As the LORD
shared His prophecy through Zephaniah, He told of the punishment that
was to come not only upon royalty and their families, but also upon
servants who “fill their masters' houses with violence and
deceit.” In chapter one and verse ten of his prophecy,
Zephaniah adds to his words by referring to “the noise of a
cry”, “a howling” and “a great crashing”
where we read:
And
it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD, that
there shall be the noise of a cry from the
fish gate, and a howling from the second, and a great crashing from
the hills.
The
verse begins, “And it shall come to
pass in that day, says the LORD, that
there shall be the noise of a cry from
the fish gate,...” Once
again Zephaniah employs the Hebrew word, “yown” which is
interpreted “And it shall come to
pass in that day”
or “in that time, year or period” “says
the LORD”
or “utters, declares and reveals Yehovah or Jehovah whose name
means the existing One and is the proper name for the one true God”
“that there shall be the noise”
which is all
one Hebrew word “gowl” and means “voice or sound” “of
a cry” or
“outcry as in an outcry of distress” “from
the fish gate”
which refers to “the gate of the city of Jerusalem which was
situated on the lower city, north of the sheep gate, and it received
its name from the fish market which was near it. Through it passed
those who used to bring fish from the lake of Tiberias and Jordan. It
answers to what is now called the Damascus gate.” In other words,
in the day of the LORD's judgment, the market area where the fish
were brought in would be encompassed with people who were crying out
in distress.
The
verse goes on to say, “...and a howling from the second, and a
great crashing from the hills.” Zephaniah went on to add, “and
a howling” or “wailing in distress” “from the second”
which is the Hebrew word “mishneh” and means “a copy, double or
repetition” and it refers to “the gate which was second in
dignity or in the second or lower part of the city”. The idea is
that the conquering army will continue past the “fish gate”
or lower part of the city and advance further into the city which
will make people “wail in distress”. Zephaniah continued, “and
a great crashing” or “a large, loud and intense breaking,
fracture, crushing, breach, ruin and shattering” “from the
hills” which refers to “hill places of illicit worship”. We
can almost picture the advancement of the armies that were to come
against Jerusalem and the surrounding hills and imagine the reaction
of the people who lived and worshipped there.
As
we consider these words of Zephaniah, we understand the LORD means
business when He brings judgment against a city. Royalty, servants
and merchants were not to be exempt from the “punishment” He was
to exercise upon them. If we are careless, we too can believe that
certain places in our country are impenetrable and cannot be overcome
by any outside force. However, when the LORD brings judgment against
a place, no one can stand. We can only imagine the “noise”
of “crying, howling, and crashing” that would be the
result of certain places being destroyed. As we think on these
things, let us allow the LORD to help us understand the importance of
His “Divine” protection without which none of us would stand, and
may the LORD Jesus keep us safe and aligned with His covering and
shelter.
Next
time Zephaniah instructs the “inhabitants”
to “howl”, 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment