As
the LORD began to share prophecy through Zephaniah concerning
judgment that was to fall, He named Judah and Jerusalem among the
places He was going to “utterly consume”.
Neither man, nor beast, nor fish nor fowl was exempt from His mighty
hand, and “the remnant of Baal” “and
the name of the Chemarims with the priests”
were also among those whom He would judge. In chapter one and verse
five of his prophecy, Zephaniah continued the LORD's words by adding
people who “worship the host of heaven”
and “them that worship and swear by the
LORD” and “Malcham”
where we read:
And them
that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops;
and them
that worship and
that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;
The
verse begins, “And them that worship the host of heaven
upon the housetops;” Zephaniah
began “And them that worship”
which is all one Hebrew word, “shachah” that means “to bow
down, depress and prostrate oneself” “the host”
or “those who go forth or serve as an army or in war” “of
heaven” which refers to “
the visible sky or atmosphere” “upon the housetops”
or “roof”. The idea is that these people were worshipping the
sun, moon and stars out in the open and on top of their houses.
The
verse continues, “and them that
worship and
that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;”
Zephaniah went on to say, “and them
that worship”
which again is the same Hebrew word “shachah” which means “to
bow down, depress and prostrate oneself” “and
that swear”
or “adjure or take an oath” “by
the LORD”
which refers to “Yehovah or Jehovah” who is “the existing one
and is the proper name of the one true God”. Zephaniah added, “and
that swear”
or “adjure or take an oath” “by
Malcham”
which in Hebrew is “Melek” and means “king or royal”.
“Malcham” was a reference to “Molech” who was the god of
pleasure, and these of whom Zephaniah referred are those who mixed
the worship of “Jehovah” and the worship of “Molech”
together.
When
we meditate upon Zephaniah's words, we begin to see why the LORD is
bringing judgment upon these people. They worshipped Baal, the host
of heaven and Molech thus far, and though they had not forsaken
“Jehovah”, they only added Him as another god to worship. Not
only were the people guilty of forsaking “Jehovah”, but the
priests who were leading the people were apostate as well. When we
consider this, we cannot help but ask if we too have forsaken the one
and true God “Jehovah” and His ways? Do we as a people have those
who worship the “sun, moon and stars”? Are their others among us
who worship the god of pleasure, Molech, and at the same time “swear
by the LORD”? Perhaps as we
think through these words of Zephaniah, we will understand that not
only were these people facing the judgment of God, but we may be
facing it as well. Let us call upon our Savior and LORD Jesus Christ,
and may He show us any area where worship other than to Him is being
displayed in our lives.
Next
time Zephaniah shares concerning those who are “turned
back from the Lord”, 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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