Gleanings From Zephaniah

Let the sparseness of postings be no measure, the minor prophets have been immensely helpful and encouraging to me this summer! This morning I came to Zephaniah, and the thought occurred to me, it is easy to look at backslidden Israel and despise her syncretism (mixing idolatry with worship of the Lord). But the question that struck me today, Are we not much more like them than we realize?

We are 'neo-syncretists'. We mix materialism or pleasure-seeking (which can be summed up in one word, 'carnality' or worldliness) with worship of the Lord. We try--unsuccessfully--to reconcile these fundamentally incompatible ideas:

• "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24, ESV). Spending and being spent for others (2 Corinthians 12:15).


• Your Best Life--Now! (Affluence and accumulation of more for self-gratification)
  

In this way we are no different from the sinful Israelites. So we should hear, and not gloss over, passages like this:

"I will stretch out my hand against... those who bow down and swear to the LORD
and yet swear to Milcom (21st century readers insert 'mammon' here), those who
have turned back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of
him." (Zephaniah 1:4-6, ESV)

We try to serve two masters and fail in the attempt due to lukewarmness to each. See Psalm 49:6-9, Proverbs 11:4, Matthew 16:26, Luke 12:13-21 (esp. v.15).

Zephaniah's counsel is not only to hear, but to hear and obey, for he prophesies, "I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, 'The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill'" (Zephaniah 1:12, ESV).