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Sermons at Trinity Church |
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Zechariah 2.4-3.8 JUDGEMENT ON THE NATIONS 25.4.04 Jonny Elvin |
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All Bible references in this sermon transcript are taken from the English Standard Version. This can be found at www.biblegateway.com
What role does the church have in society? What place does it have in the world? It appears that we are on the margins; that we’re merely peripheral to history. But Zephaniah presents us with a rather different picture. As he looks around all he sees are people waiting for judgment. All the great cities of the world will become ruins. Last week: Judgement comes on God’s idolatrous, worldly and indifferent people. Therefore they were to seek the Lord (2.1-3)!
From 2.4-3.8 we get God’s judgment on the surrounding nations.
1. Judgment on all nations
First he looks to the west of Jerusalem. a) Judgment on the Philistines v4-7Judgment comes on the four principle cities of the Philistine nation: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ekron. The things that will happen to them are a play on the sound of their names, e.g. Ekron (not Enron) sounds like the word for ‘uproot’. This is the equivalent of passing judgment on London, Birmingham, Manchester and wherever the fourth biggest city in England is!
As you may
well know the Philistines are the forebears of the Palestinians. Their
home was along the south western coast – where the Gaza strip is today.
But God says their cities will be abandoned because of the judgment of
God. But in the midst of the judgment on the Philistines there is hope. A remnant will be saved – not of Philistines, but of God’s people Israel.
6And
you, O seacoast, shall be pastures, with meadows[3]
for shepherds and folds for flocks. 7The seacoast shall become
the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah, on which they shall
graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For
the LORD their God will be mindful of them No reason for the Lord’s judgment is given here, but they are accountable to the Lord nonetheless. The Lord will destroy, but not annihilate. The future of the Philistine region is described, not in terms of permanent desertion, but in terms of reoccupation by shepherds and their flocks. This giving life is a sign of God’s gracious blessing as well as his judgment.
Then Zephaniah looks east to Moab and Ammon: b) Judgment on Moab and Ammon v8-11 These people were often in conflict with the people of Israel, often verbally assaulting them, as in v8 and v10. But to oppose God’s people is to oppose God. That’s a foolish thing to do, because God is a divine warrior. And his punishment of them will be devastating. 9Therefore, as I live," declares the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them."
11The LORD will be awesome against them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations.
So much for their false gods! But as Philippians 2 reminds us ‘at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ (Phil 2.10-11)
Then the prophet looks south to Cush (Ethiopia)
c) Judgment on Cush v12
Well there’s not much detail here, but their fate is certain. Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword. Or as Jeremiah prophesied around the same time to those tempted to go down to Egypt, the occupying power of Ethiopia at the time in Jeremiah 42:17; ‘All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them.’ So Israel’s men shouldn’t look to Northern Africa for a cush-y life. It’s the same for us as Christians. We know that God will judge the world and yet we are so drawn to it with its gods of money, hedonism and the ‘great god tolerance’! Then he looks north to Assyria and promises to act against the second major power of the period.
d) Judgment on Assyria v13-15
13And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert. For God to stretch out his hand, v13, was a phrase which would usually expect to be followed by a blessing. But here’s the shock – his hand is stretched out against Assyria and its capital city Nineveh. The great city would end up as dust. In fact, so deserted would the city be that even animals and birds, both domestic and wild, would be the main inhabitants. 14Herds shall lie down in her midst, all kinds of beasts;[4] even the owl and the hedgehog[5] shall lodge in her capitals; a voice shall hoot in the window; devastation will be on the threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare.
15This
is the exultant city that lived securely, that said in her heart, "I am,
and there is no one else." What a desolation she has become, a lair for
wild beasts! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist. God will vindicate his people and God will vindicate his honour (vv8 + 15) After looking west, east, south and north the people of Israel, no doubt would have been nodding their approval. Yes, yes, judgement on those wicked people. Quite right. And not before time. But then, devastatingly, the prophet homes in on the bullseye. Jerusalem.
2. Judgment on Jerusalem 3.1-7
Here the prophet Zephaniah confronts the people of Israel with their sin (1-4), their shamelessness (5) and their lack of repentance (6-7). a) their sin v1-4 Rather than being God’s faithful covenant people in contrast to their pagan neighbours, they’re no different. They are just as unfaithful, just as defiled, just as oppressive and brutal. All signs that… 2She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the LORD; she does not draw near to her God. That’s seen in her civil and religious leaders who are no less than wolves – in sheep’s clothing, no doubt. Just like the religious leaders in Jesus’ day and just like many religious leaders in our day – and even in our denomination. And just as in Zephaniah’s day they will not let the Scriptures correct them. And the result is that they are therefore ill equipped to shepherd the flock entrusted to their care. In fact all they do is exploit those who come to them. Doesn’t this so remind you of Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees in John 10? But Jesus is the good shepherd, whose voice we know and whose care we enjoy.
b) their shamelessness v5 but the unjust knows no shame. Oh they go through all the rituals, but their hearts are far from God. What a contrast they are to the Lord! 5The LORD within her is righteous; he does no injustice; every morning he shows forth his justice; each dawn he does not fail;
c) their lack of repentance v6-7 Following the promised destruction of the nations in v6 you’d think that Israel would be quick to turn to God in repentance.
7I said, 'Surely you will fear me; you will accept correction. Then your[1] dwelling would not be cut off according to all that I have appointed against you.'[2] God desires not the death of a sinner, but that all should reach repentance – 2 Peter 3.9 That’s why he is so patient with us. But the people chose to ignore this wilfully. And the result is tragic. But all the more they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt. If they will not repent then they will not be saved.
It’s not a pretty picture of how the world treats God, is it? The sad truth is that so much of it still rings true for us today. We live in a world that largely rejects God and we are part of a church that has largely abandoned God. You can tell that by the people we see ordained to positions of authority – from curates to bishops: People who don’t believe that Jesus is the only way to God, but one of many; People who treat God’s word with contempt by saying that Jesus didn’t die to take the punishment for our sins, but that his death is simply as an example of self-giving love; People who are just as worldly as the world – promoting that which the Bible explicitly condemns.
But God is
not indifferent to all this. He wasn’t in Zephaniah’s day. He isn’t in
ours. Look at his use of language in v8 The depravity of humanity can be met only by the wrath of God. He is holy and will not countenance sin.
But lest we look on others and neglect our own souls, what would the Lord say about us? If he were to return this very evening would he find us living like the world around us? Or would he find us repentant, trusting in the cross of Christ and longing for the day when his holiness and righteousness will be there for all to see?
May God work in us what is pleasing to his will. To the praise of his holy name. Amen.
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