The Day of the Lord

June 5, 2016 Background Scripture: Zephaniah 1:2 – 2:4 Lesson Passage: Zephaniah 1:4 – 6, 14 – 16; 2:3 Isaac Watts wrote one of the old hymns of the church that began with the words “That awful day will surely come …” That hymn is a stark reminder that we rejoice today that God’s judgment is tempered by His mercy but we should not become complacent and think that judgment will not have its day. The Old Testament prophets reminded Israel that the day of the Lord’s vengeance was coming and she better prepare for it. When Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah during his inaugural message, he talked about his ministry as the fulfillment of prophecy but he stopped reading in the middle of the sentence because the remainder of it referred to the day of vengeance of the Lord. During his earthly ministry, Jesus proclaimed the Church Age as the Acceptable Year of the Lord or the time when all are invited to enter into the Kingdom of God. When the Church Age closes out, the day of vengeance of the Lord will be upon us. Punishment will be meted out to those who are enemies of the Lord as well as to those who are backsliders. Enemies will be doomed to eternal damnation and backsliders will suffer shame and a loss of reward. This was the far reaching message of the prophet Zephaniah. But as is true with most prophetic messages, there was also a prophetic fulfillment during that time. Zephaniah was warning Judah of God’s impending judgment. God expressed disappointment in those in Judah that proclaimed that He was indifferent and would do neither good nor evil. When we believe that our lives and the circumstances we face are totally within our own power to control, then we become complacent and vain. We tend to rely more and more on material things for security because we think we have the power to obtain and hold them. We feel that having material things will protect us from loss. The more “stuff” we have, the safer we feel. But God declares that material things will not save the owners and will become the spoils of war. This attitude of self-sufficiency is evidence of the presence of sin. Sin blinds us to the reality of God’s holiness and causes us to walk as people of darkness who rely on themselves although they cannot see where they are going. We become God’s enemies. In the day of the Lord, God will bring distress upon His enemies that will cause them to behave as blind men. That day is described as a day of trouble, desolation, darkness, gloom, and alarm. The details of the early fulfillment can be read in Jeremiah and Lamentations. Jeremiah had a right to be called the “weeping prophet” because he was an eyewitness to the devastation God allowed to befall Judah. Ezekiel saw the glory of Israel leaving the temple in the vision he was given. The people of Judah had walked in sin to the point where God was removing His hedge of protection and the Babylonians were coming to ransack Jerusalem and carry the inhabitants off as captives. Only those who seek the salvation and safety of the Lord will be hidden from His fierce anger. Are you prepared for the Day of the Lord? “That awful day will surely come …” Robert C. Hudson May 25, 2016