Weekly Recap #40 - (Part 1) Zephaniah

Can you even begin to believe that we've finished up the Old Testament this week?  

WOW!!!  

I'm hoping and praying that nothing happens to hinder us from completing our "read the Bible thru" this year.  I'm so excited to get into the New Testament so that we can read about JESUS....since all we've read so far is leading us to HIM!!!

But....let's get started by finding out a little bit about the prophet Zephaniah.

~~~His name means "the Lord has hidden"

~~~He was the author of the Book of Zephaniah

~~~He was God's spokesman to the southern kingdom of Judah

~~~He began his ministry the same year as Jeremiah (one of my favorite OT prophets!!!

~~~He was a member of the royal house of Judah

In  Chapter 1, the Lord gave His message to Zephaniah.  He prophesied that there would be judgment against "the whole earth".  The complete devastation is described in Chapter 1....including judgment against Judah and Jerusalem which included....

~~~destroy all Baal worship

~~~end to idolatrous priests who claimed to worship the Lord - but also worshiped false gods and the sun, moon and stars

~~~destroy those who used to ask for the Lord's  guidance, but no longer asked the Lord for anything

~~~leaders and princes of Judah would be destroyed

~~~punish those who participated in pagan worship ceremonies

~~~all merchants and traders would be destroyed

~~~property would be plundered and homes ransacked

In Chapter 2, Zephaniah called on the people to repent and seek the Lord....to do what is right and live humbly.

I really liked this in one of the commentaries.....

 The day of the Lord's judgment can begin at any moment.  All people in every age should trust in the Lord and wait patiently for God to fulfill His will and purpose.  As believers...just like Zephaniah and all the other prophets have done....we need to warn others of how serious unbelief is...as we live in faith and hope of God's promised future.

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!