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Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Zephaniah said, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zeph 3:17). I praise you today as the God who exults over his people with singing! I return your love with all my heart and rejoice to sing your praise! All glory and honor and majesty be to the God of my salvation! Today in Your Word Today you told me about the repentance of Manasseh and the prophecy of Zephaniah. If there was ever a man who didn’t deserve forgiveness, it was Manasseh. He had burned his own children in the fires of idolatry, and he had murdered so many innocent people that Jerusalem had been filled with blood from one end to the other. And yet, “when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers” (2 Chr 33:12). I can’t help but shake my head in wonder when I read that you were “moved by his entreaty.” You brought him back to Jerusalem and restored his kingdom. He removed all the gods from your house and ordered Judah to serve you. What an amazing testament to your mercy and love! Manasseh teaches me that no one is beyond your saving grace. As long as there is life, there is hope for repentance and restoration. Amon, Manasseh’s son, came to the throne at the age of 22, and he quickly perished for his sinful ways. His son Josiah was made king in his place, and “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father” (2 Kgs 22:2). How could such a godly man come from the likes of Amon and Manasseh? I think the likely answer is to be found in Zephaniah, the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah. When Josiah was young, Zephaniah prophesied of the coming “day of the Lord,” that great and terrible day when your wrath and judgment will be poured out on a sinful world. Zephaniah made it clear that those who said, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill,” were very much mistaken. You were going to personally “search Jerusalem with lamps,” and punish those who spoke such sinful and complacent words (Zeph 1:12). The nations of the world would feel your wrath, and the extent of your judgment would leave the earth as desolate and destroyed as Noah’s flood. What should Judah do in light of this coming day? “Gather together…O shameless nation, before the decree takes effect…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” (Zeph 2:1–3). As Peter said, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” This teaches me that I should be “diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace” (2 Pet 3:11–15). Reflection Zephaniah also spoke of Judah’s future restoration. If the warning of wrath and judgment would not move the people to seek your face, surely the thought of missing your joy and blessing would! Request Father, I want to be a part of the great joy that is coming for your people. Help me to humble myself before you and seek righteousness. Hide me from the day of your great anger! Thanksgiving Thank you for the wondrous blessings that await the people of God! O for the day when “the King of Israel, the Lord,” will be in our midst! Hallelujah! In Jesus’ name, Amen. Suggested Hymn: “Mighty to Save and Keep” — Barney E. Warren. Meditation Verse: Zephaniah 3:17. |