Zephy Zephy Zephy Oi oi oi.
posted by Little Mo | Permalink |
Good times in Zephaniah, both with Newcastle CU and now with my Relay Worker as we prepare for Relay 2.
It's amazing how a bok I know well now opens up new things each time. Some fresh things this time:
1) Everyone worships something. The people have ignored God (so much so, they had lost the Book of the Law and not noticed) but that doesn't mean they had stopped worshipping and being shaped by something outside themselves. Far from it - they became like those around them - following their stupid made up gods, and doing the things they did, instead of their lives being shaped by the amazing God of the universe and his truth. How stupid. How real! When we lose our respect for God's word, we think we are free - in fact we become pathetic apes of the world around us. Silly. And not at all surprising that it provokes God's anger.
2) The humble seek humility. Zephaniah addresses the nation, but calls the humble to seek humility. Eh? Weren't they humble already? Well indeed - its those who are humble enough to listen to God who are called to humble themselves repeatedly - the way in and the way on are the same. I don't want to read too much into this - but it seems that the hope of the nation is not that the whole nation will respond to Zeph's warning (although they should) but rather that those who do respect God seek to humble themselves before him even moreso, and seek Him and seek righteousness.
Let's not start applying the message of judgement to all and sundry first. True, they need to hear the message and respond. But first and foremost, let's see God for who he is ourselves and seek righteousness and seek humility, and seek the Lord. That's where the hope for the people around us begins.
I've been reading a bit about some of the evangelical awakenings recently. Isn't it stark that they began with the church seeing their own sin and God's holiness so clearly that they repented of their weakness of commitment, their love of money, their fitting in with the culture around them? Would that we would see God's holiness as Zephaniah shows us, and we would be renewed in seeking God and seeking humility. That is the hope for the world.
It's amazing how a bok I know well now opens up new things each time. Some fresh things this time:
1) Everyone worships something. The people have ignored God (so much so, they had lost the Book of the Law and not noticed) but that doesn't mean they had stopped worshipping and being shaped by something outside themselves. Far from it - they became like those around them - following their stupid made up gods, and doing the things they did, instead of their lives being shaped by the amazing God of the universe and his truth. How stupid. How real! When we lose our respect for God's word, we think we are free - in fact we become pathetic apes of the world around us. Silly. And not at all surprising that it provokes God's anger.
2) The humble seek humility. Zephaniah addresses the nation, but calls the humble to seek humility. Eh? Weren't they humble already? Well indeed - its those who are humble enough to listen to God who are called to humble themselves repeatedly - the way in and the way on are the same. I don't want to read too much into this - but it seems that the hope of the nation is not that the whole nation will respond to Zeph's warning (although they should) but rather that those who do respect God seek to humble themselves before him even moreso, and seek Him and seek righteousness.
Let's not start applying the message of judgement to all and sundry first. True, they need to hear the message and respond. But first and foremost, let's see God for who he is ourselves and seek righteousness and seek humility, and seek the Lord. That's where the hope for the people around us begins.
I've been reading a bit about some of the evangelical awakenings recently. Isn't it stark that they began with the church seeing their own sin and God's holiness so clearly that they repented of their weakness of commitment, their love of money, their fitting in with the culture around them? Would that we would see God's holiness as Zephaniah shows us, and we would be renewed in seeking God and seeking humility. That is the hope for the world.
posted by Little Mo at 8:40 AM
2 Comments:
Loving your stuff on this. I feel like at Leadership Team I barely got any of what Zeph is about. But I'm loving it.
it's officially a long time since you updated your blog... you must have something to rant about?
Post a Comment
<< Home