Rev. Jacob Dandy, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church and School in Terra Bella, CA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Zephaniah 3:1-8.
On the heels of preaching against several foreign nations, Zephaniah sets his sights on the rebellious, defiled, and oppressing city. Surely to the people’s surprise, the prophet was not still speaking about Nineveh; he was speaking about Jerusalem. They had hardened their hearts against the LORD’s Word, leading to the pollution of their vocations in civil and religious life. This stands in contrast to the LORD’s righteousness in their midst; He only does justice. Though He had looked for His people to repent in response to what happened to the nations around them, they only grew more eager for evil. Therefore the LORD will act against His people as well. This text calls us to repent of any ways we have hardened our hearts against the LORD and His Word and to look to our Savior, Jesus, on whom God has poured out His indignation in our place.
“Majoring in Minors” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the books of Obadiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. These three prophets all spoke the Word of God in the days leading up to the fall of Jerusalem at the hand of the Babylonians. Through their unique emphases, these men proclaimed the same message of repentance of sins and faith in the LORD, pointing ultimately toward their prophecies’ fulfillment: Jesus Christ.
