Our only hope is in Jesus the Christ!!!
Christ in the Scriptures
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” (Matthew 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” (Zephaniah 1:15, 16). Although Zephaniah doesn’t specifically name the Messiah as the subject of these scenarios, it is assumed. Who else could, as the prophet foretells, gather His people and reign in victory? NKJV Study Bible
1:3 “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.
1:15-16 That day is 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, 16 A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers.
Matthew 13:41 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.
The New King James Version
Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
As much as it is possible worry about nothing! Worry does not change anything. Pray about everything and in asking for his guidance and help expect it to happen. God cares about us, the whole of us, our body, soul and spirit and always be thankful!!!! In gratitude the peace of God will keep us. It is beyond our understanding but we know it to be true. Regardless of the answer be grateful for His presence in our lives. He cares for us and will work out all things for our good and His glory.
1 Corinthians 5:9-11 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.
If we do not repent from our sins we will be chastised and in repentance God can use the situation to increase our faith so that we do not lose our salvation. If someone shows no repentance and calls themselves a believer stay away from them so that we are not tempted to do the same. We are to judge believers not the unbelievers.
Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
When we become born again our spirit remains spotless in Christ but our flesh will always fight with Spirit until our death. If we walk under the guidance and counseling of Holy Spirit He will not advocate anything in our life that is sinful. It is a constant warfare between Spirit and our flesh. But Jesus has already won the battle. We are delivered from the letter of the Law and now we serve in the guidance of Holy Spirit. In the times listen we will be changed, precept by precept, into the character of His Son, Jesus. Carla
In the opening of this section, Zephaniah declares that the only hope for the children of Israel is repentance. He calls the nation to gather together and seek Yahweh before the announced decree takes effect. Zephaniah begs the inhabitants of Judah to humble themselves, obey Yahweh’s commands, and be filled with righteousness in the hope that they will then be hidden on the day of Yahweh’s anger. Having described the judgment of Judah the prophet turns his attention to the nations surrounding Judah. Faithlife Study Bible (Zephaniah 2:1–15)
The language of this passage is quite similar to Joel 2:1–11, on which it may be based in part. Near describes the imminence of the coming judgment. The references to clouds and darkness resemble Canaanite poetry in which clouds and thunder are associated with the false god Baal. The poets of the Bible used this language to describe the true God, who would send forth His judgments like lightning bolts from a dark mass of clouds (Psalm 97:2–6). The references to fortified cities and high towers speak of the extent of God’s judgment. There would be no adequate defense against the Lord’s searing judgments. The NKJV Study Bible
This warning of approaching destruction, is enough to make the sinners in Zion tremble; it refers to the great day of the Lord, the day in which he will show himself by taking vengeance on them. This day of the Lord is very near; it is a day of God’s wrath, wrath to the utmost. It will be a day of trouble and distress to sinners. Let them not be laid asleep by the patience of God. What is a man profited if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? And what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Let us flee from the wrath to come, and choose the good part that shall never be taken from us; then we shall be prepared for every event; nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Jeremiah 4:19
O my soul, my soul!
I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me;
I cannot hold my peace,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
Joel 2:1–2
Blow the trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For the day of the LORD is coming,
For it is at hand:
A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
A people come, great and strong,
The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any such after them,
Even for many successive generations.
Although Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life, He identified Himself with sinners like us. The incarnation of Jesus (taking on human form and flesh) and the temptation of Jesus both show us the great lengths He went to in order to secure victory on our behalf.
Hebrews 2:17-18 states, "Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted" (CSB).
Just like Jesus, all of us will face temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). Unlike Jesus, we will sometimes succumb to sin, but even so, we can find comfort in knowing He forgives us and is at the right hand of the Father advocating on our behalf (1 Peter 3:22; 1 John 2:1).
Jesus faced temptation so He could overcome the tempter once and for all. Our Savior says, "Don't be afraid. I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, but look - I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades" (Revelation 1:17b-18, CSB).
First5
No comments:
Post a Comment