As Zephaniah
the prophet continued to share the LORD's words concerning Judah,
Jerusalem and the countries who surrounded them, he shared how the
LORD would “leave in the midst of” them
“an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of
the LORD.” In chapter three
and verse thirteen of his prophesy, Zephaniah gave more details about
this “remnant of Israel”
who would be preserved where we read:
The
remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither
shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed
and lie down, and none shall make them
afraid.
The
verse begins, “The remnant of Israel shall not do
iniquity, nor speak lies;” Zephaniah
began, “The remnant”
which means “rest, residue and remainder” “of Israel”
which means “God prevails”
and refers to “the name of the nation after the return from
exile” “shall not do”
or “fashion, accomplish or make” “iniquity”
or “injustice, unrighteousness, wrong and violent deeds” “nor
speak lies” which means
“declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten or talk
treachery, fraud and deceit”. Rather than committing “iniquity”
and “fraud”, this “remnant of Israel”
would begin to live after the principles of the LORD and follow His
ways.
The
verse goes on to say, “neither shall a deceitful tongue be found
in their mouth:” Zephaniah added, “neither shall a
deceitful” or “treacherous, fraudulent and lying” “tongue”
or “the soft tissue muscle and wedge within the mouth used for
creating sound” “be found” which means “attained,
secured, acquired and gotten” “in their mouth” which
refers to “the opening orifice within the face of a person used for
speaking”. No longer would “deceit” be found in their speaking
as they would share the truth with one another and put away their
cheating through words.
Finally
the verse says, “ for they shall feed and
lie down, and none shall make them
afraid.” Zephaniah continued, “for
they shall feed” or “graze, tend and
feed” “and lie down”
which means “stretch oneself out and cause to lie down” “and
none shall make them afraid” which is all
one Hebrew word “charad” which means “tremble, quake, move
about, be startled and terrified”. Not only would their actions and
speech change, but they would be in such peace they can lie in open
fields without the threat of foes and enemies coming against them.
When
we meditate upon Zephaniah's words, we cannot help but put ourselves
in this “remnant's” place.
Where they once had to be on their guard anytime anyone shared
anything with them, they no longer would deceive one another. They
would be free from the threat of terrorism by enemies who sought to
destroy them, and they would live in peace even in the open fields.
There is a peace and provision of truth which comes from the LORD
through a relationship with His Son Jesus Christ. Though our outward
man may have attack from time to time, the peace of God remains when
we have a relationship with Jesus. Jesus is called, “the
Prince of Peace”, and He
declared, “the hour comes, and now is, when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the
Father seeks such to worship him.” When
the “Prince of Peace”
arrives, spiritual worship is at it's highest level, and “feeding”
and “lying down”
with Him becomes our rest. May the LORD help us to know the extent of
His truth and peace.
Next
time Zephaniah encourages Zion to “sing”,
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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