Zephaniah 2: Seek the Lord

 Key Verse
3 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.
 
Meditation
“The Lord is good to those who seek him” (Lamentations 3:25). Seeking the Lord leads to salvation, security, satisfaction, and strength for all whose trust is in Him.
 
“Seek the Lord, all you humble… seek righteousness; seek humility…” is the plea of the prophet (v. 3). These imperatives are corporate, intended for all God’s people as they “gather” together (vv. 1-3). The “day of the Lord” is coming and only those who seek the Lord discover the key covenant promise in the book: The Lord is “mighty to save” (3:17).
 
Rejecting God’s invitation to seek Him results in ruin, but for the remnant who return to the Lord, He “will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes” (v. 7).
 
The prophet’s prescription protects God’s people from God’s wrath on the day of judgement, ultimate security found in Jesus’ work as He satisfied God’s wrath in His sacrificial death. But it is also immensely practical. Consider the imperatives:
 
“Gather together, yes gather…”: The positive purpose of the remnant gathering together means (at least), they are separate from those rebelling against God, those awaiting His wrath, and they experience the unique strength of covenant community. We must not neglect meeting together, but encourage one another as we see “the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25).
 
“Seek the Lord… seek righteousness… seek humility” is to experience salvation with greater implication. When we seek first our King and His kingdom (Matthew 6:33) everything else we need in life will be added. Everything. Our ultimate good and His glory is discovered when we “seek the Lord while He may be found” (Isaiah 55:6).
 
Today’s Reading
Gather together, yes, gather,
    O shameless nation,
2 before the decree takes effect
    —before the day passes away like chaff--
before there comes upon you
    the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
    the day of the anger of the Lord.
3 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.
4 For Gaza shall be deserted,
    and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,
    and Ekron shall be uprooted.
 
5 Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast,
    you nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
    O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
    and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.
6 And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures,
    with meadows[c] for shepherds
    and folds for flocks.
7 The seacoast shall become the possession
    of the remnant of the house of Judah,
    on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
    they shall lie down at evening.

For the Lord their God will be mindful of them
    and restore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard the taunts of Moab
    and the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
    and made boasts against their territory.
9 Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
    the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become like Sodom,
    and the Ammonites like Gomorrah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
    and a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
    and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
10 This shall be their lot in return for their pride,
    because they taunted and boasted
    against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome against them;
    for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and to him shall bow down,
    each in its place,
    all the lands of the nations.
 
12 You also, O Cushites,
    shall be slain by my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
    and destroy Assyria,
and he will make Nineveh a desolation,
    a dry waste like the desert.
14 Herds shall lie down in her midst,
    all kinds of beasts;[d]
even the owl and the hedgehog[e]
    shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
    devastation will be on the threshold;
    for her cedar work will be laid bare.
15 This is the exultant city
    that lived securely,
that said in her heart,
    “I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
    a lair for wild beasts!
Everyone who passes by her
    hisses and shakes his fist.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially the prophet’s revelation to the remnant, prescription to gather together and seek the Lord? 
 
-Do you believe the Lord is good to those who seek Him? Do you demonstrate this belief by seeking Him first? Why or why not?
 
-Jesus satisfied God’s judgement so His people can be free to seek Him with all our hearts. Where, specifically, do you need to repent from what you are seeking other than God and return to seeking first the King and His kingdom? Be specific.
 
Key Verse
3 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.