The LORD's
desire according to Zephaniah the prophet was for the people of
Jerusalem to “wait” upon Him “until the day” He
would “rise up to the prey”, “gather the nations”,
“assemble the kingdoms”, and “pour out upon them”
His “indignation” and “fierce anger”. The
LORD's declaration was “all the earth shall be devoured with the
fire of” His “jealousy”. In chapter three and verse
nine, Zephaniah declares the LORD will give His people “a pure
language” after His anger is complete where we read:
For then
will I turn to the people a pure language,
that they
may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one
consent.
The
verse begins, “For then will I turn to the people a pure
language, ...” Zephaniah began, “For then will I turn”
which is one Hebrew word “haphak” and means “to overthrow,
overturn, change and transform” “to the people” which
refers to the “nation, kinsmen and kindred” “a pure”
or “polished, chosen, cleansed, bright, tested and proved”
“language” which means “speech and edge of a shore”. Once
the devastation had occurred to the nations and people surrounding
Judah and Jerusalem, the LORD was to restore unto the people a
“clean, bright, tested and proved” manner of speaking and
communicating.
The
verse continues, “...that
they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one
consent.” Zephaniah
went on to add why the LORD was going to give them this “pure
language”
as he wrote, “that they may all call”
which is the Hebrew word “qara'”
and
means “to call out, cry, utter, proclaim, read, summon, appoint and
give a name to” “the name”
or
“reputation, fame and glory” “of
the LORD”
which refers to “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing One and the
proper name of the One true God”. Zephaniah continued, “to
serve” or
“work and labor for another” “him
with one” which
means “a certain once and for all”
“consent”
which means “back” and refers to the idea of having a unified
effort to work and labor for the LORD.
When
we think about Zephaniah's words, we see the beauty of having a
single “pure language”
whereby the people of Judah and Jerusalem would bear witness of the
character of the LORD and be united in their efforts to serve Him.
The language of the surrounding nations and their unwillingness to
praise, serve and be unified before the LORD no doubt had infiltrated
the people of Judah and Jerusalem. After the surrounding nations and
people were destroyed, their “chosen and polished language” would
return. It is interesting to consider the importance of this “pure
language”
as we think about God's desire for His people to “call
out” and
“serve”
Him in unity. May the LORD Jesus give us a “pure
language”
to “call out to Him”,
and may He help us to be unified in our efforts to labor for Him.
Next
time Zephaniah shares concerning “beyond the rivers of
Ethiopia”, 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
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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