Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20091011.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Zephaniah: God's Message To The Spiritually Complacent
Part II: God's Judgment On Others To Motivate His People To Repent
(Zephaniah 2:4-15)
  1. Introduction
    1. Spiritual complacency is a significant evil, for it leaves one less sensitive to God's prodding to heed Him.
    2. Sometimes, God graciously gets the attention of His spiritually complacent people by producing stunning judgment on other sinful folk around them, a truth explained in Zephaniah 2:4-15 (as follows):
  2. God's Judgment On Others To Motivate His People To Repent, Zephaniah 2:4-15.
    1. The need for the people of Judah to cease being complacent about their sin and repent as directed in Zephaniah 2:1-3 is reflected in the announced judgment of the Gentiles that follows in Zephaniah 2:4-15:
      1. The Hebrew text poetically introduces the three uses of the word "before" (beterem) in Zephaniah 2:2 (three times) and the two uses of the verb "seek" (baqshu) in Zephaniah 2:3 before introducing the causal use of the word "For" ( key) to start Zephaniah 2:4; Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 952.
      2. This literary arrangement profoundly connects Zephaniah 2:1-3 to Zephaniah 2:4 (as follows):
        1. In Zephaniah 2:1, God called the nation Judah to gather together before the Lord.
        2. In Zephaniah 2:2 as signaled in the repeat uses of "before," Zephaniah repeatedly urged that this gathering occur before God's wrath had been sent upon the nation because of her sin.
        3. Then, in Zephaniah 2:3 as signaled in the repeat uses of "seek," Zephaniah called Judah to repent, to seek the Lord, His will and His favor so as to escape God's judgment as warned in Zephaniah 2:2.
        4. Finally, the word, "For" in Zephaniah 2:4 introduces the dramatic reason for Judah's need to gather together and repent before God's judgment fell, "for" God was about to judge the evil Philistines for their sin as a wake-up call for Judah to repent and escape a similar fate! (Zephaniah 2:4-7)
      3. Yet, not satisfied in pronouncing judgment just on Philistia to Judah's west, but to stir a complacent Judah to full repentance, God had His prophet move from Judah's west to pronounce judgment on the Moabites and Edomites to Judah's east (Zephaniah 2:8-11) followed by judgment on the Ethiopians to Judah's south (Zephaniah 2:12) followed in turn by God's judgment on Assyria who invaded the land of Israel from the north (Zephaniah 2:13-15), judgment on nations ALL AROUND JUDAH!
    2. We also note specific sins God named in His pronouncements against the Gentile nations that were meant to gain the attention of Judah to motivate her to repent of her own similar sins, Zeph. 2:4-15:
      1. The Moabites and Ammonites, relative nations to Israel who were descended from Lot, Abraham's nephew (Genesis 19:30-38), had proudly taunted and reviled the people of Israel and made threats against their land, Zephaniah 2:8, 10 ESV. Well, the Lord had condemned the way some in Judah had rushed into the homes of others to steal, heartlessly and arrogantly avoiding the building thresholds to avoid provoking the false gods who reputably guarded such homes, Zeph. 1:9 NIV. Thus, the similar sin by Moab and Ammon of arrogantly stealing the land of God's people, Israel, would God severely judge as noted in Zephaniah 2:9-11, and that as a warning for those in Judah guilty of a similar sin!
      2. Assyria was guilty of excessive pride and complacency, for saying in her heart, "I am, and there is none beside me," Zephaniah 2:15b. Well, God had pronounced judgment on the people of Judah who had similarly complacently "settled on their lees" (Zephaniah 1:12a) in saying, "(t)he Lord will do nothing, either good or bad!" when it came to addressing their sins, Zephaniah 1:12b NIV. Thus, the similar proud complacency in Judah would be need to abandoned in repentance for the nation to escape God's judgment that would fall on the Assyrians for such sin, Zephaniah 2:13-15!
Lesson: God used His pronouncements of severe judgment on the specific sins of complacent pride and stealing in the Gentile nations ALL AROUND Judah GRACIOUSLY to SHOCK JUDAH HERSELF to REPENT of HER OWN SIMILAR EVILS and thus AVOID God's judgment on HERSELF!

Application: If we are STUNNED to witness SEVERE TRIALS come on others that APPEAR to be PUNISHMENT for their SINS, OUR FIRST RESPONSE should be to EXAMINE OURSELVES to see if WE are guilty of SIMILAR SINS, and IF so, to REPENT! (Galatians 6:1; 1 Corinthians 10:5-12)