Wednesday 17th April
Read Zephaniah 1:3b-6
“‘When I destroy all mankind
on the face of the earth,’
declares the Lord,
4 ‘I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,
the very names of the idolatrous priests –
5 those who bow down on the roofs
to worship the starry host,
those who bow down and swear by the Lord
and who also swear by Molek,
6 those who turn back from following the Lord
and neither seek the Lord nor enquire of him.’” (NIVUK)
Imagine hearing God’s prophet declare this message for the first time. What could possibly prompt such a proclamation? Why would everything need to be wiped away? Part of the answer to that question lies in these opening lines. Ignorance (v6) and idolatry (v4b-5). If Yahweh is the Creator of the world (which He is) but His own people worship the creation rather than the Creator, and have repented of following Him entirely, seeking guidance everywhere else – why not start again?
One could argue that Josiah was beginning to address precisely the problems that prompted this message. He was wiping out the idolatry from Judah and even the exiled Israelite lands. He was a seeker after the Yahweh pursuing the word of the Lord in both book and prophet. Yet one man’s faith does not seem to be enough to turn the hearts of the people back to Yahweh. The tide has gone too far out.
What does that look like today? Can we get so caught up in the world around us and all that it promises that we divide our allegiance and drift away from God? James certainly thought that was a risk for those who followed Jesus. Maturing faith involves an increasing desire to seek wisdom from God, and from nowhere else. Divided allegiance is dangerous.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” (James 1:5-8) (NIVUK)
