Zephaniah 3:1 says, Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! God pronounced woe on Jerusalem, which instead of being truly the city of God had become spiritually filthy and polluted. If we are to truly be a Christian nation, then we cannot allow ourselves to become spiritually filthy and polluted, and if we do, then we should expect God to pronounce His woe on us. Jerusalem was supposed to be guided by God's law, but the people there had turned away from it. Verse two adds, She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God. God gave a very bad assessment of the people of Jerusalem. They did not obey His voice, would not receive correction and did not trust in the LORD. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we must also make Him Lord of our life, which means we must obey His voice, which comes from the Holy Spirit indwelling us, receive His correction and put our trust in Him. I believe that when we fully put our trust in God that we will never live in fear and doubt. Verse three continues, Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. God said that those in power in Jerusalem were like roaring lions and wolves. They were ready to destroy anyone who did not give them what they wanted or who just had something that they desired. These princes, or rulers, used their power for the destruction of the people instead of for their edification. God calls on us as followers of Christ to present His word to the people of the world to edify them, and never to us our status as His people to attempt to destroy others. Verse four concludes, Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. God had nothing good to say about the prophets and priests of Jerusalem. The prophets only prophesied about what would make them look good to the people and not the hard truths of God. Likewise, the priests had polluted God's sanctuary by bringing in the worship of idols and claiming that this was okay with God. We today need preachers and teachers who proclaim the truth of God's word, no matter how hard it may be to hear. Verse five states, The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame. God said that He was in their midst, which was what made them a special nation. God was to be their God and they were to be His people, and God had never left or failed them. It was the sins of the people that separated them from God. As Christians, we should never allow the things of this world to come between God and us. He is not some far away God, but He is in our midst, so much so that the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Verse six adds, I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant. God said that they had the example of what He had done to the wicked nations around them. He had cut them off and made them desolate. Whatever success the people of Jerusalem had was due to God giving them victory over their enemies, but this did not mean that they could ignore His leadership and still be victorious. We are victorious over sin because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, and if we begin to stray away from His leadership, we will allow sin to have power over us once more. Verse seven concludes, I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings. God said that He thought for sure that those who were called His people would receive His instruction, but instead they rose up early and corrupted all that they did. If we turn away from God's guidance, everything we do will tend to become corrupted.
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