(REFLECTIONS ON Zephaniah 3:1-20)

Who will remain?

1 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
The tyrannical city!
2 She heeded no voice,
She accepted no instruction.
She did not trust in the Lord,
She did not draw near to her God.
3 Her princes within her are roaring lions,
Her judges are wolves at evening;
They leave nothing for the morning.
4 Her prophet are reckless, treacherous men;
Her priest have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the law.

The national leaders, spiritual leaders, all have gone astray and have not held firmly to the Lord their God. They have all done violence to the Law of the Lord.

Who will remain?

The Lord has cut off nations and desires that His people will wait for Him as He rises up as a witness, gathers the nations, assembles the kingdoms, and pours judgment on them.

9 “For then I will give the peoples purified lips,
That all of them may call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

United under God, in Christ, by the Holy Spirit, yes, this is the hope of salvation. Yes, that is the Church united as one in Christ, with no more division between Israel or Gentile, but all His body the Church.

But who will remain?

12 “But I will leave among you
A humble and lowly people,
And they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.
13 “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong
And tell no lies,
Nor will a deceitful tongue
Be found in their mouths;
For they will feed and lie down
With no one to make them tremble.”

Shout for joy for those that can endure, persevere, be firm and faithful in Christ through His Spirit. For those are the people that will remain. Yes, not by our own strength, but because the Lord has preserved us through Christ’s faithfulness.

20 “At that time I will bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will give you renown and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.

No matter how difficult life gets, how much doubt there is in our minds, let us stay firmly on the path of the cross and trust that the Lord will reveal Himself to those that are faithful and remain in Him.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Zephaniah 3