All right. Good morning, everybody. OK, so this is the last Sunday of the year, our last time in the Prophets of the Day of the Lord. So next Sunday will be the start of a new year, start of a new study. It's going to be on Revelation. And I've looked at the schedule, and it's not so much James teaching every time. It's more of a rotation of about five different Teachers, which I think is an exciting thing to get, just that there'll be more involved, not that we won't have James, but there'll be more teachers involved and it'll be kind of a team that's looking at Revelation, so I'm looking forward to that as well, as well as closing out our study in Zephaniah.

Okay, let's bow before the Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for your character. We thank you that your word tells us of you and that it is good news. So we pray that you would open our eyes to see wonderful things from your word. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Okay, open your Bibles to Zephaniah. It's close to the end of the Old Testament. And we're going to be looking at Zephaniah chapter 3 this time. So we'll just go through. Last time was about judgment on the nations, and we talked about some of the nations, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, some others, Nineveh, we did. And this time, the prophet turns his attention to Jerusalem. So chapter three is all about Jerusalem. Judgment on Jerusalem, that's gonna be the first eight verses of this chapter, and then hope for Jerusalem, and the contrast is really bold, jarring, you might say, but when the judgment comes, then the hope is gonna come for the city of Jerusalem.

Okay, so I thought, kind of by way of introduction to Jerusalem, just to put in your mind. I thought I'd show you some of the sights of the modern city of Jerusalem. So I got out my old book from the time that I went and studied in Israel in the year 2000, which I can't believe how long ago that actually was. Okay, so I'll show you this. It'll just kind of be interesting, I hope. But also, I ended up taking quite a few pictures of kind of bystanders, people who live in Jerusalem. So that's kind of the point, is just to show you some faces of that.

David told me this would be in focus. Is it? OK, yeah, kind of. There's Geneva. She went. Some other classmates. Here's Jerusalem. That was kind of my first sight of Jerusalem. There's some Israeli soldiers there. Let's see, here's around the ramparts, just kind of some sites of Jerusalem. There's a Western Wall. Yeah, that shows up pretty good, doesn't it?

It snowed when we were there. It was quite cold. We weren't dressed for that. That's not really in focus, is it? I don't know what to do about that. Okay, here's... That is one of the gates of Jerusalem. There's a walled city around it, and you can see bullet holes there, because it's been defended in modern wars. That's the Zion gate. It's a place that's still, there's still strife, as you know.

There's a cute little guy selling poster. He's a Palestinian. Here's an interesting one. And this part of the city here would have been really familiar to Zephaniah, because it's the part that they lived in at that time. This is where David's view would be. And actually, the story of David with Bathsheba, he would be looking down at a rooftop. You can kind of see how that would work there.

And this is a Palestinian village. It's right next to Jerusalem. Kind of a rough place, actually. Okay, there's Hezekiah's tunnel and a model of how it goes through. Here's the pool of Siloam where the tunnel comes out. I'm almost done. This is the Mount of Olives that overlooks the temple. And Jerusalem, so it's kind of looking from the east at Jerusalem.

There's Elisha. Yay. And that's a model of how Jerusalem looked at the time of Christ, kind of a cool, cool place. There's the temple. That's near the Temple Mount.

Okay, I'm gonna move forward. Here's some people in Jerusalem. Okay, I'll show you a picture of my parents when they came. Here's Alicia's dad, Alicia and Tiffany's dad, who's in heaven now. Here's some pictures of my family. Here's my favorite gate of the city, the Damascus Gate, the most Arabic of the gates. And there's like a market going on down there. It was an experience to walk through that gate. It's fun. Here's the Western Wall. And there's Orthodox Jewish people there. Katie got in trouble here for drawing, because it's the Sabbath. And the Western Wall is an outdoor synagogue. So you're not allowed to do anything creative on the Sabbath. So she had some Orthodox guys who scolded her. These little girls, these Jewish girls, liked it and were interested in what she was doing. There's my dad. Pretty cool picture of my dad, American in Jerusalem. Oh, sorry. Pretty cool picture of my dad here. He stands out.

Okay, that's it. You can come and look at the rest if you like.

Okay, so the point is, the point is Jerusalem, okay? It's a real place. I don't want you to get it in your mind. It's just kind of like a imaginary place or something like that. So this is about the city of Jerusalem today.

So a question, a question. In what is said about Jerusalem in this passage and about the judgment coming on Jerusalem and the hope for Jerusalem, is it actually about the city of Jerusalem? or is it a big metaphor for other things, like the Christian life, or like the new birth, or like the gospel going out into all the world when it talks about blessing coming on Jerusalem? And my answer to that question is yes. Yes, it's about the real Jerusalem, and it is a big metaphor for a whole bunch of other things, like the Christian life, like the new birth. And the reason why it can be a metaphor for a whole bunch of other things is because it's real. It's because it's really gonna happen to Jerusalem, and this is the way that God is gonna show forth his character, is by what happens to these people, or their children, or their grandchildren. It's gonna be when it comes, this event that it's going to be talked about at this time. So there's a future actually for the real place of Jerusalem. That's the point. That's my point in showing you those pictures.

I heard of a band. I think it's a rock band. It's called the Future Sound of London. I don't know anything about this band. I haven't heard any of their music, any of their songs. So I don't know if it's good or bad. But the name just kind of struck a chord with my imagination. So the Future Sound of London, like you're listening to something from the future. So the Future Sound of Jerusalem, this passage is going to talk about, is the sound of a victorious king who's won a battle, and he's singing in love over his people. And the people responding with joy and with singing and with celebration to him. That's the future sound of Jerusalem.

The people that are pictured here, that live there, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, those who live through it, whoever they are, whether it's that generation, they're 25 years on now, so, or the generation after them, if they're alive at the onset of the day of the Lord, This is gonna happen to them, this event that we're talking about, the remnant of them, the remnant that survives, and for them, it's gonna feel like one world coming to an end and another world beginning, a wonderful world beginning, and it's gonna center on Jerusalem.

Okay, that's my introduction. Let's just go through verse by verse. First eight verses is judgment on the city of Jerusalem, and then the last half is gonna be hope for Jerusalem. Okay, I don't know if you remember last week, but we went through, his judgment is gonna fall on a whole bunch of nations, and it ended with Nineveh as this wicked city, and it was written in the time right before Nineveh fell. Nineveh fell in 612, and so this expression of the day of the Lord that's coming in his time, in Zephaniah's time, it's gonna fall on Nineveh, and then after a few decades, it's gonna fall on Jerusalem as well, because Babylon's gonna come in. So he's announcing judgment on this wicked city, which is Nineveh.

Judgment is gonna come soon, and when chapter three comes, there is no chapter division for Zephaniah. He keeps on talking about a city, and it sounds like he's talking about Nineveh. But he's not. He's talking about Jerusalem. He's switched gears without really saying so. It just kind of morphs right into talking about Jerusalem. And there's a point to that. Jerusalem has gotten just as bad as Nineveh. In fact, Jerusalem is worse than Nineveh of his time because Jerusalem should know better. Jerusalem has the Lord's word telling them what is right and what is not right.

So, okay, when you get to chapter three, verse one, Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the tyrannical city. And you would think, well, yeah, that's Nineveh. But you go on a little bit further, and it starts talking about this city has prophets. This city has priests. This city, the Lord speaks to this city. This city has a sanctuary that the priests have profaned. This city has done violence to the law. the Lord is within her. So you're not talking about Nineveh, you're talking about Jerusalem here. So, woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the tyrannical city. And that refers to the way that, you know, There was oppression that took place within the city of Jerusalem. I'm sure it happened in Nineveh too, but it happened in Jerusalem.

Verse two, and this is why woe is pronounced on Jerusalem, is because of these sins. She heeded no voice. She accepted no instruction. She did not trust in the Lord. She did not draw near to her God. And so the first two of these has to do with disobedience. She doesn't listen. This wicked city, she accepted no instruction. And then the last part of it highlights what's been highlighted already before in Zephaniah is trust in the Lord. That's at the center of Jerusalem's disobedience to the Lord is she doesn't trust in the Lord and trust leads to obedience. So that's really the key issue. She did not trust in the Lord. She didn't run near to her God by trusting the Lord.

So Zephaniah highlights this idea of trust in the Lord as central to what needs to change in Jerusalem. And in pagan religions, like Jerusalem was involved with at this time, like the worship of Baal, worship of Asherah, that was still going on, because they'd had about 50 years of Manasseh ruling, and then his son Ammon. Josiah probably hadn't started the reforms yet, and so that was a huge problem.

But in pagan religions, Anxiety is the rule. The gods are erratic. They're unpredictable. They act impulsively. And so you're never quite sure where you stand with your false god in a pagan religion. In the Hebrew religion, in the religion of the one true God, trust is the rule. And trust is the key note. That's what they need to come back to.

She did not trust in the Lord. She did not draw near to her God. And the reason why is because, the reason why trust is the key note in Old Testament religion is because the key characteristic of the one true God that he presents about himself that he wants to be known by is trustworthiness. Trustworthiness, according to his word. So he gives him his word, and he wants to be known as one who keeps his word. And he insists, this is the first way you're gonna know me. I'm the one who keeps my word. And so trust is the key.

One of the commentators pointed this out in making the comparison between the two. Another comparison that's related is that the pagan religion was always about You always have a way to, a mechanism to control your destiny by kind of like forcing the hand of your God. I'm going to do this ritual. I'm going to present the sacrifice and it's going to put the God in my debt in some way. And so I've got some kind of mechanism to do that. Israel didn't have any of that. That's not a part of the Old Testament religion at all. What the Old Testament worshiper had is just bare trust in the Lord. I don't have something I'm gonna do, some ritual I'm gonna do that's gonna twist God's arm to make him... you know, favorable to me in some way. I'm simply trusting in his word. I'm trusting in him. I'm walking by faith. And so that's what the Lord, that's the way the Lord wanted to know his people, to know him. And so he calls their attention to this issue, not only disobedience of him, but they're not trusting. in the Lord. They're not walking by faith. They're not drawing near to the Lord by faith. And so that's what we're to do as well.

Okay, verse three and four, he's pronounced woe on the city. It's interesting to me how much he blames the leaders. for the city's disobedience. 

Verse three, her cities within her are roaring lions. Her judges are wolves at evening. They leave nothing for the morning. Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men. Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law. And so it mentions a number of the leaders. the princes, the judges, the prophets, the false prophets, and then the corrupt priests as well. 

And the Old Testament puts a lot of blame for Israel's disobedience on the leaders. So I'm thinking of like Ezekiel, where he talks about wicked shepherds, and they don't tend the flock. They abuse the flock. They devour the flock. They raise the flock for themselves. They're evil shepherds. And that's kind of how they're presented here. 

Her princes are roaring lions. Her judges are wolves at evenings that leave nothing for the morning. And that's probably what's meant up in verse one where it talks about a tyrannical city. a city that oppresses and it's the leaders that are doing the oppressing. 

The Lord Jesus also blamed leaders and I'm always struck by the passage, it's in Matthew where the Lord looks out at the crowd and he feels compassion towards the crowd, they're scattered around him. He feels compassion for them because they're dispirited, they're discouraged, they're like sheep without a shepherd. They don't have good leadership, and then of course, the Lord saves his worst rebukes for the leaders, the Pharisees, the Sadducees as well. 

So the leadership is really important, and the leaders who are leading the people astray, and there's a blame that falls on them, like if they would have led the people differently, the people might have been willing to follow. But there's a huge, of course, everyone's culpable for themselves, but there's a big, woe and judgment here that falls upon the leaders.

So, Jerusalem's become just like Nineveh. So much so that when he starts talking about Jerusalem, it takes you a little while to understand that he's not talking about Nineveh anymore, because it sounds the same. And I was saying that it's just like Nineveh, except worse. And how is it worse? Well, I've already given you the answer to this, but they've got more light. They've got more light. To whom much is given, much is required. To whom more is given, more is required. And so that's kind of the point of the next three verses is how much Israel has been given. And it kind of reminds me of the parables in Isaiah where the Lord has a vineyard. He does everything for the vineyard, digs a well. He digs a wine press for it. He puts a fence around it. He has a watchtower for it. And he's expecting it to yield fruit. What more could I have done for my vineyard? And yet, it reveals it yields, instead of good grapes, it yields, as Dr. Boyd told us, stink fruit, which is a very literal, rotten fruit. And so, yeah. It kind of reminds of that, it's sort of like the Lord saying, I've done all this for you, I've shown myself to you, and yet you've become just like none of us.

So verse five starts speaking in this way. The Lord is righteous within her, he will do no injustice. Every morning he brings his justice to light. He does not fail, but the unjust knows no shame. What's this talking about? Verse five. Yeah, I think so. Okay, okay, judgment that is falling, like that's about to fall. Well, it sounds like it's a ghost language. OK. It's what I'm thinking, yeah. OK, in verse six, especially. OK. Yeah, it kind of sounds a little bit like the judgment that's about to fall. And that's what he's saying. And even the Lord being within her, it kind of reminds of what's coming next and then bringing his justice to light. But I don't think so, actually. I think this is actually speaking of something that the Lord is doing before that time comes. And we talked about the Lord, he rules, but with a hidden hand. And when the day of the Lord comes, it's like he's gonna step onto the stage, into the spotlight, and then he's gonna rule where everybody can see that he's in charge. But I think this is actually speaking of the way the Lord rules kind of from behind the scenes with providence. In other words, they're not waiting for this, but this is what the Lord does. This is what he's been doing. This is why they should have been obeying him.

So the Lord is righteous within the city of Jerusalem and does no injustice. Every morning he brings his justice to light. It sort of reminds of the passage in Job where the Lord says to Job, have you ever called forth the morning that shakes out the wicked? And the wicked tend to do their evil work at night and the morning is kind of a, it, sometimes will bring them to an end of their sin. They don't like to do their sin in the light, and so the Lord shines light on the sin and restrains it a little bit, and in that way doesn't do injustice.

Even the leaders are depicted here as doing their work at night. Her princes are roaring lions, her judges are wolves at evening, and they leave nothing for the morning, so they're doing their worst work at night. And so there's a sense in which the morning kind of highlights that aspect of what the Lord does all the time. He doesn't end injustice. He's gonna do that when he comes, but there's a sense in which he restrains evil, and he does it every morning.

Or it also reminds of the passage in Lamentations, the Lord's mercies are new every morning. Every morning the Lord, he doesn't, bring justice to earth like he is going to do, but he gives you kind of a little token every morning that he's still in charge, that he's still restraining evil, that there's still a hope left. And so I think this is what it's talking about.

So the Lord hasn't allowed any of his promises to fall to the ground. You know, think about all the way that the Lord was faithful to Jerusalem. So he helped them to enter the land, helped them with the Canaanites. In Joshua, it talks about none of the Lord's promises have fallen to the ground. All of them have come true. It doesn't mean every single promise has been fulfilled at that point, but it just means he's never gone back on anything that he's promised. He's been faithful. all throughout, and so I think that's the kind of thing that it's referring to here.

And then verse six, also, Betty, kind of sounds a little bit like what's coming, but I think it's actually, again, it's what Jerusalem has experienced in history so far. I've cut off nations like the Canaanites. that the Lord went before. Their corner towers are in ruins. I've made their streets desolate with no one passing by. Their cities are laid waste without a man, without an inhabitant. I think it refers to what the Lord's already done. Like, think of Jericho, you know, this proud city. They march around seven times and the whole thing falls. And so the Lord says, these are the kinds of things that I've been doing for you. I've been faithful to you. You have every reason to obey me. And yet you haven't, you've rejected me.

Verse seven, 

I said, surely you will revere me. except instruction. So her dwelling will not be cut off according to all that I appointed concerning her, but they were eager to corrupt all of their deeds. 

So the Lord's been faithful to Israel in ways that they can see and shown his goodness, his unprecedented goodness, unimaginable goodness to Israel, and yet they've rejected him. And so they're guilty not just of rejecting, A god like we might imagine, or the world might imagine, just kind of an authority figure, the man upstairs. you know, a God who exists, but you're not really that excited about following Him. That's not the God they're guilty of rejecting. They're guilty of rejecting a God of unimaginable goodness, a God who's shown them His faithfulness to them, His favor, His grace towards Him, and they're saying, no, I don't want that God. This is a God that's worthy of being excited about. and they're guilty of turning their back upon him. 

And so it shows really what a heinous crime this is, how actually deserving of wrath this is for the city of Jerusalem. And it's a mirror for us, that's our sin as well. You know, we've had the light of the Lord. So the Lord is depicted here as a man like surprised by their sin, like he's expecting a different outcome by being good to the city of Jerusalem. I said, surely you will revere me, except instruction. Now the Lord isn't surprised. So this is a, it's a anthropopathism. And you've probably heard of that, or you might've heard of an anthropomorphism. It's like where the Lord depicts himself having an arm or a mouth or a face. He actually doesn't have any of these things, but he speaks in this way for our understanding. And sometimes the Lord does that with a human emotion, too, like surprise. Like, surely they will revere me, and yet they don't. 

And I would just say about all of these that when God is depicted as surprised, The point is not just that it's teaching that God actually isn't surprised. This is a figure of speech. Sometimes that's the way preachers will do it. It sounds like he's surprised, but he's actually not, and then they'll preach on that, that God is never surprised. Well, the prophet here wants you to sit with it a little longer. and take it a little more seriously. You don't have to take it literally, but you should take it seriously, that God is surprised at our sin. Because the point that he's teaching here is not that, that God is never surprised, although that's true. The point that it's teaching here is that the sin of Jerusalem is so bad that if God could be surprised by it, he would be. He would be. There's every reason for Jerusalem to obey. Surely you will revere me. And yet they have not obeyed. And so it's really to show how how bad the sin of Jerusalem really is and how it deserves punishment in that way. 

Okay, verse eight. So he's kind of cut off the idea of something being found in the city of Jerusalem. that's worth rewarding. You know, that's not the hope for Jerusalem. And so he says in verse eight, therefore, wait for me, declares the Lord, for the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out on them my indignation, all my burning anger, for all the earth will be devoured by the fire of my zeal. Okay, so he's saying, expect me to act. That's what it means to wait for me. Jerusalem is going to show itself to be rebellious. to the Lord, there's nothing more he could do, so to speak, to sort of coax them bit by bit to be obedient to him. And so what's coming for Jerusalem is a big reset, where he acts in a big way and he's gonna pour out his wrath, not only on the city of Jerusalem, but actually on the whole world, which is totally deserving of his wrath coming. All the earth will be devoured by the fire of my zeal and it's gonna come suddenly. on Jerusalem and it's gonna come on the earth. And yet it's going to be, and here's the, I guess you could say it's a surprise except it's taught in all the other prophets as well. It's not gonna be the end of the story for Jerusalem. And it's not gonna be the end of the story for the world as well. The Lord's last word for Jerusalem and also for the world that he created is not death. but it's life. And so when the judgment comes, it's going to actually bring about salvation for the city of Jerusalem and salvation for the earth. So that instead of being characterized by sin and death, it's going to be characterized by obedience and life. And what event am I speaking of, the second coming of Christ when he comes to reign. And the event that precedes that is what we're gonna look at in Revelation, it's his wrath being poured out upon the whole earth. So the king, it's gonna talk about a king singing over his people, and it just gives his name as Yahweh here, the king, but the king's name is Jesus. when he comes. He's the victorious king and of course he is God himself as well. So because the king is Jesus, that's why the city itself, the world itself, can follow the pattern of death and resurrection. the city's gonna die, and then it's gonna be made alive, and then it's gonna be at the center of the Lord's work of the whole earth dying, and being made alive, and it's due to the fact that Christ died, and that the tomb is empty. He's risen again, and that's the way in which he can save in the midst of wrath. He can pour out his wrath upon the earth, and it leads not to destruction of the earth, but to salvation. You could say the reason why... it's not explained in Zephaniah, is because part of this wrath, the wrath that the remnant deserves, has fallen on Christ himself at the cross. And so that's why when his wrath comes, there's some that are gonna be spared from Jerusalem and from all the nations of the world, and then the Lord is gonna exalt the remnant of that to be an obedient and blessed remnant after that. Okay. Good, good, good. Okay, so there's a renewal coming. There's a wrath coming, unprecedented wrath that's going to be followed by unprecedented blessing. And Jerusalem, it's going to be a worldwide work, but the city of Jerusalem is going to be the center of that work. And Zephaniah makes that really clear. One commentator that I like said this, we all might well follow the ancient Psalms admonition to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122 verse six, for when she is whole, the earth will be whole and God's good purpose finally consummated. So he's got a good purpose for the world and it actually centers on this city of Jerusalem. And what happens in Jerusalem is gonna happen to the rest of the world as well. Okay, so wait for me, because there's wrath coming, but it's going to be followed immediately by blessing, verse 9. And the for there is probably... It's giving a reason why, wait for me. Hope in something, don't hope in the city's character that's been shown to be wanting, but hope in my character, hope in the coming of the king, the death and resurrection that he brings because I'm coming in wrath. but afterwards it's going to be followed by blessing. For then I will give to the people's purified lips that all of them may call on the name of the Lord to serve him shoulder to shoulder. Okay, what does it mean to give the people's purified lips? Oh, go ahead, Joan. I was curious and I looked it up and some scholars think that it's a universal language. Yes. And that it might be Hebrew, but others think that it's just pure language reflecting a pure heart. What's your perspective? Great question. Did you all hear that? Some think that the world is gonna go back to one language, probably Hebrew, and it's gonna be a reversal of the Tower of Babel. I don't think that's what he's referring to, but he expresses this in such a way that it is at least an echo of the story of the Tower of Babel. And I'll show you that even in the next verse. But I think rather what it's referring to is the second thing Joan mentioned is purified lips. refers to a purified heart. That's the expression of the heart. Out of the mouth comes the overflow of the heart, the Lord said. Or Isaiah, when the holiness of the Lord appears to him, what does he say? Woe is me, for I'm a man of unclean lips. And what he means is he dwells among a people of unclean lips. And what he means is it's his heart. that's unclean and it gets expressed by what comes out of his mouth. And so the Lord is going to give to the people's purified lips, not necessarily to speak the same language, but to say the same thing. And it's in the next line that all of them may call on the name of the Lord. So they're not calling on false gods anymore. They're trusting in the Lord and they're calling on the name of the Lord and they're doing it. with their mouths, their speaking in trust to the Lord, to serve him shoulder to shoulder, to serve him with one shoulder. There's one reason why I don't think this is, I said it's talking about Jerusalem and it's not a metaphor just for the gospel going out to the earth. You could, read it that way, I'm sure some people do read it that way, but the result here is that the nations with purified lips obey the Lord like one person. It literally says to serve him with one shoulder. In my translation it says shoulder to shoulder. So it's like everybody's worshiping the Lord. And that's not the spread of the gospel. The spread of the gospel is a wonderful thing, but it calls out people from among the nations to serve the Lord. It doesn't change the, the total temperature of the world to one of unified obedience, but that's what's gonna be at this time, is the peoples are gonna be given purified lips, and they're gonna obey him as one person, serve him shoulder to shoulder, so that the rebel is gonna be the real exception to the rule, rather than what it is now. where the prince of the power of the air sets the tone. And that still takes place even though the gospel advances. So verse 10, they'll serve him shoulder to shoulder from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. My worshipers, my dispersed ones will bring my offerings. So beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, sort of as far south as the could imagine, beyond Egypt, and so it's the whole world he's talking about. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, my worshipers, my dispersed ones, that almost sounds like Israel in exile, dispersed ones, but I don't think it is. And the word dispersed I don't think is the normal word that's used for the exiles being scattered, Jewish exiles being scattered among the nations. It's rather the word that's used in the story of the Tower of Babel. So I'm getting back to that. It's an echo, at least, of the Tower of Babel where God, and it uses this word exactly, He dispersed the nations by confusing the languages. So those who've been dispersed, they're Gentiles here. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, they're peoples. My worshipers, they're gonna bring offerings to the Lord and worship Him purely. Okay, so it's a worldwide, purification of the peoples. There's a remnant from all the nations and they're worshipers of the Lord. They're worshiping Him from the heart. Then it's going to focus on Jerusalem and the Lord turns and addresses the city of Jerusalem starting in verse 11. So the word you, you can't see this in English, The word you is a reference to the city of Jerusalem. In other words, it's feminine and singular, you. And you've been seeing a lot of she and her, and that's just kind of the way to talk about a city. It's a feminine word. So you've had that already about Jerusalem. She did not trust in the Lord. She did not draw near to her God. And so now he's going to address the city as you. That's going to change in verse, well, yeah, the city is going to be you. And then the remnant that's going to live in the city is a they. And that's gonna change only in verse 20, where he says something a little more personal about the remnant that belongs in the city, and there the you is masculine and plural. And that's a way to talk about just a group of people. So I'll point your attention to that in verse 20. But he's talking to the city, Why does the Lord talk to a city? Does he care about sticks and stones and rafters and foundations? That's what a city is made out of. No, but it's a good way of showing the Lord's faithfulness to a group of people, showing kind of the continuity between this city that's gone astray from him and the people who live there and what it was before and then what it's going to be afterwards as well. And I think that's important. to show that continuity because the Lord's revealing himself and the way that the Lord has dealt with generation after generation is a metaphor for a lot of things like the way the Lord deals with us as well who are the old self who needs to be killed and then the new self as well. and the way that the Lord deals with the city is something that is analogous to that, and I hope to have enough time to kind of point that out at the end. 

Okay, so verse 11, and I'll go kind of quickly through this part. Yeah, okay. In that day, you will feel no shame because of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against me. For then I will remove from your midst, the city of Jerusalem, your proud, exalting ones, and you will never again be haughty on my holy mountain. But I will leave among you, the city of Jerusalem, a humble and lowly people, and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord. So this is what's gonna happen to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Actually, most of them are gonna be judged for their rebellion against the Lord, but he's gonna save, he's gonna do a wonderful work of revival. with a remnant, a minority of Jerusalem. They're gonna survive through this storm of God's wrath and then he's going to exalt them and they're gonna be a humble, lowly, obedient people who take refuge in the name of the Lord and the character of the city is gonna change. from disobedience to rebellion to obedience to the Lord, and then it's gonna spread throughout the whole world so that the peoples have purified lips as well. 

Verse 13, the remnant of Israel will do no wrong, tell no lies, nor will deceitful tongue be found in their mouth, but they will feed and lie down with no one to make them tremble. So they're gonna trust in the Lord for the first time, and it's gonna result in obedience. result in them doing no wrong, telling no lies, not having a deceitful tongue, and then the Lord's going to remove the oppressors so that they're never again oppressed like they are now. They're never again in the news for all these violent things that take place in that land. They will feed and lie down with no one to make them tremble. 

So what's depicted next kind of this explosion of joy, this celebration scene. And the prophets speak with one voice, and so in that way, the prophets aren't very unique. They're not going for uniqueness. They're speaking as a team. They're speaking with one voice. But if anything makes Zephaniah unique, among the prophets, it's his intensity. The intensity with which he describes the Lord's wrath and then the intensity which he describes the joy that comes afterwards when the Lord's wrath has fallen and there's people remaining and his wrath is over. For them, there's no more shame and they're able to just rejoice in their relationship with the Lord. And we've experienced this, haven't we? We've experienced this a little bit before the time, but it's going to be experienced by the city of Jerusalem. What's described as kind of a citywide celebration. It's a celebration of the Lord. It's a great passage of scripture. The celebration is Marshall, it's military, it's about a victorious king who's just won a battle, which is what the Lord Jesus is gonna do for the city. And it's also tender, it's really tender, a picture of the Lord as well. It's both of those things. 

So verse 14, shout for joy, oh daughter of Zion. Shout and triumph over Israel. Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. He's talking to the city. He's talking to the city, but it's obviously the inhabitants of the city. The Lord has taken away his judgments against you. He's cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. You will fear disaster no more. In that day, it will be said to Jerusalem. Again, he's speaking to the city. Do not be afraid, O Zion. Do not let your hands fall limp. 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. 

So the Lord here is visibly dwelling with his people, and it describes the joy and the love that the Lord has over his people, and it's just expressed. here, and again, we know what this is. We haven't seen it in Jerusalem, but this is what the gospel gives us. We see it by faith, and we have this kind of relationship with the Lord. The Lord's love for his people is described in a really tender way. He's in your midst. He will exult over you with joy. And then translators translate this in a number of different ways, but it's probably best the way it is in my translation. He will be quiet in his love. He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. And one reason why translators don't always translate it like this is because it doesn't really make sense. He's shouting with joy over his people, but then he's being quiet with them in his love. But actually, I think it does make sense. When you think about maybe the way a grandparent is with a grandchild, or maybe a spouse, with a spouse that they're in love with. or maybe a father and mother with a child, you might just enjoy the presence of that other person. You don't have to say anything, and that's part of the enjoyment of it. You're just quiet in your love. So that's the way in which the Lord is speaking. There's no more obstacle to expressing his love for his people. Their sin has been taken care of. They're walking in obedience. So he exalts over them with joy, and then alternately is quiet. just expressing his love to his people in that way. And so it's a wonderful picture of the Lord. It's used in scripture in a number of ways.

Used of Eleazar when he had that thing where he met Rebecca and he wanted to see if she would water the camels. And it says he was quiet. He didn't want to say anything. He just wanted to watch, see what she would do. So I think that's the right way it should be translated here as well. It's kind of the most straightforward way it should be translated as being quiet in his love.

Martin Luther puts it this way in his commentary on that passage. He says, the sense is this, you will feel joy. You will feel in your conscience that the Lord is kindly disposed toward you and that he surely is a kind father to you in all things. So it's enjoying the Lord's love. It's not feeling shame anymore like he says you're gonna feel in your conscience that the Lord is right towards you.

Not in the same way that the rebellious Jerusalem didn't feel shame. That's in verse five, where it talks about our leaders and what they're doing wrong. And it says, the unjust knows no shame. They're not bothered by shame at all. That's not what it's talking about here when it says here, Where does it say they will feel no shame? Yeah, verse 11. And that day you will feel no shame, not because you're avoiding it, you're just denying the fact that you're in sin, but it's in Christ that you feel no shame.

And so this is a different way of feeling no shame where you acknowledge that you're a sinner. acknowledge that the wrath of the Lord would rightly fall on you and even feel it in some way and you're caught in that shame and yet you know that Christ has taken care of it and it's been washed away from you by the blood of Christ and so you're able to walk in victory of Christ and able to walk in obedience as well. So this is a Shamelessness that comes not from rebellion and denial, it comes from being in Christ. And there's this wonderful joy that's depicted in that way.

Verse 18, I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts. They came from you, O Zion. The reproach of exile is a burden on them. Okay, he's gonna bring in the exiles. And he talks about bringing in those who grieve about the appointed feasts. And so the idea here, it's the faithful remnant that he brings back. And the idea here is that in exile, they're observing the feasts, but they're not observing it the way it's commanded. The feasts are supposed to be, at least three of them, they're supposed to be done in Jerusalem. That's the only way in which the feasts are to be celebrated. The way that they're celebrated now in exile, they'll say at the end of some of the feasts, well, next year in Jerusalem. And they don't necessarily really mean it, but it's kind of a way of acknowledging that it really should be done in Jerusalem. But it's a way of acknowledging that they're in exile and can't worship the Lord in the way in which he's meant to be worshipped.

So there's some that would just go through the motions. you know, observing Jewish holidays. But there's others who might really take it to heart and really grieve that they're not able to worship the Lord in the way that's commanded because they're in exile. So he's going to gather those who grieve. They're not just going through the motions, they're taking to heart the meaning of the feast that they're celebrating. and the reproach of exile is a burden on them, and he's gonna bring them in. Behold, I'm 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 he's gonna gather them. He's gonna gather the exiles of Jerusalem, including the lame. and including the misfits among them, the outcasts among them, two groups of people that the Lord Jesus ministered to, the lame and the outcast. He had time for them and ministered to them. And they're mentioned here as kind of what one commentator said, no personal inability will be allowed to prevent the Lord's pilgrims from coming safely home. Rather, the Lord will provide everything necessary for them.

So what he's saying is, everybody's gonna make this long journey. Even the people that might be likely to not be able to make this journey back to Jerusalem among the exiles of the Lord's people, even the lame are gonna come, and even the outcast is gonna come, and how much more everybody else. He's gonna gather all of the exiles. and then turn their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.

Verse 20, at that time, I will bring you in, and now for the first time, he's actually, the you here is the remnant. It's not just Jerusalem that he's speaking about. And you can tell this from reading it, even in English, but you can tell it even more in Hebrew. At that time, I will bring you in, you the remnant, "'Even at that time when I gather you together, "'indeed, I will give you renown and praise "'among all the peoples of the earth, "'when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,' "'says the Lord.'"

And that phrase, before your eyes, is maybe why he's not addressing the city anymore. A city doesn't have eyes, but a people do have eyes. And he's gonna restore your fortunes. He's gonna make a total reversal of the exile's condition, because he's gonna exalt them when they were oppressed before, and he says, I'm gonna do it before your eyes. So this is something, you know, we talked about, we experienced this in advance, the Lord's love, the Lord's... dwelling with his people in love. We see it by faith, not by sight. They're actually gonna see it by sight at this time. He's gonna restore their fortunes, not just in their hearts, but before their eyes.

So the whole world is able to see this, and he's gonna put his faithfulness, his grace on display in the city of Jerusalem, and especially featuring this remnant, but the blessing of it is gonna spread to the whole world. But it's really, speaking of a time when faith becomes sight, And so he's gonna do this before all of their eyes.

Okay, I'm kind of out of time, but I wanted to do this. How does chapter three apply to you? So I'll just maybe go quickly on this. How does chapter three apply to you? Does the part about rebellious Jerusalem apply to you? Okay, I'm saying some yeses, and I agree with that. Does the part about the future sound of Jerusalem, the future part, apply to you as well? 

Yeah, they both apply to you, and I wanted to say this, because a lot of your Bible reading, I think James is gonna encourage us to read our Bible through in a year, and so a lot of your Bible reading is gonna be passages like this, the prophets, there's, There's doom and there's hope. And sometimes the doom is for Moab or for Ammon or something like that. And they're being excoriated for their sins. 

In Christ, old things have passed away. Behold, the new has come. We're new creatures. But that is said kind of in expectation of what we will be. The death blow has been dealt to the old nature. It's never going to prevail. And the new nature has come, and it's going to win. It can never be snuffed out of us. But in the meantime, the old and the new exist. side by side a little bit. We're mixed people. To the extent that you still sin, you're still old. And to the extent that you are a true believer in Christ, you're also new, and that's the dominant part of you. But both of these still apply. 

And so to the extent that you still sin, you need to hear what he says about a rebellious city, a tyrannical city, a defiled city who heeds no voice. accepts no instructions, she did not trust in the Lord. She did not draw near to her God, and at your worst moments, that's you. That should hit you between the eyes. That should go down deep within you where Israel is denounced, even though the Lord's been faithful to them. He's fulfilled all of his promises to them. They have every reason to obey the Lord, so much that the Lord expresses surprise that they're not obeying him. And that should be true of us as well. 

And then, of course, in Christ, We're also enjoying what is said about the future of Jerusalem, the future sound of Jerusalem, sights and sounds of Jerusalem, that the Lord's love is abundant. The Lord's taken away our shame in Christ. We don't have to live in shame anymore, but we're to know him, we're to draw near to him and draw near to him in his unimaginable love as the Lord's winning victories for us and then singing over us in this very tender way as well. 

Okay, that's what I wanted to say pretty much on the last page, and we're out of time, so let's pray. Father, we just thank You for this wonderful revelation of Yourself as we think about the past, the present, and future of the city of Jerusalem. We hope in this time that's coming for the rest of the world, but in the meantime, we know you, the God of all history, who demonstrates yourself in history. So we pray that we might heed your warning, your rebuke, that it might go down deep into our hearts. and that we might hear it for us. And then that we might rejoice in this wonderful hope that we have of the victorious King who loves us and has grace towards us and has taken care of our sin and given us victory over sin and forgiveness of our sins as well. And so we pray that we might heed also the instruction here to celebrate, to rejoice in you and to shout for joy in what you have done. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.