19/05/2011 - He’s powerful to save

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“The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.” (Zephaniah 1:1)
A brave prophet of God was used to announce the birth of Josiah. He described with details the actions of the heir to the throne of Judah, such as burning human bones on the altar. Josiah’s days were magnificent. His birth was foreseen well in advance and Zephaniah ministered during his reign. This prophet was considered one of the pioneers of the religious revival at that time. He spoke of the Judgement Night that would come over Israel and all nations, followed by the dawn of Israel and the conversion of all nations to God. He also stated that the day Israel would be invaded by Nebuchadnezzar was approaching; he prophesied the chastisement of their neighboring nations and the restoration of Jerusalem in the future.
Zephaniah lived in glorious days. Josiah was crowned king at the age of eight, and he began seeking the Lord when he was sixteen. That young king never drifted away from Him and, by the age of twenty, he began doing a cleansing work in Israel in order to get rid of all their filthy witchcraft and the idolatry which had gotten into the land of the people of God. All children of the Most High, from any generation, must do all they can to eliminate all those filthy traces and obscure concepts of the ancient religions they used to profess because they do cause a lot of harm.
As the king got to know what was recorded in the Book of the Laws – which had been found in the House of the Lord – he called all his subjects (priests, Levites and the others) for them to hear what had been registered in the Holy Book (II Kings 23). Today, everybody– whole families and the society at large – should listen to what God’s book says.
Scholars of the Scriptures believe that Zephaniah greatly contributed to the religious revival that took place during the reign of Josiah who, based on divine precepts, promoted an exuberant and unmatched Easter celebration in Israel since the days of Prophet
Samuel (II Kings 23:21-23). Josiah was, by all means, greatly blessed by Zephaniah’s ministry.
Zephaniah’s prophetic messages were about the Judgement Night that would come over Israel and all the other nations. He talked about the dawn of Israel and also about the conversion of all nations by highlighting that the Lord would consume everything on the face of the Earth. He compared human waste to the vanity of those who do not seek the Lord.
According to Zephaniah, the invasion of Israel by Nebuchadnezzar, the chastisement of their neighboring nations and also the future restoration of Jerusalem were drawing near. As he had foreseen, men would be like the blind due to having transgressed against the Lord. That prophet saw that the remnant of Israel would be saved since they would no longer do unrighteousness and a deceitful tongue wouldn’t be found in their mouth (Zephaniah 3:13). The Lord is powerful and He can save us all.
In Christ, with love,
R. R. Soares