Zephaniah 1:2-6

1. Seek the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul. 2.Listen closely to the small still voice of the Holy Spirit. 3. Trust the Triune Godhead…not man to accomplish what you cannot. 4. Staying in Christ you will find peace.

God wins and evil bites the dust!

 Jerusalem

Means “city of peace”; located 14 miles west of the Dead Sea and 33 miles east of the Mediterranean Sea. The city is situated on a rocky plateau 2,550 feet above sea level. Its central position in Israel made it the ideal location for the capital. The Israelites had conquered the city of Jerusalem in the time of the judges (ca. 1210–1051 bc), but they did not occupy it during that time (Judg 1:8). Jerusalem was made the political capital of the nation after King David (1011–971 bc) conquered it and built a palace there (2 Sam 5:6–12). In 960 bc, when Solomon built the temple, Jerusalem became the religious capital of the nation as well. From this point forward, the city of Jerusalem occupied a place of prominence in the political and religious life of Israel. Faithlife Study Bible

Jesus seized on Zephaniah’s picture of the day of the Lord. On one occasion He referred to Zephaniah 1:3, when He spoke of His second coming and gathering “out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 13:41). On another occasion, Jesus no doubt envisioned Zephaniah’s description of “a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm” (Zeph. 1:15, 16).

The message of God’s impending judgment on the nation of Judah and its capital city Jerusalem must have been startling to those who believed that God would never destroy the site of His holy temple. Baal worship and its evils had led to the destruction of Israel and its capital Samaria in 722 b.c. Likewise, Baal worship and its associations would lead to the destruction of Judah and its capital Jerusalem in 586 b.c. Milcom is a reference to an Ammonite deity whose worship included acts of infant sacrifice. The people had experienced God and then turned away from Him. The NKJ Study Bible.

Zephaniah 1:2–6 (NKJV)

² “I will utterly consume everything

From the face of the land,”

Says the Lord;

³ “I will consume man and beast;

I will consume the birds of the heavens,

The fish of the sea,

And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked.

I will cut off man from the face of the land,”

Says the Lord.

⁴ “I will stretch out My hand against Judah,

And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place,

The names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests—

⁵ Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops;

Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord,

But who also swear by Milcom;

⁶ Those who have turned back from following the Lord,

And have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.”

Matthew 13:41 (NKJV)

⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,