Hope (Zephaniah 3:14-20)

Sermon for MIlledgeville and Whitestown UMC

Hope (Zephaniah 3:14-20)

  He will renew you in his love
Zephaniah 3:17c

A poll of our favorite book in the Bible yields titles you might expect like the gospel of John, Romans, or Genesis. Psalms and Proverbs are popular. The early church called Isaiah the “Fifth Gospel.” Isaiah is referenced 472 times in the New Testament. But I’ve never seen anyone say that the minor prophet Zephaniah is their favorite.

Zephaniah begins with sheer shock and awe. The Lord proclaims that He will undo His creation. As in the days of Noah when God wiped the earth clean of all life, save those on the ark, Zephaniah proclaims that God will again destroy his creation and start over. Why? Because of Israel’s idolatrous and wicked behavior.

After giving a short introduction of Zephaniah, the great, great grandson of King Hezekiah, the prophet jumps right into his message of doom!

“I will destroy everything from the face of the earth,” says the Lord. “I will destroy people and animals; I will destroy the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea. (The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with guilty idolaters.) I will remove humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord. (Zep 1:2-3)

I posted a brief reflection on this earlier in the week on Facebook. One of my friends exclaimed that this was not the God of love he grew up with. He refused to subscribe to such a view of God. I don’t blame him for his reaction. It’s startling enough to make one put down the Bible and never pick it up again. It may help to understand that the prophet is using a literary style called hyperbole, overstating matters to draw in listeners. These words are like a smack in the face, but it is meant to gain our attention. If we read only this bit of Zephaniah, we might walk away feeling the injury with no hope of healing. The creator threatens extreme action to correct the extreme sin of his chosen nation.

Remember that God chose Israel because of Abraham. Abraham obeyed the call of God, left his family and all he knew behind. Because of Abraham’s obedience, God promised to bless him, make him into a great nation, and through him, bless the entire world.

But Judah and Jerusalem had not become a blessing. Zephaniah preaches in a time following two very bad kings. Hezekiah was considered a good king, and yet Hezekiah was naïve. He greeted envoys from Babylon and gave them a tour of the palace. He dangled the nation’s wealth before their eyes. He had no idea that Babylon would come and take it all away. Following Hezekiah was his son Manasseh. According to 2 Chronicles 33,

 

Manasseh… did evil in the sight of the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out ahead of the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky and worshiped them. He built altars in the Lord’s temple, about which the Lord had said, “Jerusalem will be my permanent home.”  In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky. He passed his sons through the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and practiced divination, omen reading, and sorcery. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits and appointed magicians to supervise it. He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord and angered him. He put an idolatrous image he had made in God’s temple… Manasseh misled the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed ahead of the Israelites. The Lord confronted Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. (2Ch 33:1-10)

Furthermore Manasseh killed so many innocent people, he stained Jerusalem with their blood from end to end... (2Kg 21:16)

After Manasseh’s 55 year rule ended, his son Amon followed in his footsteps. The chroniclers wrote that “Amon was guilty of great sin.” (2Ch 33:23b) His rule only lasted 2 years. He was murdered by his servants. The people made Josiah king, son of Amon and distant cousin to the prophet Zephaniah. When Josiah was 20, he began cleansing all Judah and Israel of pagan shrines, altars, and statues. Any hint of idol worship was destroyed throughout the land. Josiah even burned the bones of pagan priests upon their pagan altars before grinding it all to dust.

In Josiah’s fervor for the true God of Israel, he ordered the renovation of the temple. During the repairs, Hilkiah, the priest, found a copy of the Law of Moses. He gave the scroll to the chief secretary, Shaphan, who in turn read it to King Josiah. When Josiah realized how far the nation had strayed from covenant faithfulness, he tore his robes in grief.

Zephaniah proclaimed that any trace of Baal worship will be destroyed. God will wipe away the memory of pagan priests. Asherah poles, pagan fertility circles, will be destroyed. Those who follow astrology, and other superstitions, will be removed from the land. The king and his sons will be taken away, as will corrupt priests and nobles skirting around in the latest fashions from Damascus and Egypt. God will remove the money counters from his temple courts! Sound familiar? The Lord calls Judah a shameless nation, instead of His chosen.

The impending doom for Jerusalem is coming for the neighboring nations too. Zephaniah proclaims destruction of Phoenicians cities in Gaza, Ashdod, and Askelon. Ammon and Moab will fall before the Babylonian war machine. Assyria and their chief city of Ninevah will fall. Even Ethiopia’s influence will dimmish under Babylon’s might.

The Lord calls out to those who will listen. There’s a window of opportunity before devastation comes.

Seek the Lord’s favor, all you humble people of the land who have obeyed his commands! Strive to do what is right! Strive to be humble! Maybe you will be protected on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment. (Zep 2:3)

But in the midst of all this doom, there is hope. God promises to convert the gentile nations.

 

All the distant nations will worship the Lord in their own lands. (Zep 2:11b)

By chapter 3, Zephaniah confronts Jerusalem again. The Lord dwells in Jerusalem, a city Jeremiah calls Yahweh our Righteousness. God’s just character is evident to all, as faithful as the rising sun. And yet, Jerusalem is shamefully unjust, failing to reflect the righteous character of God who chose them as His own possession.

 

God laments through Zephaniah,

 

“I destroyed nations;

their walled cities are in ruins.

I turned their streets into ruins;

no one passes through them.

Their cities are desolate;

no one lives there.

I thought, ‘Certainly you will respect me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home would not be destroyed

by all the punishments I have threatened.

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did.

You would think the Assyrian invasion that came to the walls of Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah would be enough to cause Jerusalem to repent, but no! They fell hard back into idol worship and injustice.

 

After the great and terrible day of God’s wrath, God will gather the survivors, the remnant of Judah and Israel and restore His people. After hearing the severe predictions of judgment, words of hope sound so sweet.

 

I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people,

and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence.

The Israelites who remain will not act deceitfully.

They will not lie,

and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths.

Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep and lie down;

no one will terrify them.”

Shout for joy, Daughter Zion!

Shout out, Israel!

Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!

The Lord has removed the judgment against you;

he has turned back your enemy.

Israel’s king, the Lord, is in your midst!

You no longer need to fear disaster. (Zep 3:12-15)

 

Jerusalem will no longer lie in ruin and be a disgraceful spectacle that other nations despise, but they will be adored and admired. And God will cause the whole earth to celebrate His name.

Listen to the good news Zephaniah proclaims to Jerusalem.

 

The Lord your God is in your midst;

he is a warrior who can deliver.

He takes great delight in you;

he renews you by his love;

he shouts for joy over you.”

This Advent season, perhaps you are going through a rough patch. Maybe you feel like the abandoned city, alone in your search for God’s favor. Sometimes we wonder if we’ve done something to offend God when difficult times hit us. Hope is what gets us through the storm. Count on God’s faithfulness to us, even when we aren’t always faithful to God.

For God’s love for us is not dependent upon our goodness or our good behavior. God loves us by God’s own choice. God loves us as His own children. He takes great delight in you! He shouts with joy over you, His redeemed.

Some years, I find it a bit of a challenge to get into the Christmas spirit. This year I find myself trying to recreate childhood memories of Christmases past. I bought spiced gum drops the other day. I ordered a 1960s era gold, glitter-covered, brandy snifter style, pine-scented candle, because my grandma had one. I loved smelling the perfumed scent fill the air and the sparkle of the glitter. It was magical to me. But I know that these things will not bring the true gift that is Christmas. The true gift of Christmas is Christ renewing my heart.

Zephaniah proclaimed that God’s redeemed people will be renewed in His love. The Hebrew word translated as renewed is a euphemism. It literally means to plough or carve. More often than not, the word is translated as be still or silent, quiet, or rest. When God’s tender, quiet, love ploughs into my hardened heart, I notice whining and complaining fall away. Bitterness and worries melt away in the warmth of His love. And my insides glow like the soft light of Christmas candles. God’s love is the plough, the seed, the plant and the fruit bearing in me love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control.

As you prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus, keep your hope in God’s faithfulness burning, and be renewed in His love.