkiah the high priest found the Book of the Law; and when King Josiah heard it, he tore his clothes in despair. He realized that Judah faced God’s severe judgment for breaking the law, so he instituted a series of reforms to turn the nation back to God (2 Kings 22 & 23).
That’s when God spoke to the nation through the prophet Zephaniah. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Zephaniah, four books from the end of the Old Testament, Zephaniah, where God shows His people how to cooperate with Him as He purifies the nation.
Zephaniah 1:1 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 (ESV).
Zephaniah was the great-great grandson of king Hezekiah, a member of the royal family, but more importantly, the LORD’s treasure, for that’s what his name means.
Zephaniah 1:2-6 “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. “I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests— 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 Molech, those who turn back from following the LORD and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him (ESV).
Indeed, God will “sweep away” everyone who does not repent, and that includes the citizens of the nation of Judah. God will clean house someday, and He will start with His own people.
1 Peter 4:17 says, “It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
You see, just because you associate with God’s people, just because you go to church with them, or just because they’re in your family, that doesn’t mean you’re exempt from judgment, because God will sweep away the pretenders.
Evidently, that was the case in Judah even during Josiah’s reforms. There was great revival, but not everyone turned to the Lord in their hearts. They outwardly participated with the reforms but secretly continued to worship their idols. So God is about to act!
Zephaniah 1:7 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 (ESV).
God is preparing Judah like a sacrifice. He is preparing them for slaughter like sacrificial animals in that day were prepared to be eaten. And His guests, in this context the Babylonians, are coming to eat the sacrifice, with that sacrifice including the king’s own sons.
Zephaniah 1:8 On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice I will punish the princes and the king’s sons and all those clad in foreign clothes (ESV).
Evidently, they inwardly adopted foreign values and practices, as evidenced by their foreign dress. As King Josiah implemented reforms to turn the nation back to God, his own sons were far away from God in their own hearts.
As it turned out, Josiah’s sons and grandsons became wicked kings, who were captured, blinded, or killed by Egypt and Babylon (2 Kings 23-25). Their family ties could not save them. The fact that their father was a good king, who tried to lead the nation back to God, did not exempt them from God’s judgment. And no pretender is exempt from God’s judgment.
Zephaniah 1:9-13 On that day I will punish all who avoid stepping on the threshold, who fill the temple of their gods with violence and deceit. “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. Wail, you who live in the market district; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be ruined. 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.’ Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished. They will build houses but not live in them; they will plant vineyards but not drink the wine (ESV).
God will punish those who leap across the thresholds of people’s homes to pillage and steal. God will punish the businessmen and even the complacent, those who believe God doesn’t care what they do.
Zephaniah 1:14-18 “The great day of the LORD is near— near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. 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, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. 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 world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth” (ESV).
On one terrible day, God will completely destroy all the inhabitants of the earth, including the pretenders among His own people.
This prophecy looks well beyond the Babylonian captivity to the time at the end when the Apostle Peter says “the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Peter 3:10).
The fire of God’s judgment will purify the entire world. So, what do you do in light of that coming judgment?
Zephaniah 2:1-3 Gather together, gather together, O shameful nation, before the appointed time arrives and that day sweeps on like chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the LORD’s wrath comes upon you. 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 (ESV).
God will hide you. He will protect you from His wrath on that great and terrible day if you truly seek Him from your heart. So, in light of His coming judgment, which starts with His own people…
GENUINELY SEEK THE LORD.
Stop pretending and honestly pursue God in your own heart. Don’t just go through the motions; truly chase after Him. Make knowing Him and doing His will the quest of your life.
Detergent advertisers once promoted their product with statements like “Gets your whites whiter and your brights brighter.” That’s what the market research revealed customers wanted. But was it really? In his book Start with Why, Simon Sinek explains:
The data was true, but the truth of what people wanted was different. The makers of laundry detergent asked consumers WHAT they wanted from detergent, and consumers said whiter whites and brighter brights… So detergent companies advertised HOW they got your whites whiter and brights brighter, but their sales remained flat. That’s because no one asked customers WHY they wanted their clothes clean.
Later, a group of researchers observed that when people took their laundry out of the dryer, no one held it up to the light to see how white and bright it was. The first thing people did was to smell it. Sinek concludes, “This was an amazing discovery. Feeling clean was more important to people than being clean” (Simon Sinek, Start With Why, Portfolio, 2009, Page 61; www.PreachingToday.com).
What about you? Do you just want to FEEL clean, or do you truly want to BE clean? Do you just want a spiritual high, or do you want a true spiritual transformation. Do you just want the warm fuzzies of a religious experience, or do you truly want God to clean out your soul, purging your sin and making you pure within. Then…
Please, don’t settle for the appearance of godliness (2 Tim. 3:5). Instead, pursue a real relationship with God Himself through faith in Jesus, His Son. Pursue a life-changing relationship with God by trusting Christ with your life. For that’s why Jesus came to this earth. He came to die on a cross for your sins and rise again, so He could bring you and His father together to enjoy a life-changing relationship with Him.
If you truly want to be clean in light of coming judgment, then 1st, Genuinely seek the Lord. 2nd…
PATIENTLY WAIT FOR THE LORD.
Faithfully anticipate His coming. Steadfastly prepare to meet your God.
In the first part of Zephaniah, God focuses on judging His people, purging out the pretenders. In the next part of Zephaniah, God focuses on judging the world, purging it from all evil. Take a look.
Zephaniah 2:4-7 Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted. Woe to you who live by the sea, O Kerethite people; the word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines. “I will destroy you, and none will be left.” The land by the sea, where the Kerethites dwell, will be a place for shepherds and sheep pens. It will belong to the remnant of the house 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 (ESV).
God will destroy the cities and nations to the west of Judah. He will also destroy the nations east of Judah—Moab and Ammon
Zephaniah 2:8-12 “I have heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammonites, who insulted my people and made threats against their land. 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.” This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the LORD Almighty. The LORD will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the land. The nations on every shore will worship him, every one in its own land. “You too, O Cushites, will be slain by my sword” (ESV).
God will destroy the nations west and east of Judah. And He will destroy the nation north of Judah, the world-power of Zephaniah’s day—the nation of Assyria.
Zephaniah 2:13-15 He will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert. Flocks and herds will lie down there, creatures of every kind. The desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns. Their calls will echo through the windows, rubble will be in the doorways, the beams of cedar will be exposed. This is the carefree city that lived in safety. She said to herself, “I am, 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 (ESV).
God will totally waste the nation the people of Judah feared the most—the Great Assyrian Empire to the north. God will judge the nations west, east, and north of Judah, and He will judge Judah, as well.
Zephaniah 3:1-5 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 are roaring lions, her rulers are evening wolves, who leave nothing for the morning. Her prophets are arrogant; they are treacherous men. 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 (ESV).
Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, is “the oppressing city” (vs.1), whose political and religious leaders oppress the people. So, if the just God judges other nations for their oppression, He must also judge Judah for the same thing.
Zephaniah 3:6-7 “I have cut off nations; their strongholds are demolished. I have left their streets deserted, with no one passing through. Their cities are destroyed; no one will be left—no one at all. I said to the city, ‘Surely you will fear me and accept correction!’ Then her dwelling would not be cut off, nor all my punishments come upon her. But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did (ESV).
God was hoping Judah would get the message when He judged the nations all around them, but they ignored His message and became even more corrupt. So, what do you do in light of God’s purifying judgment?
Zephaniah 3:8 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 (ESV).
Wait for God to act. Don’t seek your own revenge, but wait for God’s vengeance on those who have hurt you.
In light of your oppressors, James 5 says, “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:7-8).
Jesus is coming, who will right all wrongs. He will deal justly with those who hurt you, so leave it up to Him. Patiently wait for the Lord. Faithfully anticipate His coming, and so keep yourself pure instead of soiling your own soul by returning evil for evil.
1 John says, “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:3, NIV). As you wait with eager expectation for the Lord, you purify your own soul.
In an old Amos and Andy television program, Andy was angry. There was a big man who would continually slap Andy across the chest every time they met. Andy finally had enough of it. He told Amos, “I'm going to get revenge. I put a stick of dynamite in my vest pocket. The next time he slaps me on the chest he's going to get his hand blown off.” There was only one problem. The dynamite would also blow his own heart out (Gaylord Goertsen, The Christian Leader, Feb. 26, 1991; www.PreachingToday.com).
Dear friend, has someone hurt you? Then remove the dynamite from your own heart and wait for God to make it right.
In you want to be clean in the face of God’s purifying judgment, 1st, Genuinely seek the Lord. 2nd, Patiently wait for the Lord. And 3rd…
JOYFULLY SING TO THE LORD.
Gladly praise God for His purifying judgment. With great joy and happiness, worship the Lord. For God’s judgment will purify the nations.
Zephaniah 3:9-10 “Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings (ESV).
Those who once cursed God’s people will call on the Lord. Furthermore, God’s judgment will also purify His own people.
Zephaniah 3:11-13 On that day you will not be put to shame for all the wrongs you have done to me, because I will remove from this city those who rejoice in their pride. Never again will you be haughty on my holy hill. But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid” (ESV).
God will remove all the pretenders and leave only those who humbly depend on Him. So sing to the Lord and shout out His praise.
Zephaniah 3:14 Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! (ESV)
Sing, because God will purify your sin. He will replace your condemnation with commendation. Instead of judging you, God will sing over you.
Zephaniah 3:15-17 The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (ESV).
Instead of screaming at you, God sings over you.
Pastor Jeremy Treat talks about his high school basketball coach, who was a classic screamer who motivated with fear and shame. His voice was powerful, but Jeremy says, “I heard it only when I did something wrong… Red in the cheeks and foaming at the mouth, he would scream until I had to wipe the spit off the side of my face” (Jeremy Treat, “God is Not Out to Get You,” Christianity Today, November, 2016, pp. 64-65; www.Preaching Today.com).
That’s how a lot of people see God—as a screamer who uses shame and guilt to get people in line. But here we have a very different picture. He is the God who saves, and He is the God who sings! So sing to Him, because He sings over you.
American playwright and Jesuit priest, Bill Cain took a break from his own ministry years ago to care for his father, who was dying of cancer. His father had become a frail man, dependent on Bill to do everything for him. Though physically he was not what he had been, his mind remained sharp and alert.
In the role reversal common to adult children who care for their dying parents, Bill would put his father to bed and then read him to sleep, exactly as his father had done for him in childhood. Bill would read from some novel, and his father would lie there, staring at his son, smiling.
Sometimes, Bill was exhausted from the day's care and work and would plead with his dad, “Look, here's the idea. I read to you. You fall asleep.” Bill's father would impishly apologize and dutifully close his eyes. But this wouldn't last long. Soon enough, Bill's father would pop one eye open and smile at his son. Bill would catch him and whine, “Now, come on.” The father would, again, oblige, until he couldn't anymore, and the other eye would open to catch a glimpse of his son. This went on and on, and after his father's death, Bill said that this evening ritual was really a story of a father who just couldn't take his eyes off his kid. How much more so God? (Greg Boyle, Tattoos of the Heart, Free Press, 2011, pages 19-20; www.PreachingToday.com).
He can’t take His eyes off you. That’s because He loves you and He is proud of you, singing your praises even as you sing His. If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, there is no condemnation, oh no! There is only a proud Father singing over His children. So sing, because God will purify your sin.
Then sing, because God will purify your shame. He will take away the embarrassment that came with your sin.
Zephaniah 3:18-20 “The sorrows for the appointed feasts I will remove from you; they are a burden and a reproach to you. At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame. At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the LORD (ESV).
This describes a time yet future for God’s people, the Jews. But it illustrates what God will do for everyone who puts their faith in His Son. He will replace their shame with praise and honor.
The movie A Beautiful Mind tells the story of John Nash, a brilliant mathematician whose career and life were crippled by schizophrenia. Nash taught at MIT and went on to win the Nobel Prize, but only after a mental breakdown.
At the height of his career, after a decade of remarkable accomplishments, Nash interrupted a lecture to announce he was on the cover of Life magazine—disguised as the pope. He claimed that foreign governments were communicating with him through The New York Times, and he turned down a prestigious post at the University of Chicago because, he said, he was about to become the emperor of Antarctica.
His wife, Alicia, had him committed against his will to a private mental hospital, where he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and treated. Upon his release, Nash abruptly resigned from MIT, withdrew his pension fund, and fled to Europe. He wandered from country to country, attempting to renounce his American citizenship and be declared a refugee. He saw himself as a secret messenger of God and the focus of an international communist conspiracy. With help from the State Department, Alicia had him deported back to the United States.
Desperate and short of funds, Alicia was forced to commit her husband to what was once called the New Jersey Lunatic Asylum, an understaffed state institution.
In one scene of A Beautiful Mind, one of John's colleagues is talking to Alicia:
“So, Alicia, how are you holding up?”
Alicia responds feebly, “Well, the delusions have passed. They're saying with medications—”
The colleague clarifies, “No, I mean you.”
Alicia pauses and explains, “I think often what I feel is obligation, or guilt, over wanting to leave, rage against John, against God. But then I look at him, and I force myself to see the man that I married, and he becomes that man. He's transformed into someone that I love, and I'm transformed into someone that loves him. It's not all the time, but it's enough.”
“I think John is a very lucky man,” the colleague says.
In the movie, Nash's wife sticks by him through thick and thin. In real life, it wasn't that easy. Alicia eventually divorced him. Later, though, they reconciled. Nash learned to ignore his illusions. Eventually, he received the Nobel Prize for his theory of the dynamics of human conflict as it relates to economics and regained the respect of his colleagues (A Beautiful Mind, Dreamworks, 2001,”A Brilliant Madness: The True Story about John Nash—Inspiration for A Beautiful Mind”).
Imagine, loving a person who is difficult to love. But that’s what God does for those who put their faith in His Son. He sent His Son to die for unlovable people like you and me, because He has a beautiful mind. He has the beautiful mind of a holy, just, and merciful God, who loves undeserving sinners and takes away their shame.
So, dear believer, sing! Sing because God will take away your sin and shame.
If you want to be clean in the face of God’s purifying judgment, genuinely seek the Lord, patiently wait for the Lord, and joyfully sing to the Lord. For you cannot clean your own soul. It’s like trying to mop a dirt floor—no! To be truly clean, you need Jesus whose blood “cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Please, let Him clean up your life starting today.
