After
giving his lineage and declaring that the Lord will “utterly
consume all things
from off the land”, in chapter one and
verse three of his prophesy, Zephaniah gave specifics as to what the
Lord was going to consume. We read:
I will
consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and
the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked; and
I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
The
verse begins, “I will consume man and beast; I will
consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the
stumbling-blocks with the wicked;” Zephaniah
quoted the Lord by writing, “I will consume”
or “cease and come to or make an end” “man”
which refers to “mankind” “and beast”
which refers to “cattle, animals and livestock”. He added, “I
will consume” or “cease and
come to or make an end” “the fowls”
or “flying creatures, insects, birds and winged insects” “of
the heaven” which refers to
“the visible universe, the sky and atmosphere” “and
the fishes” which were the
“fish” “of the sea”
or “seas in general or the Mediterranean, Red and Dead seas or the
Sea of Galilee and the mighty river Nile” “and the
stumbling-blocks” or
“overthrown masses of decay and ruin such as idols” “with
the wicked” or “criminal,
guilty ones, ones hostile to God and guilty of sin”. No doubt the
Lord had a thorough ceasing of all things which were contrary to Him.
The
verse continues, “and I will cut off man from off the land, says
the LORD.” The Lord continued through Zephaniah, “and I
will cut off” which is the Hebrew word “karath” which means
“to cut down or off, eliminate, kill, hew, destroy and permit to
perish” “man” which refers to “mankind” “from
off the land” or “from the face or surface of the ground,
territory, country or inhabited earth”. Zephaniah ends this
judgment with, “says the LORD” or “utters, declares and
reveals Yehovah or Jehovah” whose name means “the existing one
and is the proper name of the one true God”. We can see the LORD
means business as He has declared twice in one verse concerning
eliminating “man” from the land.
When
we consider this prophesy of Zephaniah, we may have a difficult time
imagining the impact it must have had upon Judah. What if a prophet
were to declare these things today? How would we react to “man”,
“animals”, “fowls” and “fishes” being wiped out in
our “land”? This was a complete judgment from the LORD
because the people of Judah strayed from Him and His principles.
Rather than following God's ways, they began to worship other gods
who were agreed with their own sinful desires. As we reflect upon
this prophesy, let us consider the quick, no nonsense approach of
Zephaniah as he wrote these words. No doubt the times were serious,
and God's judgment was immediately pending, and if it were this close
today, how many of us have our own lives in alignment with God the
Father and His Son Jesus Christ? May the Lord show us any area where
we have not followed His ways, and may we understand the awesomeness
of the pending judgment for those who do not align with Him.
Next
time we will see the Lord stretch out His hand against Judah and
Jerusalem, 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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