“When I Return Your Captives Before Your Eyes” (Zeph 3)

(vs18-20) “I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, who are among you, to whom its reproach is a burden. Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, and gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame. At that time I will bring you back, even at the time I gather you; for I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I return your captives before your eyes, says the Lord”.

The time is coming when the tables will be turned, and the Lord will show us victory. He is for us, and in due time, He’ll reveal to everyone else that He is on our side (Rom 8:31).  He is cleansing us, so that we can be saved and triumphantly exalted before all creation.

The Lord Jesus was poor, rejected, and despised of men, but God is for Him, exalted Him, and soon, He shall return in clouds of glory.  Let us look upon salvation this way. God brings us painful chastisements and cleanses the pride within, but then He exalts us. One day soon, He will, “gather those who were driven out”, and, “appoint them for praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame” (vs19).  The world appears to be winning, but it is not, and the WORD of God gives us strength to carry on.

Don’t fret that He deals painfully with you, because He has victory in mind in your in chastisement.  He says, “Therefore wait for Me, says the Lord, Until the day I rise up for prey; my determination is to gather the nations to My assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all My fierce anger; all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.  For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord” (vs8-9).  Many people can’t be reproved. The market crashes, the home is destroyed, and the religion proves false, but they do not turn or repent. He says, “I have cut off nations, their fortresses are devastated; I have made their streets desolate, with none passing by.  Their cities are destroyed; there is no one, no inhabitant. I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me, You will receive instruction’ – so that her dwelling would not be cut off, despite everything for which I punished her. But they rose early and corrupted all their deeds” (vs5-7). Yet you are tender, touched by your sinfulness, and troubled. He puts His hand on you and you beg for mercy. He says, “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, the daughter of My dispersed ones, shall bring My offering” (vs10).  You are the people who mourn in Zion, who pray for holiness, and you are being purged inwardly continually.  Stay the course. He favors you.

The wicked appear to be prospering, but it is only because they are asleep at the wheel.  They are spiritually ignorant, heap up wrath, and yet they feel no present pain like zombies.  He says, “The Lord is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, but the unjust knows no shame” (vs5).  I’m told that lepers rub their eyes and noses away, not because these things are destroyed by leprosy, but because they’re unable to feel the pain.  They rub, scratch, and the end result is gross.  Paul said, “having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of god, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Eph 4:18-19). It is the same with HAPPY sinners now.  All is going well, so they think, but they really are walking off a cliff, and yet sensing no danger.  You, however, are chastised to repentance, and fruit unto salvation is the result. Bless God that He chooses to change you, or you’d never be saved in the end.

Finally, God’s grace CLEANSES before it comforts. He says, “In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds in which you transgress against Me; for then I will take away from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and you shall not longer be haughty in My holy mountain. I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed their flocks and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid” (vs11-13).  He never gives the peace of forgiveness without repentance from sin. It is always the same.  He says, “Neither do I condemn you”, and, “Go, and sin no more. Faith is no idle thought; it is active surrender to the word of God.  We lean upon Christ as the One He who died for our pardon.  He’s also the One who gives us power to live holy because of the blood He shed.

Don’t fear that He’s against you. He says, “Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall see disaster no more.  In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: ‘Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak.  The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (vs14-17). He’s chastened, so that He can rejoice over us with love, even as a proud parent looks upon a well-mannered child (Prov 23:24). He looks upon us lovingly WHILE we’re sinners, but love provokes Him to clean us up, because justice demands that we be saved FROM our sins, so that we can be rewarded with the righteous.

Bless His name. He cares for you, smiles over you, and He shall exalt you in the presence of everyone, when He reveals your holiness and judges the wickedness of sinners.

“Seek Righteousness, Seek Meekness” (Zeph 2)

“Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, before the decree is issued, or the day passes like chaff, before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you!  Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice [His righteousness to rule and the righteousness of His commands and ways].  Seek righteousness, seek meekness.  It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger” (vs1-3).

Seek the Lord life long, but seek after tangible fruits of righteousness, seeking a change in your life TOWARDS God.  It shall be rewarded, and this is BETTER than being punished.

First, Seek acceptance with God your whole life long (vs1-3). He says, “Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek meekness.  It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger”.  Christianity isn’t a onetime seeking, and then I’m safe; it is a continual seeking, life long, until we find Him at last.  Paul said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold on me” (Phil 3:12). A common mistake is that justifying righteousness, the righteousness imputed to faith, is the only righteousness that I need.  Therefore, many don’t seek to grow in grace and obedience. They have crossed the finish line, so they think, at the beginning.  Instead, let us trust Christ for all righteousness and pursue righteousness of character and improvement zealously. 

Seek righteousness and humility.  Live God’s way under the instruction of the Scriptures and by the power of the Spirit. Christ said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matt 11:29).  Seek obedience to God, bringing forth the fruit that shows that you are saved, “being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil 1:11).  Seek Him until He is found, and then seek Him continually, finding the strength that you need.  Your reward is later; your seeking is now. 

Secondly, there is a reward for the righteous, and those who follow Christ shall be saved and inherit the world (Zeph 2:4-9). He says, “The coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their flocks there; in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening.  For the Lord their God will intervene for them, and return their captives”, and, “The residue of My people shall plunder them, and the remnant of My people shall possess them”. We shall be given the fullness of God’s glory that sinners have squandered.  We shall see God, experience ETERNAL peace in pardon, and we shall have perfect holiness and indescribable joy.  Don’t think your labor is in vain, but seek after holiness by God’s grace, and you’ll be exalted in the end.  He says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor 15:58).  He shall not leave you unsaved, but He will assuredly rescue you to the Paradise that He has earned.

Finally, there is no hiding place for the wicked, and no one shall escape, no matter who you are (vs10-15). He says, “This they shall have for their pride, because they have reproached and made arrogant threats against the people of the Lord of hosts”, and, “You Ethiopians also, you shall be slain by My sword”, and again, “This is the rejoicing city that dwelt securely, that said in her heart, ‘I am it, and there is none besides me.’  How has she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her shall hiss and shake his fist”. Judgment shall come and swallow the unrighteous, and then everything that they’ve had shall be taken away.  Their riches will be vomited up, and they shall see that they’ve lived in vain.  Rev 18:8 says, “Therefore her plagues will come in one day – death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her”. 

Don’t let this happen to you.  Don’t reject Christ and expect good to come at the end.  You may rejoice now, but it WILL be turned to sorrow.  Seek the Lord’s salvation. Seek strength to obey, and be rewarded at the Judgment, rather than punished.  

“Speedy Riddance” (Zeph 1)

“I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse.  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 will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land”(vs17-18).

Not trusting Christ will end in doom, assuredly, no matter what. We may have joy on earth and peace of mind, but if we haven’t believed on God’s Son, whom He gave to put away sin and has exalted to be worshiped, then we shall be damned (Heb 5:7-9).  It doesn’t matter what else we have, if we don’t have the Christ.

God blesses abundantly and freely, but He saves by nothing but Christ, and we need saving.  We are not innocent before the throne.  We are not born good or worthy of God’s love.  We are condemned sinners who had our chance, and we blew it in our father Adam. We sinned against God.  He says, “… through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12).  Men think that sin is small and no big deal, but God wouldn’t have put His Son to death for sinners, if sin could be remedied any other way.  Men face ETERNAL damnation, or they may have Christ, but there is no leaving this world peaceably and no acceptance at the Judgment apart from faith and love to Christ.  Only Christ can take away the sin and remove the filth that God must punish.  Only Christ is God’s Son, the One that we’re commanded to believe upon and honor (Heb 1:1-3).

Secondly, don’t think any other option will save you, particularly not when salvation is free.  He forgives, gives grace to overcome, and He’ll bring you and me to heaven’s bliss, freely without any contribution from us, just by believing.  He’ll bring us to heaven to struggle no more.  He’ll give us Paradise, endless bliss, and He’ll make us enjoy salvation.  He’ll make us know by experience that we’re SPARED the lake of fire by grace alone, by the blood of Christ alone, and by God’s Spirit who does everything inside of us that we need (Heb 13:20-21). Soon, He’ll make us rejoice forever, weep no more, and, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:4-5). This is the reward of the righteous; it is the inheritance of those who trust Christ, but it is not given to anyone else.

Be as religious as you want, but you’d better trust Christ. Be as happy as you may be, but you’d better be blessed among those that mourn, hungering and thirsting for righteousness.  Christ said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted… Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (to obey God), for they shall be filled” (Matt 5:3-6).  Be whatever you want, but without Christ, it won’t matter in the end. You’ll spend eternity in hell because you rejected God’s only way, His Son, our Lord Jesus.