As Zephaniah began his
prophesy over Judah, he began by giving his genealogical background.
He wasted no time in bringing his prophesy as in chapter one and
verse two he spoke of the LORD “utterly” consuming “all
things”. We read:
I will utterly consume
all things from off the land, says the LORD.
The verse begins, “I
will utterly consume all things from off the
land,...” Zephaniah began with
the words, “I will utterly”
which in Hebrew is “'acaph” and
means “to gather and take away, collect, remove, withdraw and
assemble” “consume”
or “cease, perish or come to an end” “all
things from off the land”
which is all one Hebrew word “paniym”
and means “face, presence or surface”. In other words, everything
that can be assembled together will cease, perish and be wiped off
the surface of the land.
The
verse continues, “... says the LORD.” Zephaniah added,
“says” or “utters, declares and reveals” “the
LORD” which is the Hebrew word “Yehovah” and is the proper
name of the one true God which means “the existing one”. No doubt
the source of this declaration demonstrates the validity of it
occurring, and when “Yehovah” or “Jehovah” is involved,
everyone should pay close attention.
When we
meditate upon this verse, let us imagine ourselves hearing these
words. Would we believe them? Do we believe them? It was “Jehovah”
God who made everything exist, and why shouldn't He be able to remove
all of it whenever He desired? As we study through this book, let us
remember that this prophesy had a two-fold fulfillment. The first was
for Judah in the time it was written, and the second is for the
latter days. When we see the statement, “I will utterly consume
all things from off the land”, we should have one question in
mind, “Why?” and then respond accordingly as we appeal to Jesus
Christ for the answers.
Next
time we will see exactly what the Lord will “utterly”
consume, so read ahead, and we
shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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