Today we continue our series entitled 'Minor Prophets'. We are taking a deep dive into 4 of the minor prophets from the Old Testament scriptures.

They are full of redemptive themes that should convict us, equip us, challenge us, and encourage us.

The purpose of this series is our desire to gain a new appreciation for the “minor” prophets but also see that God has important things to say to us in 2023 through them, affirming the relevance of every part of the Bible. We want to have a greater understanding of these four minor prophets and what God wants to teach us through them.

Today we are looking at Zephaniah

Zephaniah was a prophet in the southern kingdom of Judah during the time of King Josiah.
We don’t know a lot about the Prophet himself. The 3 chapters we have of his work are poetic, prophetic and in many ways, apocalyptic.

In short- Zephaniah can be really challenging to work through. But we don’t want the challenge to discourage our pursuit of God through his word.

One of the things Zephaniah helps us to see is what God is like- both in how he deals with sin and how he relates to his people.

In a very real sense Zephaniah begins painting a familiar picture of a wayward people, with the message that God is about to bring judgement upon them for their actions.

The consequences of their sin and rebellion were close at hand. As the prophecies unfold, Chapter 3 completes the picture of just how rebellious God’s people had become.

The people of God, to be a signpost to the nations, had become a city of oppressing rebels, marked by sin.

They would not obey, they would not receive the Lord’s teaching, they would not trust him, they would not draw near to him.

Despite all God had done, hundreds of years trying to persuade his people to follow the way of righteousness- they refused.

Finally, God says “enough is enough”

If the minor prophets teach us anything about who God is, it is that he takes sin VERY seriously.

God would not be good; he would not be Holy if he simply allowed sin to go on forever un-checked. A loving God would not ignore sin and its terrible effects.

What we often fail to recognize is that God’s anger is motivated by his love and compassion for his people.

God knows full well what sin does, how it destroys our lives, how it breaks relationships not least our relationship with Himself. He knows how sin ruins his good creation.

So, when God moves to deal with sin yes, we will see consequences to those actions. Those consequences can be really difficult, painful even.

But if that’s all we see, and angry old principal dishing out discipline, we don’t have the full picture.

The Lord’s anger, his judgement, his discipline in dealing with sin is motivated by his desire to see his people restored and brought near in relationship.

Rejoice people of God! God’s anger is not focused on your destruction, but on your restoration.

What we see in the prophet of Zephaniah is a Compassionate God, who is angered by sin, but relentless in pursuit of his people. That’s who He is.

Will you see God as he really is this Christmas season? He is THE GIFT- and your name is on the palm of his hands- will you receive him?

Will you see him as a God who is right there with you in the midst of your story?
Will you know him as the mighty warrior who can save you from sin and darkness?
Will you believe that no matter how bad you have messed up, God can restore you?

Will you imagine God singing over you in pure delight?