All right, good morning. You made it to the first part of a great day together. I hope you can come to all of it, including the part at Hillcrest for the music and the singing. But great, it's the Christmas Sunday, so great to be here with you. And let's start with a word of prayer. 

Father, we thank you for what we remember at Christmas time, that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, was born and came into this world and came to save. Father, we pray that as we look at this Old Testament book, that you would show us your character. cause us, as it says in the New Testament, to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so we pray that we might see more of you and might grow in you. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. 

OK, Zephaniah, remember? So OK, good. Yes. So OK, so an outline first of Zephaniah. And wow, I didn't realize how bad at doing this I was until I wrote this down. It's kind of sloppy. But what it's intended to show is that the book divides pretty easily into three parts, but those three parts don't correspond to our chapters. three messages do correspond to the chapters. So, first part, judgment on Jerusalem, which we almost finished, but then it ends in a call to repentance for Jerusalem, and we'll pick up there, because we're in chapter two. And then Judgment on the Nations, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia, Assyria, and then it just goes right into, and Jerusalem also. You know, Jerusalem's just as bad as those on the list, and that's chapter three. And then the last part of chapter three, from I think verse nine on, is a wonderful passage. It's hope for the whole world. centering on Jerusalem. And so there's a wonderful portion there. 

So it breaks pretty easily into three parts, but each part really flows into the next. And we'll see that in chapter two, this part, when we get there today, and especially This part, this is a really kind of dramatic part of the book. In chapter three, where the judgment falls on Jerusalem. but then suddenly there's hope. There's this amazing hope as soon as the judgment falls. 

So in Zephaniah, there's an incredible outpouring of God's wrath. It's the day of the Lord. That's what Zephaniah is about. It falls on Jerusalem. It falls on the nations, but it's immediately followed an incredible outpouring of his grace, okay? And each one is sort of more than you're able to imagine. In fact, let me read from this last part of chapter three, because it's just this, it's a very beautiful picture. We already quoted part of it in our Bible memory, but the last part of chapter three. talks about the Lord's just pouring out his grace on the city of Jerusalem and actually on the whole world from there. 

So chapter three, verse 14. 

Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion. 
Shout in triumph, O Israel. 
Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 
The Lord has taken away his judgments against you. 
"'He has cleared away your enemies. 
"'The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. "
'You will fear disaster no more. 
"'The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. 
"'He will exult over you with joy. 
"'He will be quiet in his love. 
"'He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. 
"'Behold, I am going to deal at that time 
"'with all your oppressors. 
"'I will save the lame and gather the outcasts, 
"'and I will turn their shame into praise 
"'and renown in all the earth. '" So it's a wonderful, expression of God's grace, and that is going to be expressed at the second coming of Christ, when his wrath falls on the whole earth. Remember we had a picture last time of a bucket of God's wrath, and it's all gonna be overturned at the second coming of Christ. Revelation is gonna talk about that. It talks about a day of wrath coming. It's pictured even as bowls being poured out on the earth. And so that's actually yet to come, even from our perspective. 

This picture, this beautiful picture of Jerusalem is, I think, yet to come when his wrath totally comes on the whole earth and it's immediately followed by his grace. Also, we kinda show drops from the bucket, kinda traveling backwards through time to Zephaniah's own time, because he's right on the cusp of Babylon coming and declaring war against Jerusalem and totally taking Jerusalem, and that is an expression of God's justice for Jerusalem's sin, and so it's a part of it. It tells you what the day of the Lord is like and the wrath of the Lord, and yet it didn't wipe out Jerusalem. There's still hope for Jerusalem, and so in that way, it's an expression of what the day of the Lord is going to be. 

So Zephaniah is about, as it turns out, future history. It's about past history that's happened before, but it's really about God's character. God's character in contrast to what the people of Jerusalem were saying in Zephaniah's time, verse 12, that the Lord doesn't do anything and that the day of the Lord is never gonna come. They said that. They say in their hearts, the Lord will not do good or evil. The Lord doesn't reward. The Lord doesn't punish. He doesn't do anything. And Zephaniah says, no, the Lord's. He works. He acts. He's active. And his day is coming. 

So God's character, in a way, it's hidden before the day of the Lord. But the day of the Lord reveals what his character is like. And perhaps you could say this about the message of the book, that God's wrath against sin is more intense, more real than you could ever imagine. and his grace to sinners is more intense and more real than you could ever imagine. So I hope you get a, that's not a sense of God doesn't do anything. He doesn't do good, he doesn't do evil, he doesn't reward, he doesn't punish, but rather it's the very opposite of what the people of Jerusalem were saying about God's character. 

So you have to remember to pay attention to the Bible. is you can get lulled to sleep in thinking that the Bible says what we would expect it to say about God, or what most people would expect the Bible to say about God. And what most people probably expect about church, most people that you probably would have opportunity to witness to expect that the message of the Bible is that God tells people to shape up and to do better. And if they succeed at that, that their life is going to go better. And that's the message they're going to hear in church, if they would come to church. 

benign, anodyne message to be given, and that's probably what people expect about God. Nothing really shocking about God, or surprising about God, that they're gonna hear about church. Just someone who wants to call out the better angels of your nature, as the expression goes, help you to be a better person, that sort of thing. And Zephaniah has something shocking to tell us about God and about his ways and about the way he's at work in the world. And what he sets forth about God is this, that that way that God is sort of expected to be, by people is not the way blessing's gonna come to the city of Jerusalem. By them just sort of shaping up and doing better and God telling them to do better and them being more and more obedient and then being blessed and then bringing blessing to the earth in that way by God kind of nudging them along to their better selves. That's not gonna be the history of the city of Jerusalem.

The city of Jerusalem instead is going to be that when the city is completely destroyed, getting exactly what it deserves, that's when it's going to be saved. And that's when it's gonna be made obedient, too, for the first time, and that's what this blue lightning bolt is supposed to represent here. It's the judgment falls on the city, and that's actually what brings about, immediately, suddenly, this wonderful picture of the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem being everything that God promised that they would be and being an incredible blessing for the earth.

Amazing, and it's actually God putting his character on display, so that they're saved not by their own character finally coming to its best self, but by God's character, showing his total grace to total sinners in that way. So it's the same city that's destroyed, that is the same city that's saved and that is exalted in that way.

And God explains how that's gonna be. He's gonna preserve a remnant of the city when his wrath falls on the city. He's gonna preserve a remnant out onto the other side of his wrath, and then he's gonna exalt that remnant, multiply that remnant, and bless them as the city of Jerusalem. And how can that be when the remnant is sinful too? Well, Zephaniah doesn't really explain that, but it's explained in other books of the prophets, like Isaiah 53. I think James read that. He read a lot of that portion of Isaiah to us last time, where it talks about the Savior being a substitute.

And the wrath that the remnant actually deserves falls on the substitute of Christ. That's the drop from the bucket that's overturned and it's actually fallen on Christ. In a way, the cross of Christ is a day of the Lord as well because God's wrath is poured out, the wrath that is deserved by the remnant.

There's a, kind of a tongue-in-cheek quote since World War II, that the best thing that can happen to a nation is to lose a war with the United States. And it's from Germany and West Germany and Japan, who we defeated in World War II and then rebuilt in that way. But in a sense, that could be said about God. and about Jerusalem. The best thing that can happen to you is to lose the war against God, against his wrath, to actually be, acknowledge yourself to be a just target of his wrath because after he destroys, then he rebuilds.

And so there's something very surprising about God and about his grace as well. It kind of reminds me of this thing that's surprising about God and about his grace of a contemporary of Zephaniah, Habakkuk, who came maybe a little later than Zephaniah, but about the same time. And at the beginning of the book, he says, Lord, how are you advancing your kingdom towards the goal like you've promised? How are you working the world for your purposes? Because I look at the people that you chose to bring about your purpose by their obedience, and all I see is sin. and wickedness, it's the furthest thing from what you have promised. So what are you doing? Are you asleep? Are you not listening? What is it that you're doing? And the Lord says to Habakkuk, look among the nations, observed, be astonished, wonder, because I'm doing something in your days you would not believe if you were told. He's saying that your view of God is inadequate. It's totally inadequate what you expect. And so I'm doing something in your days that's incredible, that's shocking, and that is I'm advancing my purposes by bringing a punishment upon Jerusalem, by bringing Babylon upon Jerusalem.

Well, that confuses the Baptist even more. And so the book sort of takes off from there. It's interesting, Paul uses that verse in Acts chapter 13 when he's talking to people about a crucified Savior and how humiliating to have and to need a crucified Savior in order to be right with God, especially to Jewish people who are seeking power. Remember, the Jews seek for signs of power, the Greeks seek for wisdom. And so Paul is speaking to them about the cross of Christ and about salvation that's in a crucified Savior and he says to them, therefore take heed so that the things spoken of in the prophets may not come upon you. Behold you scoffers and marvel and perish for I'm accomplishing a work in your days, a work which you will never believe though someone should describe it to you. And so he's saying you're missing the surprise of God and the grace of God and what's, what's told to Backak is happening to you as well.

Okay, one of the keynotes of chapter one, the judgment that's gonna fall on Jerusalem is the totality of judgment of the day of the Lord for the city of Jerusalem. And that's kind of a mark like verse two of chapter one. I will completely remove all things, he talks about. I will remove man and beast. And so he talks about the destruction that's gonna fall on Jerusalem. He pictures it like the flood, which was a total destruction. of the earth and God preserved a tiny little remnant and then he multiplied and blessed that remnant. But it's a total destruction that's gonna fall on Jerusalem, like the completeness of the destruction of Noah's flood.

Then he has this section here. It talks about destruction coming to the whole city, and probably this is Babylon, but it speaks of what the city deserves in verse 10. On that day, declares the Lord, there will be a sound of a cry from the fish gates, a wail from the second quarter, and a loud crash from the hills. And it's talking about his judgment coming to kind of the outskirts of the city, the fish gates. And the second quarter, in other words, the second quarter to be built, you know, the first part of the city, the older part of the city, and then there's kind of the suburb that comes out. And so that part's falling.

And then the next, it says, Whalo inhabitants of the mortar, another part of the city, for all the people of Canaan will be silenced. All who weigh out silver will be cut off. And that's the market part. district of the city, which is I've been looking at maps of the city at this time. It's more in the heart of the city. It's the Wall Street, so to speak. It's the financial district, the market of the city. And that's going to fall, too. And that fits. what the city deserves because the sinful character is not just on the periphery of their character, it's in the heart of their character as well.

And so he talks about seeking out, the next verse, it come about at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps and will punish the men who are stagnant in spirit. And so judgment is coming not just to a part of the city but to the totality of the city because the punishment fits the crime. and the heart of the character of the city.

And it sort of reminded me, I'm sort of thinking this way, sort of reminded me of what we teach about total depravity. of the human heart, and I think it's a good picture of this. And total depravity means that sin has ruined not just the fish gate and the second quarter of your character, of your heart, but the center, the market center of your heart as well.

And when you realize that your condition is so bad, or when a person realizes the condition of their heart is so ruined by sin that the hope of doing something worthy of God's favor is totally destroyed. It might seem to be the worst thing that could happen to you, or the most hopeless thing, but it's actually the best thing that could happen to you.

Kind of like this lightning bolt here that separates the totality of God's wrath falling and then it results in His grace. Because you realize that your relationship is going to have to rest forever on something else besides you being worthy of God's favor. And what is it gonna rest on? It's gonna rest not on your character, not on something about your character, but on God's character and upon God's character itself.

And when you realize that about God, for the first time, you're able to serve him in a way that pleases him. because He's pleased when you trust Him for His character and when you'll be able to serve Him and actually love Him for who He is. And that's what makes our service to be pleasing to the Lord and our obedience to be pleasing to the Lord is having that attitude of trusting in Him and His character for what He is.

And God, He is pleased by what we do, but He's especially pleased by the attitude. with which we do it. We look at the outside and see how big a work is for the Lord or what we think it might accomplish by sight. He looks at the inside, and so something very small done with an attitude that is really trusting in him and pleased with him for who he is and for his grace is something that's precious in God's sight. It's like the widow's mite, which is pleasing to the Lord.

Okay, so I'm sort of trying to apply The totality of God's wrath falling on the city of Jerusalem is kind of a picture of his wrath or his judgment that rightly falls on us and the totality of our character as well. It's also the totality of how he's at work in the world with evil, with trials, and that's what he was showing to Habakkuk as well.

And you could say it this way, that God is not just at work for good in the fish gate in the second quarter, the outskirts of the evil things, the trials in your life that happen, but he's at work in the worst of evil, in the heart of the most evil thing that could happen in your life. He's working in those for redemption.

And so the message of Habakkuk, actually the message of Zephaniah, the whole Old Testament, whole Bible as well, is we walk by faith, not by sight, but we walk by faith in God's character. As Habakkuk puts it, the just shall live by faith.

Okay, so we did an outline last time in chapter one. First was an overview of the day of the Lord, where it kinda compares it to the time of Noah and his wrath falling on the earth, but it's really about Jerusalem. Then there's a very sharp warning about what's coming for Jerusalem, and then an even sharper warning at the last part of chapter one, verses 14 to 18. So it's kind of a heightening intensity and it's kind of, I would almost call it cinematic. You know, it's really image driven. Here are these pictures.

Near is the great day of the Lord, near and coming very quickly. In it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, a day of trouble, distress, a day of destruction, desolation, a day of darkness and gloom. Day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities. And it kind of puts you there, you know, as you see the wrath of God and it's coming upon the city. And what is the point of the warning? as it gets sharper and sharper, so they can kind of feel the wrath of the Lord coming upon them for their sin before it comes.

Well, the point is repentance, right? And so that's what we're gonna look at. And it's actually kind of part of chapter one, so to speak, is repentance in the first three verses. So we're in chapter two, and you can kind of see the outline. We're gonna look at repentance. It's a call to repentance in the first three verses, and then another section is gonna start, and it's just gonna be a judgment on the nations. God's judgment isn't just coming on Jerusalem, but it's against all the nations, and so it lists five of the nations, and so we'll just work through that to be done.

Oh, I bumped it. Oh, there's the five nations. Thanks, David. Okay, great. Okay, so let's go through it. Let's go through verse by verse. Okay, the call to repentance, chapter two. And I'll just read the whole thing, verse one to three.

Gather yourselves together. Yes, gather, O nation without shame, before the decree takes effect. The day passes like the chaff before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger comes upon you. Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have carried out his ordinances. Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.

So here's the point of the big warning. It's a call to repentance. And so he says, gather yourselves together. Yes, gather, O nation without shame. It kind of reminds of Joel. We had that in this series, right, Joel? Assemble yourselves together. Call a solemn assembly. And the point is a repentance, like a national repentance. Call a fast. And so it's something similar here. Gather yourselves together. Yes, gather. Onation without shame.

This is hard to translate. It's an unusual word that's put here. It's translated my nation without shame. The shame part is the part that's difficult to translate. It usually has to do with longing. So your translation might have something about that feeling. Probably what it refers to is an insensitivity being devoid of feeling, being unresponsive to the Lord, probably captures it pretty well. Nation without shame, a nation that doesn't feel any shame, doesn't feel anything towards God. They sin and their conscience has been seared and so they're numb towards the Lord and so he's calling them to repentance. He's actually trying to wake them up so they can feel. That's why he's putting the wrath of God in such a picturesque way. way is so that they, to wake them up to reality.

And I don't know how Zephaniah ministered to these people, but he tried to wake them up to the wrath of God. And so a nation that doesn't feel anything anymore spiritually, because you're dead to the Lord. So he says, wake up, gather yourselves together before the decree takes effect. And that's the decree of the day of the Lord. It's coming, it's happening, it's set, it's fixed. It's coming and before it, it literally says before the decree gives birth, but you know what that means. It's gonna become a reality as well.

And then he says, you know, the time is passing. The day passes like the chaff before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you. And so chaff, well, it's a picture of God's judgment often, but it's also because it's separated. The wheat is separated from the chaff. That's what's gonna happen on the day of judgment. It's a good description of the day of the Lord, but actually what he puts it for here is chaff is something that's here today and gone tomorrow. You know, it goes up in the air and then it's gone. And so he says that the days before the time when you can repent, it's now, it's urgent, and those days are gonna pass. You can repent now, but those days are gonna be gone. They're gonna be like the chaff. And so repent before the burning of the anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger comes upon you.

And then the actual call to repentance. It's true repentance here. And he uses the word seek three times. You're to seek three things. including righteousness, which I probably take to be righteous behavior. At this point, I think it's significant that the first thing that he says to seek is the Lord. In verse three, and a number of other commentators have pointed this out as well. Seek the Lord, seek the Lord.

I was reminded, I don't know if this is a great illustration or not, but I was reminded of a YouTube video that I've watched more than once. It's a boxing match. It's the 10th round. Both boxers are pretty kind of beat up at this point. And the one looks like he's really got the upper hand. He's knocked the other guy down twice. The other guy is just very wobbly on his feet, it looks like it's about to be over. And the manager, his manager says to him, when he's knocked down and he has an opportunity, you can hear it on the video, he says to him, You better get inside of him. He says it very sternly. You better get inside of him. And what he means is you need to get close to your opponent. It's the opposite of what you'd expect, especially because this guy is taller than his opponent by quite a bit. They're the same weight. So you could keep him away with your jab. That would be what you would think he would say. Get away from him. Just try to survive this round and get into the next one. But he says, get close to him, is what he's saying to him. So he does. He does that. He follows his advice. And he sort of snatches victory from the jaws of defeat. And he hits a punch that totally changes the momentum. And then suddenly, he's winning the match. And it's sort of an inspiring thing. OK, that's maybe a poor analogy.

But here's the point, you know, Zephaniah is saying, the day of the Lord's coming, it's gonna be the worst wrath you can think of. And this is what God has to express. This is what you deserve, is his wrath. And then the first thing that's said to him is, seek him, seek the Lord. It might be, you might expect the opposite, you know, keep the Lord at arm's length. He's coming with his wrath. Keep him at arm's length, or maybe keep him at arm's length until you can work some righteousness that might make you presentable towards him. And then maybe his wrath will be assuaged towards you.

Now the first thing, the first thing about this repentance is to seek the Lord. to draw near to the Lord. And I think the point is that the hope is found even for the most desperate sinner, which is what they are. They deserve God's wrath. The hope is found in his character, not in yours, and in his surprising and amazing grace to sinners, which is actually the point of this book.

So other commentators have kind of noted that same thing about the way he calls to repentance here. One commentator says, Judah must realize that the only adequate refuge from the consuming wrath of Yahweh may be found in Yahweh himself. Seek the Lord, seek the Lord. Or another one, I like this commentary here that says this. Let's see. We should note that the covenant relationship is not fulfilled simply by obedience to the law. The Old Testament never indulges in such legalism. Rather, righteousness in the Old Testament, as in the New, is primarily by faith, by that trusting and loving dependence of the heart on God alone for life and good and guidance, which issues in a daily walk of surrender and fidelity and obedience. To this righteousness gained by seeking God, Zephaniah calls his unrepentant people, for this alone can save them from the imminent day of the wrath of the Lord.

So, it talks about repentance, Full repentance, even walking in obedience, but it starts with this. It starts with seeking the Lord. It starts with trusting in Him for His grace, His surprising grace towards sinners. So seek the Lord, that's part of it. Seek humility. That's the other one. And it's, that's the way in which you, when you seek the Lord in faith, it leads to humility. It leads to being humble before the Lord.

And the day of the Lord is gonna fall on everything high and lift it up. Everything that is proud. And that pride can be expressed in a number of different ways. Overtly, like the Assyrians do, or... in a way that seems beautiful on the outside like the Pharisees do, but the day of the Lord is gonna fall upon all of it. Isaiah chapter two, verse 12. The Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who's proud and lofty, and against everyone who's lifted up, that he may be abased. The pride of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be abased, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

So seek the Lord, seek humility, and seek righteousness, seek righteousness. In fact, that's what it means to, as he says here, to work the Lord's commandments, to work his judgments, it says. All you humble of the work, sorry, all you humble of the earth who have carried out his ordinances, and that's part of repentance, true repentance, as well as it results in obedience.

So seek the Lord. Seek righteousness, seek humility. All of that is involved in true repentance. And then he says this. Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger. And what do you make of that? The hope is repentance here. And he says to those who repent, if you do this, if you seek the Lord, if you seek righteousness, if you seek humility, perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger. That's what you want, is to be part of the remnant, that the wrath falls and you remain. What do you make of that perhaps? And there's a whole word in Hebrew that it means perhaps, maybe, maybe you'll be saved in that day if you repent. 

Well, I think God's grace is hard to believe. So we start some slow. The first mention of grace, and this is the first mention of grace, all of the rest of it has been wrath. The first mention of grace in this book is just a, it's a glimpse. It's just a glimmer. It's a perhaps, maybe you'll be saved if you repent. If you seek the Lord, maybe you'll be saved. 

Kind of reminds me of Jonah, and he gave a message of wrath actually without even a message of hope at all. And the Ninevites, this was like a hundred years earlier from this, but they repented. That generation repented and they said, well, maybe the Lord will relent if we repent before them. And he actually did. 

But the first mention of God's grace, it's just kind of a glimpse in this first section. It's a maybe. In the second section, the judgment on the nations, actually, you'll see his grace towards Jerusalem here. And I'll show you how that is in his, so it becomes a little bit more than a maybe. And then, finally, in the third section, where this hope for the nations and for Jerusalem, it's like the gates are open, the floodgates are open for his grace, and it's more than a maybe, it's gonna happen, and it's gonna be abundant when it happens. 

So this is sort of like letting the finger out of the dike, and then this maybe, and then it's gonna sort of explode in Zephaniah, and he actually, yeah, he is gracious. It's not just that perhaps, as it turns out, but to those who seek the Lord, they will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger. 

Okay, and do you remember I told you that each of these sections really flows into the next? It divides into three parts, but each flows into the next. So in verse three and then to chapter, to verse four, it's a new section, but it starts with the word for. You might, I hope you see that in your translation. I hope they didn't leave that out. Sometimes they do, those kind of things. And I almost see it as connecting to the perhaps. Perhaps you'll be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger for, and then he talks about God's wrath falling up against all of Israel's enemies. 

These five nations that are mentioned, and it's kind of a reason to hope in the Lord. It's kind of a reason to hope in this perhaps, because you're gonna see in the, the judgment falling on the nations that God hasn't forgotten Israel. He hasn't forgotten Judah. And you'll see that as we go. So I think that's kind of a connection here. 

The judgment against the nations, you know, there's a section in all of the prophets pretty much that does that. It's not so much for those nations. You know, it's in Hebrew. They didn't read Hebrew. I'm not sure the prophets traveled to each of these nations. It's really more for Israel. It's more for them to understand, not that it wouldn't be for someone from any nation to hear it at any time, but it's kind of an encouragement to Israel. 

his wrath coming upon their enemies, and actually sometimes it shows in the prophets, maybe even a little bit here as well. There's actually a hope for the nations too, because it's gonna follow the same pattern as Jerusalem, that when his wrath falls on the nations, there's gonna be a remnants from the nations as well, and then the Lord's gonna bless as well. So he's setting his character on display, not just in the way he deals with Jerusalem, but in the way in which he deals with the whole world, including all the nations. He's the God of all the nations. its ways presented in the Old Testament and in the New. 

Okay, so the wrath of God is gonna fall on the nations because of what they deserve, and probably the sin that comes to the fore in this is their pride, but also the way their pride is expressed in the way they treat Israel. God's chosen nation, and it reflects what they think about God, about the God of Israel, and even the way in which they sort of encroach on Israel's territory, the land that God has promised to Israel is a way that they've disrespected Israel's God in that way. 

So okay, so he's gonna look at various nations, and he's gonna look at all directions of the four compass points, Philistia to the west of Israel, Moab and Ammon to the east, Ethiopia to the south, and Assyria to the north, and nations near and far, Philistia, Moab, and Ammon are like the close neighbors. Ethiopia is far off from Israel, and so is Assyria, far off, so it's kind of a... doesn't mention all the nations of the world, but it kind of, I think the way it's done, it kind of shows it's every nation. 

You might include USA in there. Some of the people will say, well, the US, America isn't mentioned in the Bible, but it's probably, you know, represented as, in the family of nations, even though it's implied. That's what I'm trying to say. It's implied, I think. So I'm sure we could include the USA along with these nations and every other nation as well. It's a worldwide vision that Zephaniah is doing. 

Okay, I'm gonna go sort of quickly. I don't have a ton of time left, through his wrath falling upon these nations, starting with Philistia, verse four. Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon a desolation. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Akron will be uprooted. So it mentions four of the five cities of Philistia. Philistia was a nation that came, they're actually not Canaanites, but they're more from the Aegean, more from the Mediterranean, more from even the Greek area, which is how Goliath is dressed. He's dressed like a Greek soldier. But they come into the land of Israel, and they're sort of a thorn in Israel's side throughout their history, and Israel's near neighbor to the West. 

So wrath is gonna fall upon Philistia. He uses puns, and the prophets, they tend to do that sort of thing, or a play on words. So this is what it says, Gaza will be abandoned, but the word abandoned sounds like Gaza. So it's Gaza-Gezuva. And then Ekron will be uprooted. Ekra to Akar. You know, you can sort of hear the thing. And I think the idea there is the punishment fits the crime. And the punishment even fits the criminal. It's like the city itself has been suited for this punishment that is coming upon them, and they're deserving of it. 

Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nations of the Cherethites. And that's another word for Philistia. And you can see kind of a CRT there, Cherethites. Crete. It actually comes from the same, so they're more from that area of the world as their origin. The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines, and they're not Canaanites. They're actually not descendant of Canaan, but the Lord is basically saying, he's calling them Canaan, like saying you're gonna be treated the same way as Canaan. The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you, so that there will be no inhabitant. So the seacoast will be for pastors with caves for shepherds and folds for flocks. And the coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah. He hasn't forgotten Judah. They will pastor on it. In the houses of Ashkelon, they will lie down at evening. For the Lord will care for them.

that's Israel, that's Judah, that's Jerusalem, and restore their fortune. So Israel's going to possess the land that Philistia has kind of come in and encroached on. They're gonna use it for shepherding because the Lord is going to restore the fortune, as it says at the end of verse seven, of his people, Israel. And this is a phrase that's used in a number of the prophets. It's important to the message of the prophets. Sometimes it's translated in different ways. Sometimes it's translated as return the captivity, which often is involved in restoring the fortunes of a nation, especially when it's an exile. I don't think it quite means that because it's used for Job. At the end of Job, the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, and I don't think anybody was captive for Job. So I think the most literal way to read this phrase is to turn the turning. So it refers to it like a sudden reversal. Everything's going bad for Israel, and the Lord is gonna suddenly restore their fortune, and when he does, Philistia's downfall is gonna be involved in that, or the nation's downfall is gonna be involved in that as well.

Okay, verse eight. And now he turns to the east, and these are also near neighbors of Israel, Moab and Ammon. I've heard the taunting of Moab and the revilings of the sons of Ammon, by which they have taunted my people and become arrogant against their territory. Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, surely Moab will be like Sodom and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah, a place possessed by nettles and salt pits and a perpetual desolation. "'The remnant of my people will plunder them "'and the remainder of my nation will inherit them.'"

So Moab and Ammon, they're gonna be like Sodom and Gomorrah. They're gonna be overthrown as a testament to God's wrath. Sodom and Gomorrah mentioned, and Sodom and Gomorrah are actually on the way to Ammon and Moab across the Dead Sea from Israel. They are outside of the land that's promised to them, but, Israel's going to plunder them and even perhaps possess them. Israel had, remember some of the tribes got permission to stay outside of the promised land at some point. These are nations that are kind of right on the doorstep of Israel and so it's gonna be an empty territory and it's gonna be something that even Israel is able to inherit.

Verse 10. "'This they will have in return for their pride, "'because they have taunted and become arrogant "'against the people of the Lord of hosts. "'The Lord will be terrifying to them, "'for he will starve all the gods of the earth, "'and all the coastlands of the nation will bow down to him, "'everyone from his own place.'"

So it's really an expression of their pride, the way they've treated Israel, and it's an expression of their attitude towards the God of Israel. So the Lord is going to, there's a day of wrath for them. And probably again, it's like with Jerusalem, there's sort of drops in history of where his wrath fell upon Moab and Ammon and Philistia, but there's sort of a stand in for all the nations as well when that's gonna be completely overturned. And there's a message of hope for them too. with this because he's going to root out false worship. He will starve all the gods of the earth, the false gods, and all the coastlands of the nations, all of them, will bow down to him, everyone from his own place. So there's actually a hope from the nations, and that's certainly gonna be seen here in this final section, that there's a hope, not just for Israel, but for all the nations of the earth as well.

Okay, Ethiopia, verse 12, you also, Ethiopia, will be slain by my sword. Not a lot that's said there. Ethiopia is kind of the furthest reaches of the South beyond Egypt for Israel, and they will not be immune from the wrath that comes on the day of the Lord. And then he turns to the North, and the prophets look at the North as always, it's the worst destruction that's coming from the North. Assyria's in the northeast of Israel, but the way the geography works, they have to come down from the north, because there's a big desert that keeps them from going directly. So he looks to the north, and he looks to Assyria, and Assyria was the dominant power of that day. And so he says this, he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria. And then he starts focusing on Assyria's capital city. He will make Nineveh a desolation, parched like the wilderness.

And what you have here, it's going to go, Assyria's the last mentioned here in this chapter. And it's kind of going to be a tale of two cities, because it's going to talk about Nineveh, and then it's going to start talking about God's judgment and his dealing with Jerusalem as well. But Nineveh, it was the grandest and most magnificent city of the time, by far, at this time. And it looked invincible. It looked invincible at this time. And it was actually about to fall to the Babylonians. So Nineveh fell in 612 BC. Zephaniah is prophesying before that. Nahum also, we looked at that, prophesies the downfall of Nineveh. And Nineveh fell pretty suddenly and pretty unexpectedly to Babylon, so it seemed like it couldn't fall. But it's sort of a study. Nineveh is going to be sort of a testimony to God's wrath, while Jerusalem is a testimony to God's renewal, to his redemption. for the earth, and so it's kind of a tale of two cities here.

Nineveh is, in verse 15, the exultant city, and the Lord is gonna exult over Jerusalem, as we see in chapter three. So it's two different kinds of exulting. They're exulting in pride, and so that's why they're going to be overthrown as well. So verse 14 talks about, it pictures the destruction I talked about a section at the end of chapter one that I thought was sort of cinematic, kind of like a movie. This is too, I mean, it's a real picture of, it's a picture of the city lying in ruins, the great capitals on the pillars being on the ground and animals are using them for their dens and there's no people there. And so verse 14, flocks will lie down in her midst of Nineveh. All beasts which range in herds, both the pelican and the hedgehog, It's not clear exactly what those animals are. The translation of Hebrew for animals is difficult. So your translations may do all kinds of animals. They're probably birds, or maybe not. The pelican and the hedgehog will lodge in the tops of her pillars. Birds will sing in the window. Desolation will be on the threshold, for he has laid bare the cedar work. So there's all this ornate. capitals of the pillars, the cedar work, and it's all exposed and the animals are using it for their homes. 

One of the commentators pointed this out and I thought this was good. The Assyrians, like a lot of the ancient Near East powers, projected their power by art work all over their city of animals, like bulls or lions, or this sort of thing, or hunting scenes with all kinds of animals. And so it's as if all those stone animals have come to life and now they're just taking over the city because there's no people there. So it's a picture of the wrath of God falling upon this city. 

And here's why, verse 15. This is the exultant city, which dwells securely, who says in her heart, I am, and there's no one besides me. how she has become a desolation, a resting place for beasts. Everyone who passes by her will hiss and wave his hand in contempt." So Nineveh is an embodiment of pride, of the pride of the human spirit, of saying in her heart, I am, there's no one besides me. That's really should be said about God, right? He says things like that. Isaiah, that he is the Lord and there is no other, or he's a savior, and there is no other savior. And Nineveh was so caught up in pride that Nineveh said this in her heart. 

Nineveh's really an ugly expression of that, of the pride of the heart. I mean, they just took whatever they wanted. They used as much brutality as they could. They were known even in ancient times for their great brutality. So this is really an ugly picture of pride where you can actually kind of see what it is. The Pharisees, like I mentioned before, it's more of a lovely picture on the outside, but it's the same pride. It's I am, and there is no other besides me. It's a way of exerting self instead of trusting in the Lord. 

So the pride is expressed in all kinds of ways, but it's all gonna be overthrown. In the day of the Lord, the day of the Lord is gonna come on all that is high and lift it up and it's gonna leave behind only what is built on the rock of Christ and of the character of God that's shown forth in salvation. Okay, so next time we'll look at Nineveh's twin, Nineveh's counterpart. You could say Jerusalem. And the list continues of nations and places where the wrath of God is gonna fall. And it's gonna fall on Jerusalem, because they're no better than Nineveh. They're no better than Nineveh in their character. 

But amazingly, God is going to make Jerusalem, as he makes Nineveh a monument to pride and the way it's overthrown, he's gonna make Jerusalem the epicenter of his amazing redemption that's gonna, expand to the whole earth. And so you have this very tender picture of God's character, of his grace as well for next time. So that, as it says in Habakkuk, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And so that's what's in store for the world when the earth receives her king and when Christ comes again. So that will be for next time. 

Okay, so I'm out of time and let's pray. Dear Father, we thank you for this revelation of who you are and it's your revelation that you show in your dealings with the nations and especially in your dealings with this nation of Israel. and the city of Jerusalem, whose story is yet to be told, and yet it will put your grace on display in all the earth. We thank you that you put your grace on display in us as well, that we are as sinful as Jerusalem, as sinful as Nineveh in your sight, and yet you've chosen us to be a part of your remnant, a part of your people, and trophies of your grace towards us. We pray that we might rejoice in your grace, trust in your grace, and obey you, trusting in you as you are. And we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.