Zephaniah 2
Today's Passage: Zephaniah 2
As a kid, I did some really silly things. Not silly in the sense of goofy (although that was totally me also), but silly in the sense of foolish. Those foolish things typically resulted in some type of punishment or discipline, and rightfully so.
As a kid, I also did some really good things. Sometimes, the good things I did (obedience, good moral choices, etc.) prompted reward from my parents. I saw the whole gambit of how foolishness brings destruction and prudence brings life (sounds like a proverb or something).
God said these words through the prophet Zephaniah in chapter 2:3: “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.”
First, please don’t read this as the gospel is some sort of behavior modification program or divine version of karma. The gospel isn’t performance based; it is grace based.
Second, God IS a God of recompense and does desire our obedience. In most every biblical occasion, obedience to God results in blessing.
The motive for obedience though is the key here: not letting our hope for escaping consequence or for the blessing of God alone outweigh our desire to be holy. Seeking the Lord, obedience, righteousness, and humility all lead us toward Christlikeness, the ultimate reward. Simply saying yes to God because we fear His wrath is to misunderstand the gospel.
Quick heart check: do you obey because you want God to spare you or bless you, or do you obey because holiness itself IS the blessing? Pursue all these things listed in verse 3, but do so knowing that these shape us into the image of Jesus and are the greater blessings than anything else God might afford to us.
Written By: Drew Dukes
As a kid, I did some really silly things. Not silly in the sense of goofy (although that was totally me also), but silly in the sense of foolish. Those foolish things typically resulted in some type of punishment or discipline, and rightfully so.
As a kid, I also did some really good things. Sometimes, the good things I did (obedience, good moral choices, etc.) prompted reward from my parents. I saw the whole gambit of how foolishness brings destruction and prudence brings life (sounds like a proverb or something).
God said these words through the prophet Zephaniah in chapter 2:3: “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.”
First, please don’t read this as the gospel is some sort of behavior modification program or divine version of karma. The gospel isn’t performance based; it is grace based.
Second, God IS a God of recompense and does desire our obedience. In most every biblical occasion, obedience to God results in blessing.
The motive for obedience though is the key here: not letting our hope for escaping consequence or for the blessing of God alone outweigh our desire to be holy. Seeking the Lord, obedience, righteousness, and humility all lead us toward Christlikeness, the ultimate reward. Simply saying yes to God because we fear His wrath is to misunderstand the gospel.
Quick heart check: do you obey because you want God to spare you or bless you, or do you obey because holiness itself IS the blessing? Pursue all these things listed in verse 3, but do so knowing that these shape us into the image of Jesus and are the greater blessings than anything else God might afford to us.
Written By: Drew Dukes
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