These are the last verses of the short book of Zephaniah.
The rest of the book reads more like the first verse of the prophecy. "I
will sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the LORD.
Zephaniah predicts “a day of distress and anguish, of trouble and ruin, of
darkness and gloom,” because Jerusalem has become complacent thinking God will
do neither good nor evil. In the same way Assyria, that carefree city, “I am and
there is none like me” is full of pride. But those who seek humility and
righteousness, who accept the Lord’s correction, will sing for joy for they
will be renewed in God’s love. The truth of this short book is that both spiritual
complacency and pride are deadly in the life of the believer. We think that
nothing we do really matters because God is like the kindly grandparent who
might get a little upset but still has milk and cookies for us at bedtime. Or
we are full of our own spiritual prowess and piety thinking that we can
overcome sin itself and so judge all others accordingly. The woe that
complacency and pride visit upon us is the same as the dreadful judgments of
Zephaniah. We forget how to sing the song of the heart’s rejoicing and cannot
hear the God who longs to exult over us with loud singing. So accept the Lord’s
correction this day. Seek after humility and righteousness and sing out loud the song of
rejoicing that is in harmony with the Lord.
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