Zephaniah 2:8

Zephaniah 2:8 says, I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.  God now spoke about Moab and Ammon and how the people there had reproached the people of Israel.  They basically mocked the people of Israel for their worship of God out of pride in their strength.  People who do not believe in God today often reproach, or ridicule, those who do.  God knows when this happens, and one day those who do this will be held accountable.  Verse nine adds, Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.  God said that Moab would be as Sodom and Ammon as Gomorrah, which meant that they were to be utterly destroyed.  This was not to be done by fire from heaven though, but by the remnant of the people of Israel.  God does not always accomplish His purpose in the same way, but when it comes to defeating sin and sinful people He will always be successful.  The ultimate defeat was obtained by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Verse ten continues, This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.  The underlying reason for God's condemnation of the people of Moab and Ammon was their self pride.  They felt that they were greater than Israel and that their gods were greater than the God of Israel.  Self-pride often keeps people from surrendering their life to Christ and they often put down those who do accept Him.  Verse eleven concludes, The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.  Zephaniah said God would be terrible to those who refused to believe in Him and who ridiculed those who did.  All the false gods would be destroyed, and when God comes in judgment one day, this will be true for all time.  Verse twelve states, Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.  God said that the people of Ethiopia would be destroyed by the sword.  God does not just judge some people who defy Him, but He condemns all who do.  Verse thirteen adds, And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.  God also said that He was going to destroy Assyria and Nineveh.  The people of Nineveh may have been spared in Jonah's day, but evidently they had once more turned away from God.  Just because a nation has been following God at one time does not mean that they always will. Verse fourteen continues, And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.  God said that Nineveh would become the home of wild birds.  Verse fifteen concludes, This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand. God said that the people of Nineveh had been filled with self-pride, but that they would become a source of derision to all who passed by after their destruction.  People today who are filled with self-pride and refuse to acknowledge God will one day meet the same fate.

Zephaniah 2:1

Zephaniah 2:1 says, Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;  God begins by calling on the people of Israel to repent and return to Him. It was not God's desire to punish the people of Israel then, nor is it His desire to punish people today.  We, as followers of Christ, like the people of Israel then, should never be in the position where God has to call on us to gather ourselves together in our relationship to Him, but if He does, it will not be because He desires to punish us.  God always calls people to repentance and restoration with Him.  God's punishment only comes if people refuse His grace and mercy.  Verse two adds, Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’s anger come upon you. The people of Israel, God's chosen people, were called on to return to Him before He sent His punishment on them.  They were a nation not desired now, because they had strayed away from God.  We today in America call ourselves a Christian nation, but like Israel then, we need to return to God, otherwise we like them may face God's judgment.  We cannot just claim to be a Christian nation to secure God's protection, but we must truly follow God's laws and spread His word in order to be so.  We cannot just keep the laws of God that suit us and ignore the rest.  Verse three concludes, Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.  The people of Israel were called on to seek righteousness and meekness.  God does not expect His people to be arrogant in their relationship to other people, but He does expect them to be righteous because of their relationship to Him.  This is not self-righteousness, but righteousness because of obedience to God.  Verse four states, For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.  God then speaks of the destruction of those who were enemies of Israel, beginning with the Philistines, first with those along the coast Matthew Henry says.  The enemies of the people of Israel were enemies of God as well, and even though they were powerful, God was going to defeat them.  Verse five adds, Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.  As just stated, God's warning was to the Philistines along the coast.  It was a clear warning, that God was against them and He would destroy them.  It may seem that as followers of Christ the whole world is against us and being victorious, but God is still in charge, and as long as we live by faith in Him, He will one day destroy all our enemies.  Verse six continues, And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.  God said that the coast would once again be the dwelling place for shepherds.  These would be the people of Israel who were faithful to God.  Verse seven concludes, And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.  This states very clearly that God was going to restore this area to the remnant of Israel, those who had remained faithful to Him.  God has prepared a place for His people, and if we as Christians remain true to Him, then no matter what happens in the world today, He will bring us safely to that promised heavenly home.  Those who are the enemies of God and His people will be destroyed. 

Zephaniah 1:10

Zephaniah 1:10 says, And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.  God said that the sound of defeat would be heard from gate to gate in Jerusalem when He sent His judgment.  The sound of the coming army would be heard in the hills and all around.  There is no safe place to escape the judgment of God when it comes.  Verse eleven adds, Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.  Even the closest inhabitants of the part of the city that was supposed to be the safest would be howling in distress and defeat.  Verse twelve continues, And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.  God said that He would search out the city and find those who said basically that He could or would not do anything, either good or bad.  They were saying in effect that God was not in charge or that He did not exist.  There are many people today who claim the same thing, but just like the people of Israel and Jerusalem, one day they will find out how wrong they are.  Verse thirteen declares, Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.  God said that all of their work was to be of no use to them.  The people of Judah and Jerusalem would not live in the houses that they built nor drink the wine from the vineyards that they planted.  We may gain enormous wealth in life today, but even if we just work to meet our everyday needs, if we do not accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord it will be useless when we face God in judgment.  Verse fourteen adds, The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.  The people were warned that God's judgment was near and that the mighty men would cry bitterly.  People may think that they are mighty in the world today, but when they face God's judgment without a relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, they will be crying bitterly.  Verse fifteen continues, That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,  Just as God said that the day of judgment on the people then would be a day of desolation and darkness, so wil God's final judgment be for the lost people of the world.  Verse sixteen says, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.  God said that the trumpets would sound the alarm, but it would already be to late.  When God's judgment comes, whether it be by death or the return of Christ, it will be too late to sound the alarm.  Verse seventeen adds, And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.  God said that the people of Judah and Jerusalem would be like blind men and their blood would be poured out, because they had sinned against Him.  God cannot simply ignore sin, but He does make salvation possible for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ.  Those who refuse to are spiritually blind and will suffer the punishment of God one day.  Verse eighteen continues, Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.  God said that none of the riches of this world could save them, and neither can they today. 

Zephaniah 1:1

Zephaniah 1:1 says, The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.  Matthew Henry says that Zephaniah was the last prophet before the captivity of the people of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, and Jeremiah was the first prophet during their captivity.  Zephaniah said that the word of the LORD came to him in the days of Joash, king of Judah.  What Zephaniah was going to tell them was God's word, and what we as followers of Christ today must share with the world is God's word.  Verse two adds, I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.  Zephaniah said that God had said that He was going to destroy everything in the  land of Judah.  This was not to be just an arbitrary act on the part of God, but was due to the sins of the people of Judah.  Verse three continues, I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.  God said this was to be a complete destruction of the land, of the people, the animals, the fish and the fowl of the air.  This is a figurative statement of complete destruction.  Since the people of Judah had perverted the use of the animals that God had provided for them, He was going to take them away.  If we begin to misuse the things that God blesses us with, we should not be surprised if He takes them away.  Verse four declares, I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;  God said that He was going to cut off all the worship of Baal and other false gods, and the priests who proclaimed their word.  One day, God is likewise going to cut off all the false gods of today and the people who follow them.  Verse five adds, And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;  God said He would also cut off those who worshipped the heavens claiming to worship God.  There is no room for the worship of any of God's creation as well as any man-made idol in our relationship with God.  Verse six continues, And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor inquired for him.  Zephaniah was specific in who God said was going to be destroyed and why.  The had turned their back on God and no longer sought Him.  These were God's chosen people, but they had rejected Him.  The only way to salvation is through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and yet too many people have turned their back on Him and refuse to seek His will in their life.  Verse seven states, Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.  God called on the people of Judah to be prepared, because He was coming in judgment.  Those who had offered up false sacrifices would themselves become a sacrifice to God.  If we worship false gods, then when God's judgment comes,we will be given up to everlasting punishment or sacrificed by God to the penalty for our sins.  Verse eight adds, And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.  God said those in power would be punished for their sins.  These were the people who were supposed to be leading Judah and Jerusalem to God, but instead they were leading them away from Him.  Verse nine concludes, In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.  God said that no one who had turned away from Him would escape His coming punishment.  Matthew Henry says that leap upon the threshold likely meant entering a neighbor's home to steal from them.  It doesn't matter if we are rich or poor, if we are guilty of sin in our life, God will punish it.  Our only hope is to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, since He has already paid the penalty for our sins.

Amos Review

 We will review what we learned from Amos.  First, we see that God calls ordinary people to proclaim or preach His word.  Amos was not a priest or an educated man, nor was he the son of one.  He was a herdsman.  We should look more at whether God called someone to preach today than we do at their education or family history.  Of course, if we are a Christian, then we are also called to share the gospel with others.  Next, we see that God uses ordinary things to reveal His word and accomplish His purpose.  God does not need a great army to defeat His enemies, but can do it with something as lowly as a grasshopper.  We also learned that we should be interceding with God on behalf of the lost.  Ultimately, it is their choice whether or not to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, but we need to be praying that they will do so before it is too late.  We then see that God punishes those who stand against Him and His people.  I believe that God will one day punish all those who refuse to accept His salvation plan, and that He will especially punish those who harm His prophets, or I believe we could say preachers today.  Yet, we also see that God will punish those who profess to be His people, but who instead worship idols, or the things of this world.   Simply claiming to be a part of God's family and not giving up the worship of the things of this world is not enough.  We must truly put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord in order to be saved, and then we must put God's will first in all that we do.  Finally, we learned that God will preserve or protect those who are truly His.  God said that He would protect the remnant of the people of Israel who were still true to Him and return them to the land that He had given them.  God will always protect those who are really His, and one day He will bring us home to Heaven, our everlasting home.  Next, we are going to look at the book of Zephaniah. 

Amos 9:9

 Amos 9:9 says, For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.  God told Amos that He was going to sift Isreal like corn.  The purpose of sifting is to separate the good grain from the bad, and God said that none of the good would fall upon the earth.  The people of Israel were going to be shaken, but those who were faithful to God would still be protected by God.  Even if we as followers of Christ today are shaken by the things going on around us, God will always keep us from falling as long as we remain faithful to Him.  Verse ten adds, All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.  God said that the sinners of His people, those who were His in name only, would die by the sword. These were the people of Israel who thought that nothing bad could happen in the because they felt that simply by being born into the nation of Israel meant that God would always have to protect them, even if they were allowing themselves to worship other gods.  We cannot expect God to protect us from the evil in the world today if we only accept Him as our protector and do not acknowledge Him as the only God that there is.  Verse eleven states, In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:  God said that there was coming a day when He would restore the tabernacle of David, close the breaches, and raise it up from the ruins.  This was not just a physical restoration that God was speaking of, but was the promise of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.  God does not call us to a physical relationship with promises of great wealth, but to a spiritual relationship with a cross to take up daily.  Verse twelve adds, That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.  Through faith in Jesus Christ, God's kingdom was and is going to expand not just in Israel, but to the uttermost parts of the world.  If America, or Israel, or any nation is special to God today, it is not because the people of that nation are more deserving of God's blessings, but it is because the people are obedient to God through their relationship with Jesus Christ.  Because of that relationship, God will use them to reach out to all lost people everywhere.  Verse thirteen declares, Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.  God said that the people of Israel, who had remained true to Him, would be blessed with an abundance that would never run out.  We as followers of Christ are blessed by an abundance of God's grace that will never run out.  This does not mean a material abundance, but a spiritual one.  I believe that we should never attempt to make Christianity about material wealth or blessings.   Anything that we gain in this world will one day be done away with, except for our relationship to Jesus Christ and the things that we do to advance His kingdom and to glorify our heavenly Father.  Verse fourteen adds, And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.  God said that His restored kingdom would be well populated.  Though most people may never accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, many people will, and they will be the ones populating God's kingdom, which is a heavenly kingdom.  Verse fifteen concludes, And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will be planted forever in God's kingdom.  Nothing can pull us out of that kingdom, because we are secured by the power of God. 

Amos 9:1

 Amos 9:1 says, I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.  Amos said he saw the Lord, or God, standing on the altar.  We should not be surprised to find God at the altar, but we should also hope that we find Him there because we are meeting Him in sincere worship.  Matthew Henry said this was to show the people that His controversy with them was their idolatry.  God told Amos to smite the lintel so that it would cut the people who came in to the altar on the head, and then God was going to destroy the place and all that went in and out.  Verse two adds, Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:  God told Amos that there was no place between hell and heaven that they could escape.  In hell, we cannot escape God, nor can we escape His judgment by attempting to get to heaven by our own power.  Verse three continues, And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:  God also told Amos that there was no place on earth, from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the sea where they could escape His punishment.  There is still no place to escape God's judgment today except by faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  We may call ourselves God's people, but if we do not have that personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then there will be no place to hide from God when His judgment comes.  Verse four states, And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.  God said that even if the people of Israel were captured by the enemy that they would still face His judgment.  They might have thought that God would rescue them from captivity, but He said that He would still send His judgment on them.  The people of Israel were to be punished for their idolatry, and so will everyone who puts their faith in idols today, even if they proclaim to be Christians.  Verse five adds, And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.  God told Amos to let the people know that it was God Who was behind their punishment.  As followers of Christ, we may suffer at the hands of the world today, but we should never be in a position where God has to send His punishment on us.  If we allow the things of this world to come between God and us, then we should not expect Him to protect us from the world.  Verse six declares,  It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.  God left no doubt about Who He is.  He is the Creator of it all.  If we begin to place too much importance on the things of this world, then we need to remember Whom they belong to.  It is all God's and always will be.  Verse seven asks, Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?  God asked if the people of Israel thought they were more valuable to God than people of other nations simply because of where they were born.  We may sometimes act as though we as Christians are better than other people and feel that because we profess to be God's people that this makes God love us more and have to protect us, but we are all just sinners saved by grace.  We are not followers of Christ because we are special, but we are special because we are followers of Christ.  Verse eight declares, Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.  God said that His eye was on them and He saw that they were a sinful kingdom.  He then said that He was going to destroy them, except for that remnant that was still faithful to Him.  God will always distinguish between those who are truly His by faith and those who are His by word alone.  If we are truly followers of Christ, then no matter what happens in this world, we are safe in the arms of God.