Tough And Tender Love

Tough and Tender Love

Book of Zephaniah

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvl8jnGnUyY

Bill Johnson was a young man from California whose sole thrill was stealing cars. Eventually he was caught and at his sentencing, the judge did something very unusual. The judge didn’t send Bill to jail, because he knew that in prison Bill wouldn’t be rehabilitated, but rather learn to make his thrill into a profession, which would land him back in jail again and again.

But at the same time, the judge knew he couldn’t let Bill off the hook, so he blended some toughness with tenderness. He sent Bill to a ski camp and told him to remain there until he mastered the sport of downhill skiing. It wasn’t easy. The training was grueling. But Bill eventually mastered the sport and in 1984 he won the Olympic gold medal in Alpine skiing. The judge wasn’t so tough as to break Bill’s spirit, but he wasn’t too tender by letting him off easy. The judge blended toughness with tenderness to produce a desired end.

Most people think of God as a God of love and mercy. This is what I encountered with some Jehovah Witnesses that came to my door. What I found interesting is that the senior witness said that my trying to sway them away from their faith didn’t exhibit the love of God.

Actually, I believe that by sharing the truth of God’s word along with the obvious errors and deceptions of the Watch Tower Society is true love. What does show a lack of love, however, is when we don’t tell others of the judgment to come and how they need to accept Jesus Christ.

And when we talk to those who have accepted Jesus Christ, it shows no love if all we say is that life will get better. Instead, true love tells them that in this world there will be trials, therefore, we need to be courageous because Jesus has overcome the world, and even though we will experience trials we will eventually experience God’s peace, joy, and love forever.

Yes, God’s love is tender, but it’s also tough as well. And that’s because God is a God of justice as well as a God of mercy, and it’s from both of these aspects that God deals with His people. In Zephaniah’s prophecy we see both sides of God’s love, the toughness in judgment, and tenderness in His mercy.

To understand, we need to look at what happened in the southern Kingdom of Judah during this time.

Zephaniah prophesied during the reigns of Manasseh, Ammon, and Josiah. Manasseh was the son of Hezekiah, and what Manasseh did was destroy all the good his father had done. Manasseh set up alters to the false gods of the nations that surrounded Judah, and he even set up alters to them in the Temple. He also allowed the practice of witchcraft, soothsaying, and the consultation of spirits and mediums.

The Bible says, “So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.” (2 Chronicles 33:9 NKJV)

And this provoked God to anger. And so God allowed the Assyrians to take Manasseh captive. But in his captivity, Manasseh repented and turned his heart to God. Unfortunately, it was too late for Judah. God’s judgment was set.

Amon, Manasseh’s son, took over as king but continued in his father’s evil ways, and after two years he was assassinated. This brought his son, Josiah, who was only eight years old at the time, onto the throne. And while he turned out to be a godly king, and a great revival came about later in his reign, it didn’t happen until after God had Zephaniah pronounce judgment.

It was tough love as God pronounced his judgment which was also a prelude to the coming Day of the Lord.

“‘I will utterly consume everything from the face of the land,’ says the Lord; ‘I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land,’ says the Lord. ‘I will stretch out My hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, the names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests-- those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, but who also swear by Milcom; those who have turned back from following the Lord, and have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.’” (Zephaniah 1:2-6 NKJV)

Now, in bringing this out, we must be careful not to tone is down, but instead allow the harshness, horror, seriousness, and the certainty of God’s judgement to sink in. We must realize that God is serious about unrighteousness and ungodliness.