The Peaceful Kingdom

                                                                      Sunday School Lesson


Introduction: The Prince of Peace knew that wars and rumors of wars were standard fare in a fallen world (Matthew 24:6). But Isaiah, who predicted the coming of the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), knew about rumors of peace as well. Even though the northern kingdom would fall to Assyria and the southern kingdom would later fall to Babylon, Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would come and begin to spread his peaceful kingdom over the earth as the waters cover the sea.


The Spirit of the Lord
 Isaiah 11:1, 2 KJV

1And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
² And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

All of humankind’s efforts have failed to establish peace. Someone (the Messiah) must come from the outside to bring it. These first two verses of our text describe this Messiah’s identity and anointing. The Messiah is described in agricultural terms, i.e. a tree. It is not wide of the theological mark to connect this symbolism to Jesus. In the Garden of Eden there was a tree of life (Genesis 2:9). In the Holy City there will be a tree of life (Revelation 22:2). Jesus himself said to Nicodemus that Jesus would be lifted up (“on a tree” is implied) so that whoever believed in him would live (John 3:14, 15).The imminent invasions which Isaiah saw would shave off the trees of Israel at their stumps. But God’s people did need to fear. Given enough time, a shoot (Hebrew “netzer”) would grow from the razed stump. This Hebrew word is as close to Nazarene as we can get (Matthew 2:23). This stump comes from the lineage of Jesse (Davidic line). Its Branch (messianic term) will bear fruit. This messianic peaceful warrior is identified to be from David’s family.The Messiah’s anointing (equipping) is from the Spirit of God himself. The breath of God will rest on the Messiah. This equipping Spirit will help the Messiah to operate in a context of wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, and fear (reverence). Paul especially connected these qualities to the Messiah (1 Corinthians 1:30; Colossians 2:3).

The Fear of the Lord
 Isaiah 11:3-5KJV

Isaiah 11King James Version (KJV)

11 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

² And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
³ And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
⁴ But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
⁵ And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins
Not only would the Messiah have the right identity and anointing, he also would have the proper character. This character is pictured anthropomorphically. The Messiah’s nose (the word for delight can refer to an aroma), eyes, ears, mouth, breath, and waist are all mentioned. If God is Spirit (John 4:24), how can he have any of these? Two answers: 1. Humans have to talk about God in some human way. 2. God became human in Jesus. The Messiah delights in the Lord, and this drives his discernment and decisions, which are pure and non-prejudiced.This character is also pictured in some large vocabulary. Our text mentions words like righteousness, justice, and faithfulness. The semantic domain of these words greatly overlap, but they emphasize conforming to a standard, doing what is fair, and keeping promises. This is why the Messiah is totally objective when it comes to taking care of the needy, helping the poor, and slaying the wicked. He knows the real situations. He can tell the difference between a genuinely needy person and a con artist. The character of the Messiah drives his justice.

The Knowledge of the Lord
 Isaiah 11:6-9KJV

⁶ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
⁷ And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
⁸ And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
⁹ They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah sees a future day where all of creation will be healed. When the Messiah comes it will mark the beginning of the end. He will save the world. This will include but not be limited to lost people being found, guilty people being forgiven, sick people being made well, outside people being brought into community, wrong things being set right, and all of creation being healed.
This state of peace will even be felt in the animal kingdom. While it is possible to understand the text figuratively describing a state of peace, there is no good reason not to take it literally. When Jesus was baptized, Mark tells us that the Spirit “threw” him out into the desert with the wild beasts (Mark 1:12, 13). Was this the beginning of his taming of the unruly world?Wild animals (wolves, leopards, lions, bears, and snakes) will coexist with domestic animals (lambs, goats, calves, cows, and oxen) in a state of peace. Woody Allen said, “The wolf will lie down with the lamb, but the lamb won’t get much sleep.” True—at least right now. But some day even children will play near typical danger zones without fear.This holy mountain (see also Isaiah 2:2) is the peaceful kingdom, and it will fill the earth with the knowledge of the Lord.

Grafted In

                                                                       Sunday School Lesson


Introduction:  Dad used to say, “The greatest word in John 3:16 is ‘whosoever,’ because that one word gets us into the kingdom of God.” Paul would likely agree. Paul was a Jew, and due to that heritage had ready access to salvation. But Paul was also the apostle to the Gentiles, and due to that calling wanted them to have ready access to salvation as well. At points one is tempted to think that the Jews have squandered their opportunity to be saved at all. But Paul reassured that God has reserved for himself a remnant of believing Jews (Romans 11:1-10). Paul used our text to remind the Gentiles not to feel haughty about their opportunity to believe the gospel. All things being equal one would think that Jews and Gentiles would rejoice in the wide embrace of God. But alas, that was not the case. Our text was written to address some of the ethnic tensions in the church at Rome.

The Formula
Romans 11:11-15KJV

11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

An involved formula developed during the missionary journeys of Paul (Acts 13–21). It goes like this: Jewish rejection leads to Gentile inclusion, which leads to Jewish jealousy; that produces two things—further Jewish rejection and persecution or Jewish and Gentile inclusion in the new Israel. This is exactly what we see in our text.One could conclude that since the Jews rejected the gospel and since the Gentiles accepted the gospel that the die is cast, end of story. To that Paul says, “Not so fast.” The Jewish stumbling (also called transgression, rejection, and loss) did not mean they could not recover. In fact Paul had already affirmed that he was a Jew and embraced God’s call (Romans 11:1).Jewish rejection did give the Gentiles a crack at the gospel, and that is a great thing. Paul refers to it as riches and reconciliation. But Paul was shooting for the stars. He held out hope that many Jews would turn back to God. Paul hoped that the Gentile inclusion would stir up Jewish envy (mentioned twice in our text) and would bring a great revival of interest for the gospel among the Jews. For Paul this would have been the greatest thing since sliced bread—the full inclusion of Jews and Gentiles and life from the dead for everyone.

The Analogy

Romans 11:16-24KJV

16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.

20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.

24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

Verse 16 functions as a transition from the formula to the analogy. Paul mixed metaphors. He moved from the kitchen to the olive orchard. He likened Israel to dough offered as first fruits in an offering to God (think Leviticus 1–7). He likened the Gentiles to the whole batch of dough since they have become part of the whole lump with the Jews. Then Paul said, If the root is holy, so are the branches. This parable gets extended next.Paul particularly addressed the Gentiles here. Evidently they needed a “come to Jesus meeting.” In light of the Jewish expulsion from Rome (Acts 18:2), perhaps the church at Rome was primarily Gentile. Now the Jews were coming back to Rome and the church, and perhaps the Gentiles were resenting the Jews reclaiming their Christian heritage. The Gentiles had begun to take on a bit of superiority. The branches broken off were Israelite's. The wild olive shoot grafted in was Gentiles. This combination tree was exactly what God wanted. So arrogance is totally out of place. Gentile branches needed the Jewish roots. Regardless of what happened to the Jews, the Gentiles had to realize that they had their standing with God by active obedient faith. God could take them out as easily as he grafted them in. Instead of arrogance this should foster a healthy fear. Next Paul entertained the reality that the Jews could come back to Christ. At least he held out an olive branch of hope for it. God’s toughness (sternness) and tenderness (kindness) worked in the favor of both Jews and Gentiles.God’s tree today is primarily Gentile, but the first missionary of the Restoration Movement was a man named Barclay, who went to the Jews. After all, the gospel is to the Jews first (Romans 1:16).

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God Set Things Right

                                                               Sunday School Lesson

Introduction: Every so often we notice a high watermark in the Bible. After all, the Bible is not flat. Certain passages of Scripture are quite telling and microcosms of the whole story of the Bible. Some examples might include Abraham’s test of faith in Genesis 22, the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, or the golden text of the Bible in John 3:16-21. In the writings of the apostle Paul, those telling passages include 2 Corinthians 5:11-21, Ephesians 2:1-10, and our text today. In recent years Pauline scholarship (The New Perspective on Paul research) has resurrected an old debate about God setting the world right by the faithfulness of Jesus or faith in Jesus. Which of those prepositional phrases is theologically correct? The debate does matter in helping us articulate how to tell someone the plan of salvation. But at the end of day God set the world right by both. God acted on our behalf by faithfully fulfilling his promise through Christ. But we must appropriate that gift of salvation by our faith in Christ. It is both/and; not either/or. Our study of Romans has brought us to the point of conviction. The world is guilty of high treason against its Creator. How can things be set right? What is God’s role in setting those things right?

God's Righteousness
Romans 3:21-24KJV

²¹ But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
²² Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
²⁴ Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

God presented Christ. He sent Jesus to be the expression of his faithfulness to Israel. Jesus faithfully fulfilled his saving mission. In fact, this new way of having things set right was actually anticipated in the Old Testament—the Law and the Prophets testified to how God would make things right. The contrast with the old way is captured in the phrase, But now. This is similar to “But . . . God” (Ephesians 2:4) and “But now” (v. 13). God’s righteousness (his standard or justice) was given to the world through the faithfulness of Jesus. It is appropriated by faith. Both Jews and Gentiles can appropriate it because both groups need it. For all have sinned and fall short (are continuing to lack) the glory of God. Paul went to his thesaurus to try to describe what happened the day that Jesus died on Calvary. He pushed language to the breaking point to describe God’s faithfulness in Christ. Paul went to the courtroom and picked up a legal term (justified), to the marketplace and picked up an economic term (redemption), and to the temple and picked up a sacrificial term (sacrifice of atonement or propitiation). All of these words paint pictures and make analogies to describe the faithfulness of Jesus   Jews and Gentiles were in a dilemma due to sin, but God was also in a dilemma. How could God stay true to his character (sin demands punishment) and yet come to the aid of his creation? He had been patient in working his plan because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. The dilemma was solved by Jesus offering himself. Sin could be punished with its due penalty—death. But due to Jesus’ faithfulness to God’s mission and taking on that punishment, the sinner is set free (justified, redeemed, and propitiated).

God's Justification
Romans 3:25-26KJV

²⁵ Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
²⁶ To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
 Do humans cast a vote in salvation? Most assuredly. We cannot save ourselves, but we must appropriate this great Christ event by faith. We accept the testimony of those who witnessed these events. We respond to God by receiving Jesus for who he said he was—the Son of God. We commit to Christ and begin to obey everything he taught. This is not viewed as a work on our part (John 6:29). It is trust in the person of Christ and in the work that he did on Calvary.

God of Both Jews and Gentiles
Romans 3:27-31KJV

²⁷ Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
²⁸ Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
²⁹ Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
³⁰ Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
³¹ Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Paul circled back to the tension in the church between Jew and Gentile and said some strange things about the law and faith. If this getting the world back through sacrifice is God’s business, can Jew or Gentile boast? Obviously no! But does this mean that the law (or the principle of faith) played no role for the Jew or Gentile in salvation? Obviously no! Jews and Gentiles are not saved by works of the law. Faith cannot leapfrog the law, but by placing faith in Christ and in his faithful work, all people can realize the fulfillment of the law in Jesus—much like an apple blossom fulfills itself in an apple. This sets things right.

Struggling Under Sin’s Power

                                                                 Sunday School Lesson


Introduction: Someone said, “When you are young you make faces in the mirror. When you are old, the mirror gets back at you.” A mirror does not lie about physical appearance. But a mirror is a reflection of our reality; it is not the reality itself. Our reality goes deeper than the skin. Sin distorts our ability to see ourselves accurately. We need a sanity check on sin because, “Sin is an equal opportunity destroyer,” said Dr. Barry Black, United States Senate Chaplain. Paul was concluding his first major movement of his letter to the Romans (Romans 1:18–3:20). He had confronted head-on the Gentile sin problem (1:18-32; 2:12-16) and the Jewish sin problem (2:1-11; 2:17–3:8). Now he wiped out any chance of human self-justification. All people, no matter what ethnicity, struggle under sin’s power. All people have to own their depravity factor.

Sin Is Universal
Romans 3:9-18KJV

⁹ What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
¹⁰ As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
¹¹ There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
¹² They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
¹³ Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
¹⁴ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
¹⁵ Their feet are swift to shed blood:
¹⁶ Destruction and misery are in their ways:
¹⁷ And the way of peace have they not known:
¹⁸ There is no fear of God before their eyes.

The text begins with a question, What shall we conclude then? Paul was following up on the question raised in Romans 3:1: “What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew?” Actually Paul answered his own question—twice. Does a Jew have any advantage? Yes, the Jews have the Scriptures. But no, the Jews have not kept the Scriptures.Paul charged (accused) both Jews and Gentiles of being under the power of sin. The phrase power of does not occur in the Greek text. It says, “To be under sin.” That is it. People have an amazing ability to dupe themselves and others because they are under sin. Paul located sin in people with metaphors and from the Scriptures. There is some comfort in saying, “God hates the sin but loves the sinner.” But God does not locate sin abstractly. He locates it in people who sin. Listen to Bob Russell’s sermon entitled, “I Have a Dark Side I Must Understand.” The sin is in the sinner. Paul strung together another series of Old Testament texts to draw upon Psalms 5, 140, 10, 36, and Isaiah 59. Once again Paul was adopting phrases from those Old Testament passages. While there is value in noting the individual contexts from which they come, the force of Paul’s argument comes in the cluster. The difference in verses 13-18 is in the high use of metaphor. Throats, tongues, lips, mouths all help emphasize deception, harm, and corruption. We know from the New Testament that the mouth only speaks what is in the heart (Matthew 12:34-37). Paul also used the metaphor of feet. Feet do not technically shed blood, but they take people places where they will shed blood (Proverbs 1:11). Sin is labeled as having lost the way of peace and having lost fear (reverent respect) for God.

Guilt Is Universal
Romans 3:19-20KJV
¹⁹ Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
²⁰ Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

These verses frame up Paul’s big conclusion from this first major section in Romans. Since he was still speaking of the Jewish person, Paul wrote these two verses from the standpoint of the law. As good as the law was (Romans 7:12), it basically shut people up. They had no defense. The law could not fix the problem. It could only show the problem. Kenny Boles, former Ozark Christian College professor, likened this to using a flashlight on a night when the car breaks down—the flashlight can show the problem, but it cannot fix the problem. Every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. No one can be declared righteous (justified—put right in God’s sight) by the law. The law simply helps us become conscious (know intimately) of our sin.
 

Ignoring God's Truth within Us

                                                             Sunday School Lesson

Lesson Focus: Who you are and what you do does not save you.

Introduction:  American Express had a commercial: “Membership has its privileges.” But if a member refuses to pay the balance, those privileges are revoked. With privilege comes responsibility. This is the thinking at this point in Romans. To help people appreciate the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16, 17), Paul first had to convince everyone how much they needed the gospel (vv. 18–3:20). The Gentiles needed the gospel because they had suppressed the truth (1:18-32). The Jews thought they could escape, but Paul was quick to point out that God’s judgment would come home to roost on them (2:1-11). Even though the Jews had privileges (their calling and the law), they had forgotten their responsibilities. In fact, some Gentiles who did not have the Jewish privileges actually did God’s will, and some Jews who had the law did not live by it (vv. 12-16). The Jews in the church in Rome needed more than law. They needed genuine faith and obedient hearts.

Violating the Law of Moses
Romans 2:17-24

¹⁷ Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
¹⁸ And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
¹⁹ And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
²⁰ An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
²¹ Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
²² Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
²³ Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
²⁴ For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

To be grateful for privileges is one thing. To boast about those privileges is something else. For the Jew, the law was the embodiment of knowledge and truth. But Paul cautioned the Jews not to rely on the law and boast in God. In other words, be careful of pretense. Paul used six phrases to drive that point home (vv. 17-20): The pretentious self-perception included relying on the law, being instructed by the law, guiding the spiritually blind, being a light for those who are in the dark, being an instructor of the foolish, and being a teacher of little children. Paul said, “Knowledge puffs up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). It is not pretense but obedience that matters. A few secular proverbs unpack the content of Paul’s next five phrases (vv. 21-23): “Look in the mirror.” “Walk your talk.” “Practice what you preach.” Three of Paul’s five phrases are part of the Ten Commandments (stealing, adultery, and idol worship). The first and last are about teaching and obeying God’s law. Good intentions are never enough. Performance matters.

Coming to Terms with Circumcision
Romans 2:25-29

²⁵ For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
²⁶ Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
²⁷ And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
²⁸ For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
²⁹ But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

But it is not just performance that matters. Both the Old and New Testament stress the importance of having the right heart to match right actions (Joel 2:13; Mark 7:14-23). God looks at the inward—not just the outward (1 Samuel 16:7). Circumcision (“cut around”) is the sign of the Old Testament Mosaic covenant (though it goes back farther than Moses). Obviously it was an outward sign. When the sign of the covenant matches a heart committed to keeping the covenant, God is pleased and his people have integrity. When only circumcision is in place, but the heart for obeying God’s law is not, then circumcision is of little value. The inverse is also true. If people who are not circumcised (Gentiles) keep God’s law, then they will be viewed as God’s people even though they do not have the sign of the covenant. The backdrop behind Paul’s remarks is the tension in the church in Rome between Jew and Gentile. If the Gentiles were feeling poorly after Romans 1:18-32, their self-esteem should have recovered in 2:25-27. Though the Jews might have felt like they had all the privileges, the Gentiles might have had a leg up on the Jews if they obeyed God (see also Acts 15:1-35). Next Paul took circumcision to another level. He actually matched what the Old Testament already taught. Circumcision also dealt with the heart (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4; 9:25). Christians are to be circumcised in Christ (Colossians 2:11; 3:11; Galatians 5:6). Otherwise circumcision amounts to nothing (1 Corinthians 7:19). When we understand how the outward goes with the inward, we are the true circumcision (Philippians 3:3). Maybe the middle verse of the text is the climax: God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. It would be terrible indeed to have all the privileges of God and compromise them to the point of hindering people from coming to God. Perhaps the best way to receive the “nod of God” is to unite obedience with heart—that takes us beyond the law.

The Day Is Coming

                                                                   Sunday School Lesson


Introduction: “Turn out the lights” or “00:00” or “Pay day some day” are all ways of expressing the inevitable, “Time is up.” Last week’s lesson from Zephaniah predicted the day of the Lord. This week’s lesson is focused on that day actually coming. God had an appointment with his people to judge them for their unfaithfulness (see also another appointment in Acts 17:30, 31). Were it not for God’s impeccable character, his jealousy might be viewed as arrogance. But because the triune God is totally selfless and loving, his jealousy for total fidelity from his people is proper. God is a jealous God in the best sense of jealousy (Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24; 6:15; Joshua 24:19). Even one of his names is Jealous (Exodus 34:14). When God’s people don’t express that loyalty to him, he is compelled by virtue of his own integrity to punish the people he loves.

Corrupt Leaders
 Zephaniah 3:1-4KJV

1Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!
² She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God.
³ Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
⁴ Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

God’s people would not be the only ones judged. The judgments pronounced on God’s people in Zephaniah 1 were matched by the judgments pronounced on the nations in Zephaniah 2. In Zephaniah 3 the judgment of God turns again to God’s people. The judgment on the corrupt city of Jerusalem started with the word woe. This word sounds like doom and gloom. In reality it is a word that means “alas.” It implied judgment, but it is more judgment in tears. In other words, God received no joy out of it. Lined on his face are love and concern.Zephaniah 3:1, 2 describe the city itself in three ways: oppressors, rebellious, and defiled. The city’s stubbornness is described as, She obeys no one. She accepts no correction. This is the height of arrogance. Verses 3, 4 describe the leaders in the city. God called out the officials, rulers, prophets, and priests. God’s complaints against them were that they preyed on people instead of serving them (roaring lions), they took undue advantage of people (evening wolves, who leave nothing for the morning), they lacked ethical convictions (are unprincipled), and they treated the things of God as common (profane the sanctuary). Corrupt leaders corrupt others.

The Lord Is Righteous
Zephaniah 3:5-8KJV

In contrast to the corrupt city is a just God. God’s corrupt people cannot corrupt him. Even if people are faithless, he remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13). God is no creature of his environment. God lives within this corrupt city, but he remains righteous; he does no wrong. His character is unimpeachable. He cannot be less than himself, which is totally just. In fact he acts daily within the confines of his character. Morning by morning he dispenses his justice. This phrase reminds one of his daily mercy and faithfulness mentioned in Lamentations 3:22-24. This indicates God’s ongoing involvement with his creation on a daily basis—no matter the situation. People (even God’s people) cannot derail God’s justice by their acts of shame. When it fits his purpose he will destroy nations, leave their streets deserted, and allow their cities to be deserted and empty. At the end of the day, if God’s people were punished by being sent into Babylonian captivity, they had only themselves to blame. “Let God be true, and every human being a liar” (Romans 3:4). Verse 7 is reminiscent of Einstein’s famous rule of insanity, “doing the same things and expecting different results.” God’s people continued to disobey God yet expected that somehow things would work out differently. They did not. God was hoping for reverence and repentance. Instead God’s people were bent on self-destructive behavior that brought about even more punishment from God. They felt invincible and put their full confidence in the city (and the temple in particular), but that would be destroyed. The real attitude comes out in the phrase, But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did.
The passage in today’s lesson starts with woe and ends with wait. God calls his people to wait for him. Waiting on the Lord has a positive nuance in the Bible. It can mean to wait with eager anticipation of and faith in what God is going to do (Psalm 40:1; Acts 1:4; Romans 8:23; 1 Thessalonians 1:10). But in this passage it means to wait for judgment. God would testify against nations and gather kingdoms. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger.
In the world to come time shall be no more. But in our world the clock continues to tick. Someday the ultimate teacher will say, “Time is up.”

The Day of the Lord

                                                            Sunday School Lesson

Lesson Scripture: Zephaniah 1:4–6, 14–16; 2:3

Introduction: The Bible is full of contrasts related to God’s people. There was the line of Seth and the way of Cain; the sons of God and the daughters of men; the seed of promise (Isaac) and the house of Ishmael; the kingdom of God and the domain of darkness; the church and the world; Jerusalem and Babylon; the remnant and the unfaithful. But what if the remnant leaned toward unfaithfulness? The promise (Genesis 12:1-3) could be compromised. So God even had to purge the remnant by coming in judgment against his own people. A disturbing text says that judgment begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17). Zephaniah had to deliver such a judgment message to God’s people. Their day of reckoning had come. While Nahum was prophesying against Nineveh, Habakkuk and Jeremiah were trying to get Judah ready for coming captivity. If Habakkuk and Jeremiah gave the spiritual side for coming judgment, then Zephaniah gave the secular side. Zephaniah had royal blood running through his veins (the great-great-great-grandson of Hezekiah). He prophesied during the reign of Josiah (Judah’s last great king).

Riding The Fence
Zephaniah 1:4-6KJV

⁴ I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;
⁵ And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham;
⁶ And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired for him.

The judgment of God that Zephaniah predicted was staggering (Zephaniah 1:2, 3). It sounds worldwide and similar to that of Noah’s day (Genesis 6:5-7). Zephaniah had some things to say to the nations (primarily in chapter 2). But similar to Amos’s prophecy, the day of the Lord was coming against God’s own people (Amos 2:4–4:13).The same outstretched hand that brought God’s people out of Egypt (Exodus 6:6) was now turned against them. Notice the parallelism against Judah and Jerusalem. God would bring disaster to the Baal worshippers, who sometimes even set up shop in the temple itself. God would bring disaster on the astrologers and on those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molek—syncretists. God would bring disaster on those who rebelled against him with sins of commission—turn back from following the Lord and with sins of omission—neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.Other sins are mentioned: Leaders were not truly leading (Zephaniah 1:8; 3:3, 4). People were living more by fate than faith (1:9). Some were unrestrained in their unbridled power (v. 9). Complacency, presumption, and materialism abounded (vv. 12, 18). They failed to trust God or draw near to him (3:2). Some acted corruptly and others were haughty (vv. 7, 11). Maybe the biggest reason for the coming disaster was plain old sin (1:17) and no desire to be corrected (3:2).

The Day Of The Lord
Zephaniah 1:14-16KJV

¹⁴ The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
¹⁵ That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
¹⁶ A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
God’s people did experience some good days during the reign of good King Josiah. But the Lord is in total control. The Lord is the Mighty Warrior. The great day of the Lord or “that day” or “at that time” or “the day of the Lord” or “the day” appear throughout Zephaniah’s prophecy as well as other parts of the Old Testament (Isaiah 13:6; Amos 5:18-20; Malachi 4:5). Most often this phrase does not refer to some cataclysmic end-times destruction. Mostly it refers to some kind of judgment—often local. God’s people would be surprised that he had turned against them. He would come quickly and give a victory shout. His coming would be marked with distress and anguish, trouble and ruin, darkness and gloom. The trumpet would announce his coming and even the watchtowers (corner towers) wouldn’t be able to stand against his judgment.

Seek Humility
Zephaniah 2:3KJV

³ Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.

If God’s people turned to him, then disaster could turn to delight. Earlier we were told that Judah did not seek the Lord. Zephaniah pled with God’s people three times to seek the Lord. He called for them to be humble and obey God. He called for them to seek righteousness (justice). If they did this, they might be sheltered (covered) by the Lord himself during this day of the Lord’s anger. There is a bumper sticker that reads, “Jesus is coming back—and he is not happy.” It is partially true. Jesus is coming again (Hebrews 9:28). But God lives in perpetual joy and does not have an occasional bad day. However, he does seem to schedule various days of judgment to prepare and purify us.