Take Two: Zephaniah 2, Proverbs 18

Zeph 2:1-3 serve as a bridge between the judgment against Judah of chapter 1 and the judgment coming to the nations surrounding her. It is a momentary call to wake up...if you will. Gather yourself together. Time is drawing near. Before the judgment, humble yourself before God.

In these chapters on judgment, it is interesting to see that God gives testimony of a remnant (Zeph 2:3). Of course, not everyone was evil in Judah or in the nations. However, evil was the characteristic that dominated the majority. For me, this is a sobering reminder of God's justice...not just His judgment. He is not indiscriminately destroying...because He came to the end of His rope. He is fully aware of the condition of the people, both the majority and the remnant. A God of justice brings judgment against the wicked...but also delivers the remnant through His mercy.

Zeph 2:4-15 is the judgment against the nations around Judah. God is not only bringing judgment against those who were connected to Him as Jews, He is also Lord over those who do not see themselves as connected to Him at all.

Catch that.
Many people today CHOOSE to not explore things of God, having convinced themselves that they will not be subject to His justice if they are not His. One does not get a "pass" on God's justice simply because they choose not to experience His Salvation. All of us are in the same boat. We are (in the beginning) by nature children of wrath (Eph 2:3). Everyone begins in the same place: separated by our own sin from God. To not know the specifics of the sin does not change the fact that we are still sinners. Whether we have heard "do not murder" or not...doesn't change the fact that killing a person "feels wrong" to everyone initially.

The nations listed in this prophesy are really representative of all nations but specifically include Palestine and its cities, Moab, Ethiopia, Assyria, and the nations to the North. From the coastal cities to the West, to the North, South , and East...God will judge all peoples in the Day of the Lord.

Notice again, this judgment of God is not a struggle of ability. There is no indication of even a resonable resistance to His justice. He is the awesome God and will utterly bring to bear His will in this Day.

As I read this...many faces of people I know around the country, across this community, and even around the world come to mind. Several of these faces do not recognize my God. Some reject my God. Others fear Him. A Day is coming when all of these will face Him. It is my privilege and high calling to help them know Him today as the God of abundant mercy and grace. Time is nearing when they may not be able to respond. For their sake and for His glory, I must help them understand. Can YOU see their faces?

Proverbs 18:8,17 are the takeaways today. They just fit together in my mind pretty well. A "whisperer" is another way of speaking of a "gossip." They are people who speak things they should not.

Someone told me this week that he had "defended" me on two occasions this past week where individuals told him things that did not sound true of me. Turns out, the ones speaking to my friend had "heard from someone" these dainty, tasty morsels of information. Neither of the "charges" were even close to being true...and my friend recognized them immediately...since he knew where my "heart" was on the matter.

Why would someone believe a "morsel" of whisper? Often times, because it seems "sweet" to know something first. As verse 17 reminds us, the "whisper" tends to sound true because we heard it first. After all, why would someone tell us wrong? The rest of verse 17 tells us how to know. Find the subect of the discussion and seek to know first person what you "heard." The "charges" caused me (and my friend) to shake our heads. They were as far from true as anything that anyone could have ever said. This is why God tells us to reject gossip and to rebuke the gossiper. They do great damage to themselves, to the people they "whisper" to, and to the Kingdom of God. Moral to the story: If you can't or won't share your juicy nugget with the person it is about...don't share it at all. If your audience has no involvement in the story...don't speak about it to them at all.

Grace.