The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 204: Zephaniah's Warnings (2022)

Episode Date: July 23, 2022

As we begin reading the Book of Zephaniah, Fr. Mike draws our attention to the first five accusations Zephaniah declares against the people of Judah; idolatry, lack of prayer, poor leadership, superstitions, and lack of belief in God's judgment. Today we read Isaiah 28-29, Zephaniah 1-2, and Proverbs 11:9-12. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 204, and we are reading Isaiah 28 and 29, Zephaniah 1 and 2, as well as Proverbs 11, verses 9 through 12. The Bible translation that I am reading from is the Revised Standard Version, the Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible

from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast if you'd like to get daily episodes and updates and all those kinds of things. And nonetheless, today is day 204. As I said, we are starting Zephaniah 1 and 2. Zephaniah is a four-chapter book of prophecy, and it is great. You're going to love it. As well as Isaiah 28 and 29 and Proverbs 11 verses 9 through 12. The book of the prophet Isaiah chapter 28. Warning to Jerusalem. Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim and to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine. Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong, like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,

like a storm of mighty overflowing waters. He will cast down to the earth with violence. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like a first ripe fig before summer. When a man sees it, he eats it up as soon as it is in his hand. In that day, the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of his people, and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink. The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink.

They are confused with wine. They stagger with strong drink. They err in vision. They stumble in giving judgment. For all tables are full of vomit. No place is without filthiness. Whom will he teach knowledge? And to whom will he explain the message?

Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. No, but by men of strange lips and with an alien tongue, the Lord will speak to this people to whom he has said, this is rest. Give rest to the weary, and this is repose. Yet they would not hear. Therefore, the word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go and fall backward, be broken and snared and taken. Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem,

because you have said, we have made a covenant with death and with Sheol we have an agreement. When the overwhelming scourge passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation. He who believes will not be in haste, and I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet, and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,

and waters will overwhelm the shelter. Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be beaten down by it. As often as it passes through, it will take you. For morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night, and it will be sheer terror to understand It will take you. To do his deed, strange is his deed, and to work his work, alien is his work. Now therefore, do not scoff, lest your bonds be made strong. For I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord God of hosts upon the whole land. Give ear and hear my voice, listen and hear my speech. Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?

Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place and spelt as the border? For he is instructed rightly. His God teaches him. Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over cumin. But dill is beaten out with a stick and cumin with a rod. Does one crush bread grain? No, he does not thresh it forever. When he drives

his cartwheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. This also comes from the Lord of hosts. He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom. Chapter 29. The Siege of Jerusalem. Be to me like an aerial, and I will encamp against you round about, and will besiege you with towers, and I will raise siege works against you. Then deep from the earth you shall speak. From low in the dust your words shall come. Your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and your speech shall whisper out of the dust. But the multitude of your foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff. In an instant, suddenly, you will be visited by the Lord of

hosts, with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a devouring fire. And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. As when a hungry man dreams he is eating and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking and awakes faint with his thirst not quenched, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fights against Mount Zion. Stupify yourselves and be in a stupor. Blind yourselves and be blind.

Be drunk, but not with wine. Stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep and has closed your eyes, the prophets, and covered your heads, the seers. And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who cannot read, saying, Read this, he says, I cannot, for it is sealed. And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, Read this, he says, I cannot read. And the Lord said, Because this people draw near to me with their mouth,

and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are are far from me and their fear of me is a commandment of men learned by rote. Therefore, behold, I will again do marvelous things with this people, wonderful and marvelous. And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden. Woe to those who hide deep from the Lord, their their counsel whose deeds are in the dark and who say who sees us who knows us you turn things upside down shall the potter be regarded as the clay that the thing made should say of its maker he did not make me or the thing formed say of him who formed it he has no understanding is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?

In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. For the ruthless shall come to nothing, and the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. For the ruthless shall come to nothing, and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off, who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right. Hope for the future. Therefore, thus says the Lord,

who redeemed Abraham concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale. For when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst, they will sanctify my name. They will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

And those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction. The Book of Zephaniah Chapter 1 The Day of the Lord The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah. I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth, says the Lord. I will sweep away man and beast. I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea.

I will overthrow the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth, says the sea. I will overthrow the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth, says the Lord. I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests, those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens, those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by Milcom, those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him. Be silent before the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is at hand. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.

And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice, I will punish the officials and the king's sons and all who clothe themselves in foreign attire. On that day, I will punish everyone who leaps over the threshold and those who fill their master's house with violence and fraud. On that day, says the Lord, a cry will be heard from the fish gate, a whale from the second quarter, a loud crash from the hills. Whale, O inhabitants of the mortar! For all the tradersitors are no more, all who weigh out silver are cut off. At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are thickening on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, The Lord will not do good,

nor will he do ill. Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them. Though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them. The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast. The sound of the day of the Lord is bitter. The mighty man cries aloud there. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blasts and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. I will bring distress on men so that they shall walk like the blind because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood shall be poured

out like dust and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. In the fire of his jealous wrath, all the earth shall be consumed for a full, yes, sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Chapter two, judgment on Israel's enemies. Come together and hold assembly, O shameless nation, before you are driven away like the drifting chaff, before there comes upon you the fierce anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the wrath of the Lord. Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the wrath of the Lord. For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation. Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted. Woe to you, inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you till no inhabitant is left. And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures,

meadows for shepherds, and folds for flocks. The seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah on which they shall pasture, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the Lord their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes. I have heard the taunts of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my people and made boasts against their territory. Therefore, as I live, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation

shall possess them. This shall be their lot in return for their pride, because they scoffed and boasted against the people of the Lord of hosts. The Lord will be terrifying against them. Yes, he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down each in its place all the lands of the nations. You also, O Ethiopians, shall be slain by my sword. And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert. Herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the field, the vulture and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals, the owl shall hoot in the window, the raven croak on the threshold, for her cedar work will be laid bare. This is the exultant city that dwelt secure, that said to herself, I am and there is none else. What a desolation

she has become, a lair for wild beasts. Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist. In the book of Proverbs chapter 11 verses 9 through 12. With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered. When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there are shouts of gladness. By the blessing of the upright, a city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. He who belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent. Father in heaven, we give you praise and we thank you for your word. We thank you for continuing to speak to us and continuing to call us to be yours. We know that you're present in

all things and that your judgment on the world and your judgment on our lives, our actions is good, is true, is fair, is just because you are good and you are true and you are fair and you are just. Lord, you know the secrets of our hearts. You know our weaknesses. You know our strengths. You know the wounds that we carry that no one else knows. And because of that, you can judge us rightly

and you love us. Therefore, you want the best for us. God asks that you please use this day, use what happens in our lives today, whether they be positive things or negative things, whether they be joyous things or sufferings, use the moments of this day, the interactions of this day, to call us back to you. Let the joys remind us of your goodness. Let our sufferings remind us of our need for you. And let every moment be a reminder of how much you love us and how much we are yours, how deeply we belong to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Okay, so chapter 28 of the book of the prophet Isaiah starts this little section from 28 to 35, where the prophet Isaiah is mostly focusing on Judah. But it's interesting because at the beginning of chapter 28, he begins focusing on Judah, right, the kingdom of the south, by pointing to the north, by pointing to Ephraim. And remember, the kingdom of Israel in the north also goes by the name of Ephraim. So he begins chapter 28 talking to Ephraim, and he emphasizes drunkenness in the beginning of chapter 28. Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim.

And it goes on and on, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, and this recognition of drunkenness and the effects of alcohol. And it's really remarkable because the Bible talks about, in many ways, about the blessing of wine, right? It gives joy to men's hearts. This kind of that sense of it allows people to rejoice. But drunkenness is not the same thing as the warmth that wine can give to men's hearts. The drunkenness, in fact, is a sin. It's considered to be a grave sin, depending on the degree to which a person gets drunk, because of the fact that, you know, we

recognize that when we're made in God's image and likeness, what are we given? We're given in God's image and likeness. We're given an intellect to think. We're given a will to choose. We're made for goodness. And the consequences of the fall, right, back all the way back in Genesis chapter three, the consequences of the fall are, among other things, a darkening of the intellect, right? So we can see, but we can't see very clearly. A weakening of the will, so we can choose, but we don't, you know, choose strongly. We say, I'm going to give a five this morning or tomorrow morning, and we don't, you know, because we want to do, but we don't do what we want to do, right? So a darkening of the intellect, a weakening of the will. And the third, one of the third

consequences is we are attracted to sin. Now, what does drunkenness do? Drunkenness emphasizes all three of those things. It emphasizes all three of consequences of the fall. The fourth consequence of the fall is death. Another consequence of the fall is being cut off from the Lord. So there's others. But these three, a darkening of the intellect, a weakening of the will, and a detraction

to sin, the big fancy word is concupiscence, those are emphasized by drunkenness, right? Because we don't think clearly when we have drank, drunk, drinking a lot. We do not choose well, and we don't choose wisely when we have drunk, and we also are attracted to things we normally wouldn't be attracted to when we drink. And so one of the reasons why drunkenness is a serious sin is because it emphasizes and accentuates, essentially, it makes us even more of a slave to the darkening of the intellect, the weakening of the will and attraction to sin.

Hope that helps. But here is, again, Isaiah speaking to Ephraim, the North, about how this is how you live all of the time. And that weakening of the will, darkening of the intellect and attraction to sin, how you live like that all the. And that weakening of the will, darkening of the intellect, and attraction to sin, how you live like that all the time is leading you away from the Lord. Okay, so that's what is being said here. Now, later on in verse 16, Isaiah says, and now he's addressing his attention, he says,

thus says the Lord God, behold, I'm laying in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation. And St. Peter in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 6, he talks about this. He quotes this and says, actually Jesus is at the cornerstone. Jesus is that precious cornerstone, sure foundation that Isaiah was talking about. So that's kind of cool, this connection between Isaiah 28 and 1 Peter chapter 2. But a couple of things that you might not have noticed, just some points where we have some names that came up in 28 and 29 that either you, they sounded familiar or they were completely foreign to you. So here's an example. In verse 21 of chapter 28, it said, for the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perizim.

He will rage as in the Valley of Gibeon and do his deed. Strange is his deed. He work his work. Alien is his work. Therefore do not scoff. Okay. So what is that? Now this should sound familiar, even if you can't remember, okay, what is Mount Perizim?

What is the valley of Gibeon? Because it says the Lord will rise up as he did on Mount Perizim. He will rage as he did in the valley of Gibeon. And we might think, I know this one. Okay. You do know this one because the victory, they're basically places where God wrought victories. So on Mount Perizim, that comes from 2 Samuel chapter 5,

where God gave David a great victory on Mount Perizim. And Gibeon comes from the book of Joshua chapter 10, where the Lord gave Joshua a great victory. And so this is one of those moments where you're like, wait a second, I know the Bible better now because it's day 204 and I've been reading this thing, listening to this, the word of God for the last 200 plus days. And you know this, Mount Perizim,

again, reference to 2 Samuel chapter five, David's victory and a Valley of Gibeon, reference Joshua chapter 10, Joshua's victory. So just kind of a way that we can put all the pieces together. And these references that are given by the prophets are like, wait a second, I know this. And you do know this. Another name that you might not have recognized because the only place it is used is in chapter 29. It says, Ho Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped. And it talks about

this place called Ariel. And we think, what the heck? Or Ariel? Not sure, you know, I think of the Little Mermaid, but it's not the Little Mermaid. Those of you who might've thought that, it is the name for Jerusalem. So Ariel or Ariel, that name means lion of God. And it's a little bit of sarcasm, we think maybe from Isaiah, because he's talking about, yeah, I will call Jerusalem the lion of God, the city that has turned away from God, the city that is going to be overrun, the city that's going to, as it says, I will encamp against you round about, I'll besiege you with towers, raise siege works against you. Okay, Lion of God, from the depth of the earth you will speak, and from the low and the dust your word

shall come. So it's kind of a, let me be a sarcastic criticism of Jerusalem because Jerusalem is now going to be besieged and it will be laid low. And so Isaiah calling Jerusalem Ariel or Lion of God is a little bit of sarcasm, we think. Now, last note about Isaiah before we go to Zephaniah. At the end of, you know, the gap between we're talking about the Mount Perizim and Valley of Gibeon and Ariel

is the end of chapter 28. And it might, again, this is one of those times where the words of the prophets can be like, oh my gosh, what the heck? Where he says things like, does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, soak cumin, and put in wheat and rose and barley in its proper place and spelt as the border? For he is instructed rightly, his God teaches him. We think, wait a second, how do we go from God will have this victory like he did in Mount Perizim and the Valley of Gibeon to all of a sudden here's a lesson in farming? Because it

goes on, dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge and nor is a cartwheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick and cumin with a rod. Thank you for the farming lesson, Isaiah. What are you talking about? And one of the things he's talking about, again, once we slow down a little bit and pick it apart, we realize here is what Isaiah is pointing to. He's saying a farmer, he doesn't only plow. So question, does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continue to open and harrow his ground? Right? So a farmer doesn't only plow.

A farmer doesn't only throw seed in the ground. A farmer doesn't only level the surface after he's placed the seed in the ground. The farmer will sometimes plow. He'll sometimes seed the land. He'll sometimes water the land. He'll sometimes fertilize the land. He'll sometimes seed the land. He'll sometimes water the land. He'll sometimes fertilize the land. He'll sometimes harvest the land. So he doesn't just do one thing. And what he's trying to say about God is here is God. He's wonderful in his counsel. He's excellent in his wisdom and he will do all things, but he will do all things in his time.

Does that make sense? It's really powerful once we get past the image, or maybe once we understand the image. It's very powerful, but until we understand the image, it can maybe seem a little bit obscure. So moving on to the prophet Zephaniah. We only have three chapters in the book of the prophet Zephaniah, kind of like we did with Habakkuk and kind of like we do with Nahum and Joel. All these minor prophets, not all of them, but a few of them only have three chapters. What is going on with Zephaniah? Okay. Remember when Josiah was the king, remember Josiah was the young king who restored worship in the kingdom of Judah. So this is Zephaniah prophesying shortly before those

religious reforms of Josiah, maybe about the year 630 BC. And so that's very just kind of important, not kind of, that is very important for us to understand. Just the, here's the context. Even says it, the very first verse. But Zephaniah has basically three accusations against the people of the kingdom of Judah. Sorry, did I say three? Five accusations against the kingdom of Judah in chapter one.

And he also has five accusations later on. But the five accusations that the kingdom of Judah in chapter one. And he also has five accusations later on. But the five accusations that we heard today are the people of Judah have fallen into A, idolatry. B, they have failed to grow in prayer and closeness with the Lord. C, or let's number them. One, idolatry. Two, they fail to pray. Three, they have bad leaders and those bad leaders have been a bad representative of how we are called to walk with the Lord. And four, they've been superstitious. And five, they believe that there's no actual judgment coming upon them and further actions. And you can see this in chapter one. It's very, very clear in chapter one, verses four and five. It talks about those who I'll cut off from this

place, the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests. Those who bow down on roofs, bow down to the hosts of heaven, they bow down and swear to the Lord. And they also swear to Milcom. So I'm going to stretch my hand out against them because they've committed idolatry. And then in verse six, he talks about those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him. This is really important because it talks about, again, in that case, it talks about you haven't prayed to me. You haven't sought my counsel. You haven't looked to me for wisdom.

You haven't looked to me for that, again, that intimacy in prayer. The third being bad leaders. It talks about those. I'll punish the officials and the king's sons who clothe themselves in foreign attire. And that's so interesting. They clothe themselves in foreign attire, meaning they want to look like all the other nations. Remember, one of the big calls for God's people is you're going to have to look different, right? Remember the laws of Leviticus that talked about, okay, you're eating differently. You're dressing differently. You're cutting your hair differently. All these things are meant to mark you out to live as my

people. But here are the officials, the king's sons, they clothe themselves in foreign attire. And that is basically you're saying, I don't want to belong to the Lord. I want to look like everyone else. Now, this fourth accusation is really interesting because it says, on that day, I will punish everyone who leaps over the threshold. I said it was superstition. And that's a very good possibility. One of the commentaries I was looking at, or many of the commentaries I was comparing a few, it says, those who leap over the threshold, what is that? Well, some think that it could be a reference to 1 Samuel where the idol Dagon, remember the idol of Dagon, where they brought the Ark of the Covenant and put it in the same place as the idol to the God Dagon and it kept falling on its face? Well, one of the theories

is that because that idol fell down, it fell on the threshold of that temple to Dagon, that people then would jump over the threshold because that's where their idol fell. Maybe that's an allusion to 1 Samuel chapter 5, I don't know. But apparently in the Middle East at that time, there was an idea that thresholds to buildings were sacred and were kind of basically some superstition there where you wouldn't step over the threshold. It was considered bad luck to simply step over the threshold. You'd leap over the threshold. And so there's Zephaniah who's pointing out this.

Basically, people are saying, you know, that you rub the rabbit's feet or you don't walk under ladders or something like this. Basically, you're placing your faith in a superstition and the local superstition at the time, or at least localized superstition at the time was leaping over thresholds instead of simply stepping over thresholds, which is, I think, funny, but at the same time is kind of also relevant for us as well, who might have little superstitions that we allow to be in our lives that might take away from our trust in the Lord. And lastly, so first, idolatry.

Second, prayer. They're avoiding prayer, avoiding listening to the Lord. Third, bad leaders. Fourth, superstitions. And then fifth is, this is so interesting. This is in verse 12. It says, at that time, I will search Jerusalem with lamps and I will punish the men who are thickening on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, the Lord will not do good, nor

will he do ill. So this is people who do not believe the Lord will actually judge their actions. And there's something so interesting. All five of these indictments, and there are going to be another five in chapter three of Zephaniah, but all five of these accusations, all five of these indictments, and there are going to be another five in chapter three of Zephaniah, but all five of these accusations, all five of these indictments, they're not simply surface indictments. They actually go to the heart of relationship because how can I belong to the Lord if I keep giving my heart to other idols? How can I actually be in relationship with the Lord if I don't actually seek his voice and spend time in prayer? How can I belong to the Lord if those who are leading us

and I'm acting like those leaders are dressing like people who don't even belong to the Lord? They want to fit in. They want to look like everyone else. How can I belong to the Lord if I'm acting out these superstitions of the pagan people around me? And how can I belong to the Lord

if I don't actually think that he is real and he's present and he's active in my life? And that's just so, so important. Now, chapter two talks about how God will have judgment on Israel's enemies. And he names five different kinds of people, the Philistines, the Moabites, Ethiopians, and the Assyrians. But there is a powerful, powerful moment where God says, yeah, the day of the Lord is going to be coming.

And pray that perhaps, seek righteousness. This is verse 3 of chapter 2. Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the wrath of the Lord. Basically, he's saying the wrath of the Lord, the day of the wrath of the Lord, the day of the Lord is going to come. So you're going to have to endure it.

But if you seek the Lord, you do his commands, you seek righteousness, seek humility, perhaps you may be hidden when that day comes. Because at the end of chapter two, and again, going into chapter three, this is what you find when it comes to every one of the prophets right there, promising not only here's correction, here's God's justice, but also here's God's promise of restoration. He says in chapter two, Judah, the remnant of my people shall plunder them and the survivors of my nation shall possess them, meaning the enemies that there shall be, even though there's judgment coming, even though there's a, there is a justice coming, there will be a remnant

and that remnant will be victorious. That remnant will experience God's promise and God's goodness. And this is so important for us because we also are waiting, right? We also are facing enemies. We're also facing the battle of the spiritual battle between dark and light, between God and the powers and principalities of this earth. And so we're waiting like the people of Israel did in Zephaniah's day and Isaiah's day. And our call is as we wait for the day of the Lord, that we seek justice and we seek righteousness and we seek the Lord with everything we have. That's the message of Zephaniah

and all of the prophets. And that's the message today, that no matter what happens, no matter what kind of day we have, that we can use this day to seek the Lord with all our hearts. And that's what we're doing right now is we're listening to his word for the last half an hour. My gosh, you guys, this is a long one. I apologize for that, but I want you to know and praying for you and want you to ask, please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.