Saturday 20th April
Read Zephaniah 1:14-16
“The great day of the Lord is near –
near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;
the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15 That day will be a day of wrath –
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness –
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.” (NIVUK)
The day of the Lord is a common thread running through the prophets. In the short term it refers to the destruction of Jerusalem which ‘is near’, being only 60 years distant at most. For most of the history in which Zephaniah has been read then, this is a past event. What possible gain is there for us in reading of it now?
There is a sense in which the fulfilment of the day of the Lord is both past and future. Those who refuse to listen to God are in constant danger the day of the Lord will arrive. A day when judgement is pronounced, and order is restored – all is put right with the world. Paul can write to the Roman church and challenge those who stand in judgement of others with contempt for God’s kindness towards them. “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Romans 2:5) (NIVUK). The day of the Lord is coming.
When we read Zephaniah then, the warning he pronounces to those with a ticking clock counting down to a judgement in the near future is to repent and avoid the coming day of trouble, darkness and gloom, is the same message we are called to proclaim. That future day of the Lord can become a day of salvation…
“As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says,
‘In the time of my favour I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.’
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2) (NIVUK)
