09-12-13 Podcast script

[Prepare]
Make sure you do not hide away from God, but allow the light of the Holy Spirit to shine into your heart as you prepare to read today.

[Bible passage]
Zephaniah 1:1–13

I am Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, the great-grandson of Amariah, and the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah.When Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah,theLordgave me this message.

I, theLord, now promiseto destroy everythingon this earth—people and animals,birds and fish.Everyone who is evilwill crash to the ground,and I will wipe outthe entire human race.I will reach out to punishJudah and Jerusalem—nothing will remainof the god Baal;nothing will be rememberedof his pagan priests.Not a trace will be foundof those who worship starsfrom their rooftops,or bow down to the god Milcom,while claiming loyaltyto me, theLord.Nothing will remain of anyonewho has turned awayand rejected me.

Be silent! I am theLordGod,and the time is near.I am preparingto sacrifice my peopleand to invite my guests.On that day I will punishnational leadersand sons of the king,along with all who followforeign customs.I will punish worshipersof pagan godsand cruel palace officialswho abuse their power.I, theLord, promisethat on that daynoisy crying will be heardfrom Fish Gate, New Town,and Upper Hills.Everyone in Lower Hollowwill mourn loudly,because merchantsand money changerswill be wiped out.I’ll search Jerusalem with lampsand punish those peoplewho sit there unworriedwhile thinking,“TheLordwon’t do anything,good or bad.”Their possessions will be taken,their homes left in ruins.They won’t get to livein the houses they build,or drink wine from the grapesin their own vineyards.

[Explore]

The little book of Zephaniah is a reminder to us that there are two sides to God. Yes, he is merciful, loving, protective and infinitely good. But he also says ‘no’. Very firmly. Some behaviour just will not do. Dallying with idols for a start, in direct contravention to the first two commandments, even though those who worship them may once have followed the Lord but have now given up on him. What a warning!

Even more devastating is the situation of those who are ‘complacent’. They are like a bottle of wine that has been left open and gone flat, all its goodness having seeped away through contact with air. To Zephaniah’s readers God seems powerless. He is irrelevant and can do nothing, either good or bad. He is a non-god.

And the prophet says that as far as he himself is concerned, his job is to be like a scrutineer, going round the city of Jerusalem armed with a powerful lamp, shining it into people’s lives and searching out the guilty. So don’t hide from him. God will find you out.

[Respond]
‘Search me, O God, and know my heart … see if there is any offensive way in me’ (Psalm 139:23,24, NIV).