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| Zeph. 1:8-10 |
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Lesson # Zeph. 1:8-10 Study Material - Zeph. 1:8-10 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Zeph. 1:8-10 8 And it shall come to pass in the day [yowm] of the LORD'S [Yahovah] sacrifice [zebach] , that I will punish [paqad] the princes [sar] , and the king's [melek] children [ben] , and all such as are clothed [labash] with strange [nokriy] apparel [malbuwsh] . 9 In the same day [yowm] also will I punish [paqad] all those that leap [dalag] on the threshold [miphtan] , which fill [male] their masters [adown] ' houses [bayith] with violence [chamac] and deceit [mirmah] . 10 And it shall come to pass in that day [yowm] , saith [na'um] the LORD [Yahovah] , that there shall be the noise [qowl] of a cry [tsa`aqah] from the fish [dag] gate [sha`ar] , and an howling [yalalah] from the second [mishneh] , and a great [gadowl] crashing [sheber] from the hills [gib`ah] . KJV-Interlinear 8 'Then it will come about on the day of the Lord's sacrifice, That I will punish the princes, the king's sons, And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments. 9 'And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit. 10 'And on that day,' declares the LORD, 'There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, A wail from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills. NASB Sooner or later the Lord calls us all home to meet up with Him face to face. Many call this a 'Come to Jesus meet'n.' This is a good thing if you have been faithful in your Bible study and advancement in your spiritual life and compliance with Gods commands. But ... If you haven't been so compliant, then this is a meeting that you will not enjoy. There are three classes of people on this earth. The first are those who have rejected Christ completely, never having believed in Him, and thus are termed as unbelievers. Their destiny is the Lake of Fire. Not a good place to end up. The second category of people can be split up into two groups. These are all believers in Christ, and of them are those who do not advance in their spiritual lives or advance slightly in varying degrees. And then there is the second group of believers who are faithful in their pursuit of their spiritual advancement. These latter folks are the mature believers who will come out of human history the winners of human history and the angelic conflict. The first group (of believers) will receive little if anything in the way of 'additional' blessings when they stand before the Lord. The latter group, the mature believers, will receive unbelievable blessings beyond imagination, when they stand before Christ at the Judgment Seat of Christ, Rev. 1-3. But now Zephaniah describes the earthly experience of these first two categories of people. Once we leave this world then, for believers that is, there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, etc. But for unbelievers there will be a continuation of and an intensification of their terror and misery in Torments. That is the place where all unbelievers stay until their last judgment at the Great White Throne which will take place at the end of the millennium. But on earth, in this life, there is going to be a meet'n with Jesus, not face to face with Him, but it will be face to face with misery and disaster, and all that accompany them. Zephaniah identified three classes of people. The higher and elite class, or those who perceive themselves as being above everyone else (princes, the king's sons), those who work for a living (cry from the Fish Gate), and then there is everyone else who is indifferent toward God and doctrine (A wail from the Second Quarter). The cries and wails are due to the suffering that these folks will endure. The royal class are folks who have position and power, or expect that they are entitled to power and position. They are above the masses, but forget that God is infinitely above them. They wear the clothes of a foreign land. They have been given the great things from heaven, our true home, but they reject their true home, insulted by its provision, even though they accept its gifts and provisions. They look at their homeland with an indignant attitude and even contempt. Rejecting the very thing that supports them and gives them their basis for life. In life these are the liberals and entertainers that reject this country for that which it provides. But more than that, in the spiritual life, there is the rejection of God and contempt for all the grace provisions that He has provided to each individual. Even though it is God who provides us all, that which can be considered the finest that life has to offer. Ezek. 16:13-14 13 'Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 'Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,' declares the Lord GOD. NASB What? You say that you don't seem to have these fine things of life! Perhaps your spiritual life leaves something out? Ever considered that? Yet people when they face trouble and testing and trials from this world, will turn against God and set blame against Him, against their spouse, against their family, against society, against anyone who dares to get close to them. Life is everyone's fault - never theirs. Thus the story of Dagon and the threshold onto which no one would touch, but would jump over believing that it was somehow more sacred than before the destruction of Dagon, 1 Sam. 5:1-5. God here threatens to punish those who, in imitation, leaped over the threshold. Dagon's temple was looked upon as sacred, and not to be trodden on. The Ark of the Covenant was taken into Dagon's temple where, in two consecutive days, the idol of Dagon was thrown down. On the second day, it was smashed with the head of the idol severed on the threshold door of the temple. One would have thought that this was incontestable proof of the ark's victory over Dagon and that this would convince those who rejected God, of His infinite power over idols and other false beliefs. But, instead of being reformed, they were hardened in their idolatry, and became worse and worse, 2 Tim. 3:13. Instead of despising Dagon, for the threshold's sake that beheaded him, they were ready to worship the 'threshold' because it was the block on which he was beheaded. Thus the threshold became the object of worship. It is now sacred so don't step on it. The leaping over of the threshold is also a reference to those who would sneak into someone's house to steal its contents, leaving the victim destitute. Now we are forming a picture of people, of life, and of the various beliefs that bring people to the point of delusion. He princes and the children of the royal family are those leaders or want to be leaders who seek power, where there is no need for their being in power. In one sense people come to power through violence. Terrorists fit this example. They do not seek the better good for those whom they would lead, but they seek their own selfish desires. Taking from the people anything they feel they deserve. Then there are those who are elected or seek election apart from legitimate means. These would be those, who would say anything, or do anything to get the vote of the public. This fits most liberal politicians who seek election while modifying their positions to fit the public will, just to get votes. Their real agenda remains locked up in hiding (or so they think) until they do in fact get elected. Then they immediately betray those who elected them into office. They invade the personal lives of their constituents (again jumping over the threshold as a thief wound) and rob them of their freedoms and liberties. These two categories are described by Zephaniah in their 'jumping over the threshold' of life. Truth is all around them, but these want to be leaders will ignore the truth of life, and will search for another angle with which to promote their beliefs. They simply shift their beliefs to another false pattern of thinking and deception or violence. The leadership who pursue false principles of leadership, or those who 'would be' leaders, are mentioned first in Gods wrath because they are in positions to know the truth, yet they intentionally mislead the masses of citizens 'beneath' them. They mislead them for their own personal gain or ego's satisfaction. The second crowd are the merchants of society. The fish gate represents those who would engage in business. These are not stupid people. God did give everyone a mind, and a volition, and with them the masses have the opportunity to figure out the truth for themselves. If a person has Bible doctrine in their soul, then they can discern truth from untruth. If a person has no Bible doctrine in their soul, then they are easily misled. In either case, their choices in life of being anti-God or anti-truth (better stated), are their own. The repercussions of their choices are on their own heads. Then there are the folks in the third category of Zephaniah's list of people (the Second Quarter). And these are everyone else. The biggest group by far, and the most indifferent group. They just don't see this Bible stuff as being of any benefit. Thus they follow whatever or whomever sounds or looks the best at the moment. They too will pursue their chosen course in life. If it doesn't work then they will choose a similarly false but different course. They too jump over the threshold ignoring the truth of the Ark (the truth of life), which was lying beside the fallen Dagon, and instead look to yet another 'dumb' idol, the threshold. So from top to bottom in society there exists those who are in opposition to truth. Remember that the only source of truth and discernment of the proper perspective of life comes from Gods Word. When that is rejected then society will deteriorate (slowly) through the generations and eventually will end up in violence of some type along with an assortment of degenerate patterns of sin. When the Tribulation (our current topic of study) eventually arrives, then mankind will have reached rock bottom. In the mean time we have example after example to teach us truth from lie, and to protect us from sliding off into the pit that will eventually destroy our individual life. We can either learn the truth and make better decisions in life, or we can ignore the truth, chasing off after this crusade or philosophy, or that one, and if that is the chosen course, then comes the last of the principles taught by Zephaniah. There will be heard the crash from the hills. What is that? It is the sound of coming destruction. It is in the hills, unseen, unfelt, but you know it is there and coming all the same and there is nothing that you can do to stop it. That is so long as you remain separated from God and your spiritual life. In each persons life there will be a 'come to Jesus.' In the history of mankind there will be a big meet'n - eventually. In the interim there will be test after test, trial after trial, example after example of trouble which should serve to teach us all that God, and His wisdom, is our only answer to life's problems. 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
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