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When God Sings
Christ Church on September 13, 2020
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The god-killer

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INTRODUCTION

Postmodernism is like a swamp, in which all sorts of toxic algae can flourish. Christians who swim in those waters will invariably come down with the side-effects of those poisoned waters. One of the primary consequences of imbibing postmodern thought is that of thinking of the God revealed in the Bible as an isolated deity. But God is the God of the whole world, and every turn in earth’s history proves this to be true.

THE TEXT

“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger…” (Zephaniah 2:1-15).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

After a scathing opening salvo, the prophet gives the first hint of hope. Judah––referred to here as the undesired nation––is implored to gather together before the day of the Lord comes upon them (vv1-2). These gathered are told to seek the Lord in humility, and perhaps they shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s wrath (v3).

The Lord’s wrath is centered on Jerusalem, but the ripple effects will impact all the nations. The Philistines (Israel’s ancient enemy) are told of their doom: they’ll be left desolate, driven out, and uprooted. All their towns and ports will be destroyed and uninhabited, fit only for the use of wandering shepherds (vv4-6). This is done so that the remnant of God’s people will dwell and feed in peace along the coastland.

Then Moab and Ammon (Israel’s distant relatives and frequent rival) will have their proud boasts silenced (v8). They’ll be left like Sodom and Gomorrah (Cf. Gen. 19); and once again, God’s remnant shall spoil their enemies’ land, possessing it for their own (v9). All this will come upon these ancient nations because of their boasting against the Lord’s people (v10), and God is coming unto them in holy terror (v11a).

These denouncements form a compass. Philistine to the West, Moab and Ammon to the East. But before moving to the south, Zephaniah declares that God is coming to vanquish all the gods of the earth, and that men from from every place and distant isles shall worship Him (v11b). Then we proceed on our tour by heading to the Ethiopian lands, the most southernly kingdom of the known world; distant though the land of Cush may be, it, too, cannot escape the sword of the Lord’s judgement (v12).

Zephaniah takes us north, to the fierce land of Assyria (which took Israel into captivity). The Lord’s hand is stretched out against its capital city, Nineveh, and He’ll make it as dry as the Mohave desert. That once bustling metropolis will become the haunt of roaming herds; the din of the city will be replaced by the sound of birds and wild beasts; all the beauty of their artisans will be left bare for the dust of the desert to erase from memory (vv13-14). This city––once full of pompous boasts of its glory, at ease in its position as the world’s superpower, which thought “I am, and there is none beside me,”––will soon be a ghost town inhabited only by beasts, and when passersby see it, they’ll wag their heads in dismayed wonder (v15).

GOD’LL CUT YOU DOWN

As that great theologian, Johnny Cash, once sang, “Sooner or later, God’ll cut you down.” In this chapter we have God’s sure promise that Israel’s ancient enemies––Philistia, Moab and Ammon, Cush, and Assyria––will soon be cut down. So, although judgement begins with the house of God, it won’t be confined there.

Israel’s history is marked be repeated episodes of these enemies ensnaring them, enticing them, or infringing on their borders. The Lord is preparing to do what Judah’s kings were unable to do: reform the people and avenge them of their enemies. Zephaniah is building up to a reveal of God being the true King of His people. The apathetic amidst God’s people, and the scoffers amidst the nation will all soon be cut down, regardless of the personal religious views.

POSTMODERN GOO

Postmodernism wants to think that we can each have a little closet in our life that is full of jars that contain our private “truths.” The Gospel comes along and asks, “Why is your closet full of rotten ideas, selfish mush, moldy jealousies?” The postmodern mind insists that you keep your truth in your closet, and leave their closet alone.

But the truth of God’s word is universal. God’s reign over the world is complete. God’s claim on the nations is total. While Judah is rebuked first, and rightly so, God will not just politely stay on His carpet square, as if He were a tame God. Zephaniah declares to these enemy nations, near and far, east and west, that God is coming, like a vengeful King, to do battle with their gods. And God will devastate their puny gods. God will break their sacred jars full of postmodern goo.

THE CONQUEST OF THE GATHERED MEEK

In the midst of the pronouncements of judgement is the promise that the remnant shall possess the lands of their enemies. God’s promise to this gathered remnant is that He will surely cut down their enemies, that they may then enjoy the spoils of His conquest.

Current events make it seem like the church is cowering in the corner like a kicked puppy. When it looks like the whole world is falling apart, God assures us that He is in the business of conquering His and our enemies. God calls to those who hope for mercy to gather themselves together (Heb. 10:25); not to scurry like cockroaches into the caves.

In Hebrew when you want to really emphasize something, you generally will find a sort of doubling of the same word. In this invitation to humble repentance by seeking the Lord in meekness, we find one such doubling: “In gathering yourselves be gathered.” Yes. God is coming to bring judgement on all wickedness, and not one corner of the world will be left untouched by his roving eye. But that does not mean there is no escape.

There may be a remnant in the midst of Jerusalem. They are implored to gather together in meekness and seek the Lord. Think of the harvester binding the sheaves together, before the wind and fire comes to burn up and blow away the chaff.

But we ought not to think of this remnant as a mousy little band, hiding in a corner. No, they follow behind their Lord as He marches forth to conquer their enemies, and they then enjoy the plunder of the war.

But just like God’s promised vengeance on wickedness cannot be confined to Jerusalem, neither can His promise of mercy be confined to only the Jews. In fact, as God goes out with His sword of judgement––vanquishing false gods as He goes––men from every nation, even the distant isle’s, come to join the remnant in worshipping Jehovah (Cf. Ps. 2).

Severe judgement awaits evildoers, whether in Jerusalem or in the uttermost parts of the earth. So seek the Lord. Humble yourself. Gather with the meek. Then follow the true King of Israel in His conquest of the nations, where their idols are toppled, and those once His enemies become His worshippers.

In the prophetic books there’s a kind of two-fold meaning to their prophecies. The first is the immediate fulfillment. Here it would be that God is drawing out His sword––i.e. Babylon––to effect what has been proclaimed. But there’s a deeper messianic fulfillment that isn’t fulfilled immediately. In this passage, the faithful remnant might wonder after the Babylonian conquest begins: “So if this is means of God’s judgement, when will the promise of possessing our enemies’ land and all men worshipping the Lord be fulfilled?” This messianic promise points to when the sword of the Gospel would be unsheathed, and Christ––the god-killer––would go forth to topple all nations and all their gods, and bring men from distant isles to worship Jehovah.

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The Fire and Fury of the Living God (Zephaniah 1)

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INTRODUCTION

The prophetic ministry is not an extra-curricular activity of some believers. Rather, preaching is a part of our corporate worship. We affirm that in the reading and explanation of God’s Word, we are hearing God speak to us. But man would rather reach for the volume knob of his distractions. But God will be heard, and if these are the echoes of His ways, what will you do when He thunders?

THE TEXT

“The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD. 3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD. 4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests…” (Zephaniah 1:1-18).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Zephaniah begins with a personal lineage, which appears to intimate that he’s related to the royal family; there’s also an important mention of polar opposite kings of Judah: godly Josiah and his wicked father Amon. This locates when this prophecy was given––~626BC (v1). Then commences the announcement of God’s coming wrath, which is described in all-encompassing terms; reminiscent of God’s global judgement in Noah’s day (cf. Gen. 6:7) (vv2-3). Judah and Jerusalem are brought into the crosshairs, and we begin to see why God is readying to unleash His holy wrath on the whole world: worship of Baal and the heavenly host persists, mixed in with a fair helping of swearing by both the Lord and Malcham, and plenty of apathetic apostasy (vv 4-6).

The Jews should lay their hand on their mouth if they think to object to this sweeping judgement, because the oft foretold “day of the Lord” was now imminent (v7). God Himself has prepared a sacrificial meal and invited His guests. The twist here is that Judah will be the sacrifice, and it would seem that the summoned guests are the nations (Cf. Jer. 10:25) which God has brought to “devour” Judah (v7b).

Certain groups are held up as epitomizing the offenses which God is coming to punish: the royal family who have arrayed themselves in “strange apparel” (v8), and those who “leap/rush over the threshold” in order to obtain plunder for their masters’ house (v9). Think Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Lest the commoners think they are somehow so insignificant as to escape the Lord’s notice, Zephaniah describes the cries and howls which will issue across Jerusalem when this ruination comes (vv10-11).

God will be thorough in His search for evildoers, and there won’t be a crevice in which to hide; those who had been dismissive of former prophetic warnings won’t be able to be dismissive anymore (v12). Judah will be wholly plundered, and all the deuteronomic blessings whisked away (v13).

Zephaniah echoes and summarizes earlier prophets’ warnings of “the day of the Lord.” It is near. It is terrible. It is an inescapable reality (vv14-16). This judgement will be devastating, and neither their silver nor gold will deliver them. The fierce fire of the Lord’s jealousy is upon them and He is thundering down upon them to expel them from the land, and wish them, “good riddance (vv17-18).”

THE EXCEEDING SINFULNESS OF SIN

One of the most damning effects of sin is that we call evil good, and good evil. Sin is so wicked because not only do we trespass in the commission of the sinful act, but we sin by telling ourselves that the sin is necessary, even right. Not only do we sin, we redefine our sin. We buttress ourselves against what our guilty consciences witness against us.

Zephaniah presents us a vivid picture in response to man’s temptation to paper over his sin. God is coming, candle in hand, searching every nook and cranny of Jerusalem to find those who had grown indifferent to the Lord’s claim over that Holy City. God is shown here as hunting down and searching out those who have said in their hearts, “God isn’t going to do good or evil.”

THE GOSPEL ARC

Zephaniah’s opening salvo leaves no wiggle room for the  warm fuzzies of our modern evangelical nannies, which all too often rush in and comfort us with “There, there…God is love.” Some scholars bemoan how derivative this book is, because it borrows imagery from more gifted prophets like Amos and Isaiah. But we should see in Zephaniah a lovely succinctness––a prophetic bluntness––made to startle the complacent. His main objective is to disturb the complacent with a simple but vibrant warning.

In some Christian circles it has become increasingly en vogue to avoid the bad news of the Gospel. They think presenting Jesus as merely an example of tolerance, love, and kindness is all the Church is called to. But, the Gospel, faithfully preached, must first make the unrepentant sinner miserable. That is the Gospel arc we see here in this short prophetic book: a shocking rebuke, a call to repentance, and then, and only then, the assurance of mercy to those who turn to the Lord.

In our age of self-esteem, this is avoided at all cost, even in many pulpits. Nevertheless, the prophetic denouncement of sins big and small, sins of the royalty and sins of the commoners, corporate sins and individual sins, and the just wrath that awaits such sins is meant to incite sinners to ask “What must I do to be saved?”

WHAT MUST I DO?

Trying to carve out God’s love as if it can stand apart from His justice is denying His immutability. It assumes that God’s love cannot be so fierce as to burn with the heat of a thousand suns when wickedness is allowed to flourish. God will not be pitted against Himself.

Instead of blushing at the severity of the prophet’s voice, or bubble-wrapping the bad news of the Good News we need to wince. The prophetic Word insists, “Don’t ignore the warnings. Don’t minimize them. Don’t scoff at them.” When God warns, the thing you must do is ask, “Is there anything else? Show it all to me!” Don’t look for refuge in comparison shopping your sin compared to other more grievous sins.

Some may want to balk at Zephaniah’s hyperbole. Isn’t he overdoing it? But often a pastor needs to wave his hands and say in simple terms, “Stop it.” Spurgeon once commented on the severe nature of Zephaniah’s prophetic book, “I bless the Bible for being severe with my unbelief.” Do you want God to “go easy” on evil? Do you really want a God who yawns at wickedness? Do you really want God to let the vilest men never be brought to justice?

THE LORD’S CITY

Remember that this city which is at the epicenter of God’s global judgement, was His city. Judah had broken God’s law, neglected it, mixed it with idolatry, spurned it, and were indifferent to the covenant of their King. Now the King warns, by his messenger, that He’s coming to bring justice down.

So the question is, have you hidden sin way down deep, thinking God won’t care, God won’t notice, nobody was hurt? God has a claim on you. He will search it out. He will bring it out. He will expose it, and that is a grace. But remember, the only place to flee from the wrath of the Living God is in the Living God.

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Surveying the Text: Zephaniah

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Introduction

As with many of the other minor prophets, what we know about the author of the book is basically contained within the book. This book begins with an unusual genealogy, one which means that Zephaniah is probably the great-grandson of King Hezekiah, which would place him in the tribe of Judah. From the nature of the prophecies, we can place his ministry during the reign of his kinsman, Josiah, and this ministry was probably during the early part of Josiah’s reign. He makes reference to the “remnant of Baal” (Zeph. 1:4), and these were dealt with after the discovery of the law in Josiah’s reign (621 B.C.). Nahum and Jeremiah were more or less contemporaries.

The Text

“The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (Zeph. 3:17).

Summary of the Text

Like the book of Joel, the emphasis here in on the “Day of the Lord” (e.g. compare Zeph. 1:14-18 with Joel 2:1-11 ). And given what we learned about the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy on the Day of Pentecost, we should locate the final fulfillment of this book in the same way. After Zephaniah introduces himself (1:1), we can break down this short book in this way:

Proclamation of universal judgment (1:2-6);
The Day of YHWH announced (1:7-2:3);
A series of oracles against other nations (2:4-15); Judgment declared against Jerusalem (3:1-5); Judgment on the nations announced (3:6-8);
A great change is approaching (3:9-13);
God bursts into song (3:14-20).

For those who want to believe that Jehovah is not the Lord of lords and King of kings, but rather a regional and much beloved tribal chieftain, note how the voice of prophetic authority never lets this happen. The word of Zephaniah comes against Philistia, Moab,

Ammon, Cush, Assyria, and of course Judah.

The general theme works like this—hopeless corruption now, certain judgment pending, and God’s deliverance as a certainty after that. We see this in the corruptions of Israel in the Old Testament, the cataclysmic judgments that befall her, culminating in 70 A.D., followed by the times of refreshing ushered in by the Messiah of God. These times of refreshing are when we are privileged to live.

Like Wine on the Lees

“And it shall come to pass at that time, That I will search Jerusalem with candles, And punish the men that are settled on their lees: That say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil” (Zeph. 1:12).

The Lord has never appreciated tepid or lukewarm men and women. The phrase “on the lees” refers to wine that has been laid down in order to settle, undisturbed. However good that might be for wine, it is not good for your soul. If you find yourself saying, “God will not do anything much, either way,” beware. The Lord is walking through Jerusalem, lamp held high, and He is looking for you.

Hidden in the Lord

The name Zephaniah means “YHWH has hidden.” Remember that Zephaniah is probably of the seed royal, and may well have been a prince at Josiah’s court. Ungodly rulers often take a dim view of the seed royal (2 Kings 11:1), and so there may be an echo of deliverance in Zephaniah’s name. Whether that be true or not, he rejoices in the fact that God does in fact know how to hide His beloved.

“Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, Which have wrought his judgment; Seek righteousness, seek meekness: It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger” (Zeph. 2:3).

Even in the day of His wrath, God loves to make distinctions. He took Noah and family into the ark, He got Lot and some of his family out of Sodom, the plagues of Egypt did not fall upon Goshen, and Jesus warned His disciples about when they should flee from Jerusalem. God judges nations—as our nation is currently under judgment—but He is always mindful of His people. Pray that you might be hidden in the day of God’s chastisements. Enjoy life here in Sherwood Forest.

One of the blessings that God offers us is this. Though we are in the midst of it, He will protect us. “A thousand shall fall at thy side, And ten thousand at thy right hand; But it shall not come nigh thee” (Ps. 91:7).

With Singing

Dawn follows the black of midnight. The darkness might be overwhelming and oppressive, but joy comes in the morning. God is a Deliverer who loves deliverance. When He accomplishes it, He sings over it, and over the people He has delivered.

“The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (Zeph. 3:17).

Note the connection between the removal of fear and joy. In the previous verses, we see the presence of the Lord with us (3:15). God is Immanuel, and this is ours through the Incarnation. God is in our midst. Because of that, He tells us not to fear, and He follows it up with the exhortation to not have our hands be limp (presumably with fear). Why? Because the God who is with us is in our midst, and in our midst He is mighty. His presence is a saving presence, and He rejoices over us. He is content in His love; He rests in His love. He rejoices over us with singing.

Consider the magnitude of our deliverance and salvation. We are delivered—saved, purified, cleansed, put back together, sanctified, justified, made holy, grown up into maturity—to such an extent that God Himself bursts into song at the sight of us.
Is this your view of salvation? Are you preparing to be an everlasting delight to God Himself? Or do you think that at the last minute the lowest ranking scrub angel in the clean-up crew is going to drag you through the Pearly Gates with your shoelaces on fire? What do you think salvation is exactly?

This is something that God really wants us to grasp. Paul prayed this way for the Ephesians, very specifically. He said, “I . . . cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:16–18). So when He sings, you should too.

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Why Children Matter #1

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Introduction

A family is a divinely-ordained community. It is a set of defined relationships, with obligations and privileges assigned by God accordingly. It is not an arbitrary collection of individuals, and it is not something that we get to define. God created the family—it was not invented by us in the first place, and so we do not get to reinvent it. For this reason, parents must beware of treating the family as an “assemblage” that results from “techniques” developed by “experts.”

Young parents should therefore come to the Scriptures with a true hunger and openness. This is particularly true of those young parents who didn’t see a good model growing up—God is the God of new beginnings. He breaks the cycle, blessing to a thousand generations, and cutting off disasters after three or four. Be encouraged.

The Text

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Eph. 5:1, ESV).

“The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with singing” (Zeph. 3:17).

Summary of the Text

The juxtaposition of these two passages is intended to make the foundational point that, as God treats us as His children, so also we, in imitating Him, must seek to be like Him in our treatment of our own children. As He deals with us, so also must we deal with our own children.

God has created us as reflective and imitative creatures. We become like what we worship. Idolaters do this (Ps. 115:4-8), and worshipers of the true God do it (2 Cor. 3:18). This is the way human beings are. There are few places where the ramifications of this are as important as they are in child-rearing.

In the Zephaniah passage, consider first that the Lord our God is mighty. You are much stronger than your children. But His might is deployed for the good of His people, for their salvation, and not for their suffocation. Your purpose is to be used as the instrument of your children’s salvation. You are not the ground of that salvation, but you are an appointed instrument. You obviously cannot be saving grace, but you are commanded to imitate it, and to facilitate it.

When the mighty God intervened to save, He did so at great cost to Himself. Jesus, when He took the loaf of bread that represented His broken body, He began by giving thanks. When Jesus went to the cross, He did so for the joy that was set before Him (Heb. 12:2). The sacrifices that you will make for your children should therefore be something you sing over. You are not just to sing when they are being adorable, asleep in the crib. Life is messier than that, and the whole thing should be met with a song. The delight we are imitating here is not “unrealistic.” It takes account of the world as it is, and rejoices still.

A Garden of Grace

When God created us, He placed us in a garden full of delights, and with just one prohibition in the middle of the garden. Nothing was prohibited out in the world, and only one thing was prohibited in the garden. A severe penalty was attached to that one prohibition, but then God saw to it that when the restriction was disobeyed by our first parents, the severest blow of retaliation would fall upon Himself. What kind of God is this?

So the environment of your home is grace. All that you have is theirs. There are standards within this—grace is not an amorphous, gelatinous mass. Grace has a backbone. Grace is a vertebrate. And yet when the standards are broken, the heaviest sacrifices in the work of restoration are made by the guardians of grace—not the enforcers of law, not the pointers of fingers, not the parental accusers, and not the quiver in the voice of parental self-pity.

A garden of grace can contain a tree of law. A garden of law cannot contain a tree of grace. Whatever you do, an attempted tree of grace there will turn into a tree of reward, a tree of merit, a tree of earnings.

Discipline as Structured Delight

We have a tendency—when in the grip of our own unguided wisdom—to get everything exactly backwards. We think that the gold sanctifies the temple (Matt. 23:17). We think that man was created so that there would be somebody around to keep the sabbath (Mark 2:27). We think that goat milk was created so that we would have something to cook the young goats in (Dt. 14:21).

But discipline is directed toward an end; it is teleological. And no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but the glory of discipline is found in the harvest (Heb. 12:11). Discipline and fruition occupy time, just like your children do. Bringing children up is not abstract bookkeeping, but is rather a story—from planting to harvest. Hardship in a story is grace. Hardship without a story is just pain.

Three L’s

When it comes to Christian living, there are three l’s to choose from. There is legalism, there is license, and there is liberty. In the home, legalism occurs when parents try to establish “traditional values” or a “disciplined atmosphere” on their own authority, or in their own name. Strictness becomes the central standard, and parental law is central. License happens when it turns out that legalism involves a lot of work, and there is not a very good return on it. And so parenting turns into a long stream of excuses and lame theories about the ineffectualness of spanking. If you have told 28 people this week that “he didn’t get his nap today,” then perhaps you should reevaluate.

Liberty is not some middle position between these two—it is another thing entirely. Liberty is stricter than legalism, and liberty is freer than license. Liberty—purchased for us by Christ on the cross—lines us up with how God made the world. None of our shifts or evasions can do that for us. The righteousness of liberty outdoes the Pharisees (Matt. 5:20), and the joy of liberty outdoes the libertine.

Why Children Matter

We will address this in much greater detail in the conclusion to this series, but it will be helpful for us to take a look at where we are going. Children matter because as creatures they bear the image of God, as sinners that image is defaced in them, and as saints that image is being restored in them.

By creating the human race in one fertile man and woman, God was declaring that His image was going to grow and mature over the course of generations. When we fell into sin, the curse of our loss was extended over generations. And now that the promised seed of the woman has come, we are given the opportunity to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). This is part of what it means to put off the old man, and to put on the new (Eph. 4:20-24). God is after a lineage.

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