"On every page of the God-breathed writings are many thoughts that stretch out like long, clear arms of light across the darkness, discovering things otherwise hidden and illuminating wider areas than those of the immediate context. They are searchlights. I have selected one in each chapter of Scripture, for at least one central thought in every chapter should arrest the mind and affect the life," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, a skilled, wise, warm-hearted Bible teacher who conducted a classic 3-year study called Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible. Here is the fruit of that research—summarized, illustrated, and amplified with useful details—on all 66 books of the Bible.
DEUTERONOMY, JOSHUA, JUDGES, RUTH,
1 JOHN, 2 JOHN, 3 JOHN, JUDE, REVELATION
Zephaniah 1:2 "I will make a complete end of everything." Zephaniah served during the reign of good King Josiah, and in their days a famous religious reformation took place, yet the prophet makes no mention of it. That reformation was superficial as far as the nation was concerned. The king was loyal to God, sincere, and popular with the people, who followed him in his works of reformation regarding external things, but not in true repentance of the heart. Zephaniah, therefore, did not recognize the reform, and the insincerity of it prompted a strong denunciation of the sin of the people. Taken as a whole, Zephaniah's prophecy sets forth the wrath and goodness of God with great force, showing how both aspects of His character work together toward the same holy purpose. This chapter is wholly taken up with the Day of the Lord, which has an outlook far beyond Zephaniah's nation. It then deals with the nation itself and the consuming wrath of God against wicked rulers, extortioners, faithless priests, and worldly merchants and consumers. Zephaniah describes them as "settled in complacency, who say in their heart, 'The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil'" (verse 12). There is no equivocation or hesitancy in the prophet's words against them. They abide for all time as a reminder that God makes no terms with sin, and will inevitably proceed against it in fiery indignation that it may be utterly consumed.
Zephaniah 2:1 "Gather yourselves together." This is Zephaniah's appeal because of the approaching day of wrath. He is standing before his people as a physician, ordering them to pull themselves together. They were so lax spiritually and morally, and so mentally dull, they could barely perceive the dangerous brink their sin had brought them to. A key sign of their moral paralysis was that the people had no shame (3:2). To a keen sense of sin and consequent sense of shame the prophet therefore sought to bring them in view of the divine judgment determined against them. Zephaniah also addresses those who are still loyal to God: "Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger" (verse 3). Today nations need to pull themselves together to face moral and spiritual facts before it is too late. The people within them who are faithful to God are those who constitute the best hope of their nations being able to do that.
Zephaniah 3:8 "'Therefore wait for Me,' declares the Lord." The sentence before this reads, "They rose early and corrupted all their deeds" (verse 7). "Therefore," because there is no hope of recovery in the people, the Lord acts against them in fierce anger to end the corruption and leave in its place a meek and humble people who will trust in the name of the Lord, "do no unrighteousness, and speak no lies" (verses 12-13). From this point on the prophetic message is one of hope. God is pictured like a mother among His people: "The Lord your God is in your midst, the Mighty One will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, and He will rejoice over you with singing" (verse 17). That is a victory of love. There is no hope in human effort. The only thing we can do is wait for God, but that waiting is a responsibility. To wait for God is to be at the end of self; it is to be submissive to His way of judgment, to return to Him with complete surrender of utter hopelessness in any other than Himself. Wherever this is such waiting, in love He chastises to purification, and then in love rejoices as His purposes are fulfilled in the restoration of those upon whom His love is set.  |
| How Zephaniah (around 635 to 615 B.C.) relates to other prophetic writings and historical events. |
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