Foundations: The Books of Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Joel and Obadiah
9 Day Devotional
God used
prophets to warn the people of His coming judgment and that restoration and
blessing would come through repentance.
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Joel and Obadiah all preached to the nation of
Judah (Southern Kingdom) before the Babylonian captivity. We can learn much about the character of God
and what living for Him looks like through the writings of these prophets.
Zephaniah
2:3 (NIV)
Day One
Read: Zephaniah 1:1-2:3
This book
begins by telling us a little bit about Zephaniah’s heritage. He was an ancestor of King Hezekiah, the last
good king in Judah. In the generations
before Zephaniah ministered the people had drifted away from God. Child sacrifice, idol worship, fertility
cults and many sexual sins had become the norm.
The key theme of the “Day of the Lord”, which is mentioned 23 times, is
central to his message. This does not refer
to a literal “day” but rather of a time when God would judge. Our response to this message should be one of
repentance. In the first chapter, Zephaniah
is concerned with the foreign religions which have saturated Judah. The people had drifted away from the Lord,
abandoning Him for other gods (v. 4-6).
In the next verses Zephaniah warns the people that the day of their
punishment is close at hand (v. 7-9) and then describes how brutal the judgment
will be (v. 10-18). The merchants will
be wiped out, the complacent will be punished with their wealth plundered and their
houses demolished. It will be a day of
wrath, distress and anguish which will bring distress on the people because of
their sins against the Lord (v. 17). Zephaniah
then offers them the possibility of deflecting the coming judgment through
seeking God and doing what He commands.
If the people seek righteousness then perhaps they will be sheltered on
the day of punishment (2:3). This is the
same message that most prophets preach, calling the people to humble themselves
through repentance so that God will forgive them and show mercy towards
them.
Prayer and Journaling
1. We
often look back at Biblical times and think that we are much better than they
are, but are we? Our society is filled
with so many sins – abortion, human trafficking, prostitution, rape, drug use, greed,
lust, abuse, apathy, murder, theft, gluttony, paedophilia, blasphemy,
fornication, and the list goes on. The
message of the coming judgment of the Lord is for us too! Take a moment to repent on behalf of our
region, our province and our nation. We
have rebelled against the Lord, we have turned from His ways and we have acted
wickedly.
2. Ask
the Lord to show you 2-3 areas of personal sin in your life. Spend some time in personal confession for
those sins.
3. Thank
the Lord for His forgiveness and pray that many more believers and unbelievers
would turn to Him with repentant hearts and walk in His ways.
