Thursday 18th April
Read Zephaniah 1:7-9
“Be silent before the Sovereign Lord,
for the day of the Lord is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
he has consecrated those he has invited.
8 ‘On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials
and the king’s sons
and all those clad
in foreign clothes.
9 On that day I will punish
all who avoid stepping on the threshold,
who fill the temple of their gods
with violence and deceit.” (NIVUK)
What a terrifying word. The day of the Lord, prophesied at least 100 years ago as a day of judgement, has resurfaced again during the reign of one of the godliest kings of Judah. It is near. The sacrifice is being prepared. He has consecrated the invited, set them apart, sanctified them. But they are the offering. All the leaders and officials in Judah and Jerusalem – those hedging their spiritual bets by following Yahweh, and every other god roundabout…they are the judged. They are the ‘holy’ ones.
Strangely enough we are invited to the same sacrifice. Listen to all the echoes in what Paul says to believers in Rome, surrounded by all the other gods and all the other temptations to hedge one’s bets and seek wisdom from everywhere but God.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-2) (NIVUK).
What does that plea look like today?
