KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Monday, September 26, 2016
Chapters: The Book of Zephaniah
Message: In The Day Of God’s Anger
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Zephaniah contains three chapters, the author of the book is Zephaniah and it was written to the people in Israel and all nations. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 639BC and 609BC. The purpose of the book was to warn all nations of Judgment Day. What we are to learn from the book is that God rather save then destroy, and is mighty to save all who come to Him. “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” – Zephaniah 3:17.
God spoke to Zephaniah during the time that Josiah was king of Judah, this was the king who had the temple repaired and they found the Word of God which had been hidden for some time. Upon reading the Law Josiah made drastic changes to remove all the evil from Judah and all of Israel, but His judgment still stood, and He was about to judge Judah
“I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD. 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. 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; 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; And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him. 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.” – Zephaniah 1:2-6,12.
“and them that worship and that swear by the LORD,” You can pray a thousand times a day, worship every man made god known, but unless you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you are a part of the billions of people who will be consumed off the land. While God is merciful and willing to wait for a soul to come to His Son, He is not willing to share the spotlight with false gods or those who think themselves a god. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” – Revelation 3:15-17.
“and knowest not that thou art wretched,” Perhaps more dangerous worshiping a false god is making yourself into one. We all think highly of ourselves, that is just part of our nature, but when we place ourselves above God we have a problem. The devil did that and has a one way ticket to hell and the lake of fire waiting for him as does anyone who is too proud to admit they need Christ. All the earth will be judged, not just Israel, through Zephaniah, God shows exactly where pride will take you.
“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; 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. 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. 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. This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts. 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 2:1-3,9-11.
“it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.” Salvation does not lie on a particular group, sect, race, or religion, it lies on One Person, the LORD, Jesus Christ, only He can hide us in the day of God’s anger. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” – Romans 10:9,10.
Being a Christian in today’s world can be scary, not only has persecution risen so has martyrdom, people are being killed for professing their faith, this is not something that has been an issue for long time. The way things are going Jesus could return any minute to take His people out of here before things get unbearable. Through Zephaniah, God promises to bring His people to Him and restore Israel.
“Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.” – Zephaniah 3:8-9,16-18.
“he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy;” God willingly saves and rejoices over anyone who comes to Him through His Son, He promises that while we may be afflicted from time to time, we will be saved from the worse that is yet to come, and not only that, join Him in Zion.
“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” – Revelation 3:11-13.
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for giving us hope and assurance of the glorious day in which all nations will come together as one, speak one language, and worship only You in the kingdom that You are preparing for all who believe in Your Son. You desire our fellowship, our devotion, and our reliance on You for all our needs, as You delight in providing everything we have need of. Thank You for all that You do and allow in my life and in everything that You do. Lead me and guide me in Your will and ways, and help me to labor only for the things that give You glory, for I know that as long as I am in You will I will be taken care of and even receive much more than I imagine. I love You Lord, and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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