Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

sorrow."
afraid."
.... to
rusalem."
voice."
people."
me."
anymore."
rejoice."
singing."
Zephaniah was not writing of the con
ditions that he saw before him in the
prosperous days of Josiah's reign. He
was dealing broadly with the history of
Judah, not only in times of obedience
and blessing, but also in times of rebel
lion and punishment.
The prophecy begins with a very
dark picture of national idolatry, and
then in the midst of our lesson today, it
changes suddenly into as bright a pic
ture as could be written. The two parts
of our lesson seem to be about the same
people, but they really describe the con
duct and destiny of two entirely dif
ferent groups of people, occupying the
same land at the same time.
The Woe of Jerusalem, Zeph. 3:1-5
"WOE!"
terjection of
Thayer defines it as "An in
How could we
describe a greater sorrow than this A
thousand times I have spoken that word
where it was understood and usually
obeyed promptly. It meant
"Stop."
Sometimes it meant that disaster was
imminent if it was not obeyed quickly.
I do not know if we borrowed the
word from the Hebrew, but there is cer
tainly a degree of similarity in the
meaning. Is not the very pronounce
ment of the woe a call to stop the evil
course, a warning of disaster if sin is
persisted in
Judah had gone so far in sin that we
marvel at the mercy of God offering
salvation at all. She was rebellious, pol
luted, oppressive, living in violent con
tradiction of God's purpose, princes,
prophets, judges and priests perverting
their office, government of the rich, by
the rich, for the rich. Man's work is
never complete. There is always a rem
nant. Josiah's reform left a remnant of
idolatry. Chap. 1 :4 shows that when
God takes charge the remnant of idola
try
will be destroyed. Then when the
people fall into idolatry
and are spirit
ually lost, there is always a remnant
that remains faithful. Chap. 2 :7 shows
that when Judah has been carried into
captivity, there will be a remnant that
God will save. He will destroy the rem
nant of idoJs, and save the remnant of
His people. The remnant is to wait un
til the Lord gathers the nations (Chap.
3:17). They
are to wait until the rem
nant of Israel has been purged and does
no iniquity, and speaks no lies.
they
"For
shall feed and lie down, and none
shall make them
of the 23rd Psalm.)
(Reminiscent
Judah Slow to Learn vs. 6-8
(not printed.)
In the midst of a picture of God's lov
ing grace, the vision changes suddenly
to earnest advice and stern warning.
They are not to rest in idleness on God's
364
mercy, but to "wait" in obedience and
faith until the day when the Lord shall
gather His people. God is still speaking
to His people; He is still working for
His people. He is setting before them a
warning the example of wicked nations
that brought them to ruin. Judah and
Israel could see what sin was doing to
the nations around her. We are sur
prised that she did not heed the lessons.
We have a much plainer warning. We
have the story
nations,
of the rise and fall of
even from the Garden of Eden,
with the unbroken testimony that
"Righteousness exalteth a nation, and
sin is a reproach to any
The
world has heard the warning, but is slow
to heed. If there is a great disaster, a
remnant will be saved. Where will we
be
The Joy of Obedience, vs. 9-20
(vs. 9-13
not printed)
"In that day." Though not included in
the lesson, it is a key to the book. The
Day of the Lord is set in contrast with
the day when man works his will. "The
remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity."
There has always been a remnant. The
Lord is never without a witness. The
remnant remains faithful to God
through disaster and persecution. "Woe
not my
the oppressing city! She obeyed
But in that polluted city,
there was a remnant. On the remnant of
idols and their worshipers, a woe is
pronounced. But the remnant of faith is
addressed in most endearing terms :
"Daughter of Zion," "Daughter of Je
Sing, shout, be glad and re
joice with all thy heart. Thy judgment
(condemnation) is taken away, thine
enemies are cast out. "The King of Is
rael even the Lord, is in the midst of
thee: thou shalt not see evil
"Yea though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and
Thy staff, they comfort Redemp
tion takes the place of judgment, and
mercy comes in instead of punishment.
The blessings that are promised to
the seed of Abraham are not for a tribe,
but for a World Kingdom, the Kingdom
of the Redeemed, under the reign of
Christ. When Christ came, Abraham.
like John the Baptist, decreased, and
the faithful Jews submerged their hu
man ancestry and their nationalism in
Christ's Kingdom. They let go of Abra
ham, and laid hold of Abraham's Christ.
They lived for Christ's Kingdom in
stead of for the Jewish Nation, because
Christ was the Messiah, the Hope of the
Jews. Those who followed the faith of
Abraham, followed it right into the
service of Abraham's Christ. And those
who were the children of Abraham by
faith were driven from their land by
those who were the children of Abra
ham only by the flesh. They
were scat
tered abroad, and went everywhere car
rying the blessed Gospel of the Son of
God. The unrepenting descendants of
the rebellious Jews,
who crucified their
Christ, who are now trying to regain
the Jerusalem that they destroyed, are
but a handful to those who carry the
blood of Abraham in their veins,
thlove
of Christ in their hearts, and the
Gospel of the Son of God in their lips.
"In that day!" God is gathering the
"remnant"
into the glorious Kingdom of
Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of the Re
deemed, where all families and tribes
and nations are one. To this redeemed
remnant comes the call, "Sing, shout, be
glad and
"The Lord thy
God in the midst of
thee is mighty; He will save, He will re
joice over thee with joy; He will rest in
His love, He will joy
over thee with
PRAYER MEETING TOPIC
For June 29, 1955
Mark 8:37
"WHAT WILL A MAN GIVE IN
EXCHANGE FOR HIS SOUL"
C. E. Caskey, D.D.
(The Scripture Reading might be taken
from Psalm 37.)
Suggested Psalms:
Psalm 63:1-5, page 153
Psalm 37:14, 20-22, page 93
Psalm 49:4-8, page 125
References: Psalm 119:72; 119:127; 39:
6; Luke 12:13-21; Jer. 17:11; I Cor.
15:32; Matt. 6:19-21; 6:31-34: II Cor
inthians 4:16-18.
This is the second in our series on the
subject: "GREAT QUESTIONS GOD
ASKS,"
which were to be prepared
"with a view to interesting the young
people and securing young leaders." The
first question, "What is that in thine
hand,"
prompted us to ask ourselves as
parents if we are willing
to give our
children over to the Lord's service, and
to ask the young people if they are will
ing to take the talents which the Lord
has so graciously given them and conse
crate them to His work.
The question, "What will a man give
in exchange for his
soul"
is not asked
for information. It is a rhetorical ques
tion and it implies that there is nothing,
not even the whole world, that equals
the soul in value. It isn't like one man
coming to another and asking, "What
car"
will you give me for my A car
has a definite value for which it may be
exchanged. The life and soul are in
valuable. It is more like a man sayingi
"All the money in the world couldn't
buy. .
. and then he names something
THE COVENANTER WITNESS