Hard-edged words, aren’t they?
The sort of words that make you step back and say, "Whoa."
Difficult words to fully absorb.
        No softness.
        No diplomatic niceties.
                Just blunt, tough, right to the point talk.

It’s reality check talk - the words of Zephaniah.
The prophet identifies himself as a great_great_grandson of one of the kings of Judah, Hezekiah - a king who hungered, longed and did everything possible to serve the Lord. Zephaniah was active during the reign of Josiah, a king whose story is told in 2 Kings 22-23. It was a time of great evil - morally and spiritually. The people of God, called to live as a holy alternative people, could not be distinguished from any other people group in the area. At all.
        To such people comes the response of God, which we just read.

It’s a prophecy written virtually completely in poetic language. He uses vivid and wide language, big terms, loud and bright, graphic.
        So don’t get hung up in minute details. And don’t go reading it like a novel or history text. It’s not meant for that. Catch the rhythm. Feel the flow. Focus on the message that comes through – very clearly – via this poetry.
                A hard reality check message of judgement.

Which begins right in verse 2, and builds towards v.7:
        Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near.....

Day of the Lord -
        Perhaps you’ve heard that term before.
        That wouldn’t be surprising, because it is used by other bible writers in both Old and New testament. Very simply "Day of the Lord" means
        "the day that God’s hand shows itself very directly in human affairs."
The importance and scope of that can be sensed simply by the way Zephaniah introduces the Day in v.7 - "Be silent" he says.
                Or, more literally -- "Hush!"

        Same idea as 1.14: "Listen!" – Stop all your busyness and activity. Stop all your planning and talk. Stop all your partying and the every day hubbub of life. Be quiet and pay attention; careful attention.
        It is a big day - a day of God’s appearing, a day for God to be on centre stage with holy actions.

It’s like Habakkuk says (2.20):
        "The Lord is in His Holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him"

Enough of your games, your plans, your life lived YOUR way.
Now it’s MY turn, says the Lord.

And the words of judgement follow - words of a judgement that will go clear through the nation of Judah, says v.10.
        It speaks there about the Fish Gate, which was located at the northern edge of the city of Jerusalem. The New Quarter was on the south. The hills refers to the suburbs nestled around the walls.
        Everything would be affected by God’s judgement. No hiding from him. Something as true today as ever. For you and I – no hiding from God.

The Day of the Lord is a huge, sweeping cleansing of the earth. A removal of all rebellion against the Lord. A return to holy service and honour.
        And the destruction of evil will be great; very significant.

        We may find that hard to stomach...... all that talk of judgement and punishment. But before we slam the book closed I wonder if we should ask whether our challenge with swallowing that is anywhere near so hard a challenge as God faces to stomach human rebellion against His purity and holiness?

The Day of the Lord - Please understand that the ultimate desire of God is not, first of all, to "get even." It is purification. It is to have a pure world, and pure people in it – with Him, for Him, serving Him, in love and life together!
        That’s what He wants.
        And that’s what He’ll get in His Day, His way.
                The day when His action will be clearly, unmistakably seen in sober, strong, judging, cleansing ways.

Where will He act?
        As we saw, He begins with a few words towards His own people.
Then, as chapter 2 indicated, He moves quickly out to the nations that surround Judah and that had, in various ways and times abused and mistreated her.
Finally, He swings right back to the Jews again.

Chapter 2 is a chapter of comfort to sincere believers. It reminds them that they, the community of the Lord are NOT left to fend for themselves. Their struggle and pain does NOT go unnoticed.
        It didn’t then.
        It doesn’t now.
        Every time that someone laughs in your face or behind your back. Every time that your faith forces you to make hard choices with real consequences and perhaps real losses, economic losses – God sees.
                You’re not on your own.

And churches of the martyrs, the suffering churches for which we pray regularly, they’re not on their own.
        God does act.
        God will act.
        And we can join with the prayers of the saints that have been martyred for their faith, the ones pictured in Revelation 6, crying, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?"
                The day of that judgement is coming. Ever closer.
                Are we watching, ready, for it?

It’s the Day that Paul writes of to the Thesalonians, saying:

But as to the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child, and there will be no escape. But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. {1 Th 5:1_6 RSV}

Well, Zephaniah doesn’t stop on that note of judgement.
The great action of God’s hand in human affairs, the Day of the Lord, is not something that only affects unbelievers.
        Chapter 3 makes that very plain.

        It would be easy, almost deadly easy, to get all wrapped up in analyzing the faith, or lack of it, in other people – in other nations, or - closer to home - in Canadian social institutions, in those gathered around the water cooler, the ones with their locker close to yours, neighbours, even fellow church members.
        We shake our heads.
        We think, "how could they possibly...."
        We end up so busy looking off to the side towards them that we don’t watch too carefully where WE are headed.
                And you know what that can lead to...... Crash!

God’s Word speaks hard and clear against His own people.
And rather than kinking our neck in judgement against those around us, the Word of God comes full circle in a way that challenges us to examine our own lives as we prepare for communion.

Right at the beginning of chapter 3 (v.1,2) we read that Jerusalem doesn’t hear, doesn’t obey. She walks away rather than change when told she is wrong.
        Someone said recently that one of the main things which characterizes Canadian society today is our individual spirit and lack of accountability.
        We are, said this person, a society of people that would far more quickly walk away rather than face criticism or challenge to our actions or lifestyle. We’re not a society that takes kindly to accountability. "Who are you to have the right to say to me........?" is sort of a stock response we face....... or give.
        Which makes me wonder whether, since we here at Calvin Church are a full part of Canadian society, if we need to watch carefully and think about our own responses -- just to make sure that we don’t get quietly sucked right into this sort of destructive attitude which leaves a person and a community wide open to temptations and wanderings further and further from the Will of God.

Continuing on, verse 5&6 show us three groups of people which receive the condemnation of the Lord:

1. Those engaged in deliberate worship of other powers – here "Those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host" – people practising astrology, fooling around with horoscopes and the like. Please, people, avoid those pages of the paper. Don’t even go there for fun. It’s deadly.

2. Those who will mix a bit of their faith in God with some practices from other religions.... the sort of mind set which you hear today saying, "after all they’re really not that different; just different paths that lead to the same destination....."

3. Those who turn back from following the Lord; who don’t seek or inquire of Him. If you were to do a search on what these terms mean you’d discover their emphasis is going beyond the observing of some ritual (Deut 4:29; Amos 5:4-6) to actively pursuing the Lord at a heart level; getting close to Him, getting right with Him way down deep inside.

Questions that face us in a setting of judgement.
Questions that, if we are honest, we ALL answer in insufficient ways.
Questions that leave judgement staring at US.

Judgement...... Were it not for:
- a Great Day of the Lord event that has already taken place in history;
- a Day of the Lord that stands in history between Zephaniah’s time and today;
- a Day of the Lord that allows us to join in the joy and celebration of ch 3.14-20.

It is the Day when God’s hand revealed itself very actively in human history on a hill, by a cross.
        The Day when the judgement of God,
                Full measure
                Nothing held back
        was poured out onto His Son in cold, painful, frightening reality.

The full sobering scope of Zephaniah’s prophecy was felt completely by Jesus as He carried human sin to the cross.
        And it is there, at the cross, that we can find release from judgement in our lives – escape from the sort of condemnation that Zephaniah foretells.

Back in 1.18 we are told that there is no way we can buy or bribe our way out of judgement. You can’t work or buy your way in or out with God.
        The blood of Jesus is the only currency of salvation.

And tonight we are faced with that currency as we receive communion.
So I invite you to consider your own life.
        What is God saying specifically to YOU through His prophet?
        Where is His finger pointing in YOUR life?

If you’re hearing something in your mind, don’t push it down or ignore it.

Rather - as the elders will invite you forward, I’d like to invite you to mentally carry that item forward with you. And then, as you reach to receive the bread and the cup, visualize Jesus reaching through His ordained servant elders to you, giving you His body and blood, and taking from you that burden and stain.

Receive His freedom.
Receive His verdict – "Sentence paid.... in full."
And leave here as Zephaniah concludes -

"Sing... shout aloud.... be glad and rejoice with all your heart.....
the Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord is with you..... Do not fear...
do not let your hands hang limp.
The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing...."