Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20091018.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Zephaniah: God's Message To The Spiritually Complacent
Part III: God's Indictment And Judgment Of The Whole Wicked World
(Zephaniah 3:1-8)
  1. Introduction
    1. It is tempting to become spiritually complacent about living a holy life when we face an abundance of evil in the world around us, and so conform to the sin of the society in general!
    2. However, Zephaniah 3:1-8 reveals how and why we should resist this temptation to become complacent:
  2. God's Indictment And Judgment Of The Whole Wicked World, Zephaniah 3:1-8.
    1. God indicted His people in Judah for their sin, Zephaniah 3:1-5:
      1. The Lord indicted the sinful people of Judah, Zephaniah 3:1-2:
        1. God pronounced a "woe", an indictment of judgment on His people for the three general wrongs of (1) oppression, (2) rebellion and (3) defilement, Zephaniah 3:1.
        2. Specifically, the people of Judah (1) oppressed one another (Zeph. 3:3), they (2) rebelled against God (Zeph. 3:2) and (3) violated His Law in life and worship, defiling themselves, Zephaniah 3:4.
      2. Since these wrongs had been promoted by vile leaders in Judah, the Lord specifically indicted all of Judah's sinful leaders for their influence in spreading such sin among the people, Zephaniah 3:3-4:
        1. The Lord indicted all the sinful civil leaders in Judah, Zephaniah 3:3: the civil officials used their positions to fleece their countrymen of their possessions in promoting their own power and financial gain, men likened to lions and wolves that were so greedy, they left no bone of their victims to gnaw by morning, Zephaniah 3:3 with Micah 3:9-10; Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 1532.
        2. The Lord indicted all the sinful religious leaders in Judah, Zeph. 3:4: (1) the prophets who were to bring God's message to the people were arrogant in their failure to sense their accountability to the Lord, so they became treacherous to the people (Zeph. 3:4a NIV) and distorted the Law for personal gain, Ibid. (2) The priests profaned the sanctuary in their idolatry and astrology (Zeph. 1:4-5) and in offering blemished animals for sacrifice, essentially doing violence to God's Law, Zeph. 3:4b, Ibid.
      3. However, since the Lord was in the midst of His people, and He was upright, He would deal out justice versus such evil in His people who were so calloused they complacently had no shame, Zephaniah 3:5.
    2. God indicted His people for their complacency in their sin opposite His dire warnings, Zephaniah 3:6-7:
      1. The Lord reported He had brought judgment against nations around Judah, leaving their forts and cities so ruined, no one any longer passed through them, Zeph. 3:6. Relative nation, Israel to the north of Judah , had been a stirring example of this truth, for Israel by then had fallen to cruel Assyria, Ibid.
      2. God had hoped such events would have caused Judah to revere Him and so to have repented (Zeph. 3:7a), but Judah remained eager to keep acting corruptly in all realms of endeavor, Zephaniah 3:7b.
    3. Thus, God announced He would pour out His wrath on all of the world's wicked people, Zephaniah 3:8:
      1. Due to the relentless sin in both His people and in the Gentile nations around her, God finally called all sinners in the world to wait for Him, for He would certainly rise up to seize them as His prey like a wild animal seizes its prey in great, lethal violence, Zephaniah 3:8a. Note how this act of judgment by God reflects the ferocity of Judah's heartless leaders who had acted wickedly like wild animals of prey against the people in Zephaniah 3:3, showing God will deal out proper and full justice where it is due!
      2. Indeed, God will one day gather all the nations of the world in the Battle of Armageddon in the Great Tribulation Period (cf. Revelation 19:11-16, 17-21) to pour out upon them His burning, jealous wrath, consuming the whole world in this wrath and leaving complete destruction in His wake, Zeph. 3:8b.
Lesson: Though God was patient and longsuffering with His own sinning people, when they refused to repent, He planned to judge all sinners with full, just judgment along with the whole wicked world.

Application: Though we see many and great sins in people around us, may we recall God will judge it all fully, so we must always repent and avoid such evil! (2) God is always in our midst as His people (Zephaniah 3:5a), so He knows what we do, meaning we must sense our accountability to Him and depart from evil EVEN IF OTHER PROFESSING CHRISTIANS AROUND US SIN, Zeph. 3:1-4, 5!