The LORD through Zephaniah,
called Judah and Jerusalem to “gather together” so they
might return to Him and His ways “before” there was “a
decree, the day pass and the fierce anger of the LORD” fell
upon them. As he continued in chapter two and verse three of his
prophesy, Zephaniah called for the people to “Seek the LORD”
where we read:
Seek the LORD, all you
meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek
righteousness, seek meekness: it may be you shall be hid in the day
of the LORD'S anger.
The
verse begins, “Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, which
have wrought his judgment;” Zephaniah began with the word
“Seek” which means “look for justice, rightness,
righteousness, what is right, normal and just” “the LORD”
or “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name
for the one true God” “all you meek” which refers to
“the poor, humble, afflicted, weak and needy” “of the earth”
or “the land, country, territory, district or region”.
Zephaniah went on to say, “which have wrought” or “done,
made or kept” “his judgment” which refers to
“ordinances, acts of deciding a case, process, procedure and
cause”. Zephaniah's appeal is to those who are “humbled,
afflicted and needy” as well as those who have “done” what the
LORD has asked in His “ordinances”.
The
verse continues, “seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be
you shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.” Zephaniah
went on to instruct, “seek righteousness” or “look for
justice, rightness, righteousness, what is right, normal and just”
“seek meekness” which means “look for humility, modesty,
gentleness and divine and objective clemency” “it may be”
or “perhaps, peradventure and suppose” “you shall be hid”
which means “concealed and carefully hidden” “in the day”
or “time, year and period” “of the LORD'S” which
refers to “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing One and the
proper name for the one true God” “anger” which
literally means “nostril, nose or face” and notes the facial
expression, countenance and hard breathing which come from one whose
ire is raised and wrath is shown . The people who are “meek”
and “keeping” the LORD'S “ordinances” are promised the
possibility of the LORD “concealing and carefully hiding them”
when “the hard breathing wrath of the LORD” shall come.
When we
think about these words of Zephaniah, we understand his appeal to
people who have kept the ordinances of the LORD, have not forsaken
Him and have humbly kept Him in their lives. These people were
promised the opportunity to “avoid” the pending judgment, and
still, the overriding implication is that everyone who reads these
words would position themselves as “meek” and seekers of
“righteousness”. Are we “meek” in spirit? Have
we “kept” his ordinances? Are we seeking His
“righteousness”, and are we seeking “humility”?
Perhaps as we meditate upon the promise found in this verse, we too
will find ourselves desiring to be “hidden” from “the LORD'S
anger” as we live in days when many reject the free gift of
salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Next
time Zephaniah shares about “Gaza”, “Ashkelon”,
“Ashdod” and
“Ekron”, 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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