AVERSION TO IDOLS ROSS SMITH 230915
Before I commence today I would like you to record that you should read 2 PETER 3 every day for a week, and if it has not settled in your spirit by then, then keep reading that chapter.
My departure point for today’s study seems quite obscure from an initial perspective, but if we take the time to explore Zephaniah we will find that there are significant lessons contained in this book for our generation, so the initial concentration is on Chapter 1, verse six, prior to that we will refer to verse two for the context.
Zephaniah 1:2 By taking away I will make an end and I will utterly consume and sweep away all things from the face of the earth, says the Lord.
2 Peter 3:7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been stored up (reserved) for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly people.
Whilst this scripture in Zephaniah relates more directly to the Nation of Israel, it relates to us as Spiritual Israel. And we have seen how prophesies relating to the Jews have been fulfilled unerringly, so why should we expect to bypass the truth that Father would share with us?
If you would allow me to paraphrase 2 Peter 3:1 it would say, “WE SHOULD REMEMBER PAST WORDS ABOUT THE FUTURE”
The prophecy is generally concerned with Israel and their behaviour but on reflection there are direct parallels that identify us and the church at large today. Let us start with the crux of this excursion, there are 5 CONDITIONS identified:-
Zephaniah 1:6 And those who have
(1) DRAWN BACK from following the Lord and those who have
(2) NOT SOUGHT the Lord nor
(3) INQUIRED FOR,
(4) INQUIRED OF, and
(5) REQUIRED the Lord [as their first necessity].
Do you think God must get disgusted with the mickey mouse Christians who use His name but not His resources? (M and M’s!!!)
Psalm 14:2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any who understood, dealt wisely, and sought after God, inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him [of vital necessity].
There are 2 different types of people here, the “drawn back” ones and then the “disinterested ones”, those who have never put the effort in that is required, that is, TO PUT THE LORD IN FIRST PLACE. There is another word for IMPORTANCE and that is “GOD FIRST”. See what happens”-
Zephaniah 1:2 By taking away I will make an end and I will utterly consume and sweep away all things from the face of the earth, says the Lord.
Just some background as to what has brought this situation in Israel to a head. This is a sad revelation of the moral condition of Jerusalem in the days of the prophet. Such corruption amongst a people who had such religious privileges, and in the very scene where the temple stood, it shows the wonderful forbearance of God and the terrible perversity of the human heart! It also reveals the condition of our own age, that is, we are a fallen people.
The corruption of Israel is no different in the outcome to that which applies to verse two. The “Lukewarm” person – – who can hardly be called “Christian” which means “Christlike”, will cause God a fit of the vomitus.
To identify the sequence of Zephaniah will be helpful: –
1 Verse 1 – 3 God will destroy sin from the earth
2 Verse 4 a God will destroy the people of Jerusalem
3 Verse 4B – 6 God will destroy all idols
If you want to see how degenerate Judah was at that time a quick read of 2 Kings 21 provides a commentary that under Manasseh’s rule they had deteriorated beyond belief. In fact, Manasseh came to his senses to some degree in:-
2 Chronicles 33:10-20 “THE LORD SPOKE TO MANASSEH AND TO HIS PEOPLE, BUT THEY WOULD NOT HEARKEN. So the Lord brought against them the commanders of the host of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks and in fetters and brought him to Babylon. When he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God (does this not remind you of Jonah, who cried out in his distress in the belly of the fish? .. comments mine) and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to Him, and God, entreated by him, heard his supplication and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. THEN MANASSEH KNEW THAT THE LORD IS GOD. (We have been given an easier route at the moment as we reflect on Psalm 46:10, but do we have to endure affliction because, like Manasseh and his people, “we would not hearken” …. Comments mine) And he built an outer wall to the City of David west of Gihon in the valley, to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and ran it around Ophel, raising it to a very great height; and he put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities of Judah. And he took away the foreign gods and the idol out of the house of the Lord and all the altars that he had built on the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. And he restored the Lord’s altar (in OT times the altar was the celebration of sacrifice – it restored God’s people from their digressions — so do we need to “repair our altars, our hearts? …. Comments mine) and sacrificed on it offerings of peace and of thanksgiving; and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. YET THE PEOPLE STILL SACRIFICED IN THE HIGH PLACES, but only to the Lord their God. (Manasseh could not carry the reformation so far as he had carried the corruption … comments mine
It is strange to see how madly this people ran after the lying vanities of the Gentiles, after they had received such manifold and undeniable proofs of the power, wisdom, and goodness of a living God, who was present with them; after so many laws enacted against idolatry, so many signal judgments inflicted on them for falling into this sin, such a hedge set about them to keep them from mingling with other nations, in case they should learn their ways.
Idolatry is a not just a matter of graven images or icons, it is also heart pride, self-centeredness, greed gluttony, the love of possessions, defiance, etc. etc. all of which is rebellion against God. (Rebellion against God is actually idolatry – – “other gods before Him” – – He is not “First Necessity”.) All forms of modern idolatry have one thing as their core, and that is SELF. Does this have anything to do with APPLE naming their products “iPhone” and “iPad”? “I, My, Me, Mine, Want, Wish, Wallow” are all indications that “SELF” wants to dominate.
Everything we have has built in obsolescence, homes, finance, family, friends, foes, all have their “use by date”. Pride is another idol and this often takes the form of obsession with jobs and careers, families, houses, cars, ALL ARE IDOLS WHEN TOO MUCH IMPORTANCE IS ATTACHED, and so why do they occupy so much of our time when they have inbuilt obsolescence? They are not “FIRST NECESSITY”, nothing has changed from the injunction of scripture that says:
Matthew 6:33 BUT SEEK (AIM AT AND STRIVE AFTER) FIRST OF ALL His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.
Ecclesiastes 2:21-23 For here is a man whose labor is with WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE and SKILL; yet to a man who has NOT TOILED FOR IT (in the vernacular he is a “bludger” … comments mine) he must leave it all as his portion. (he leaves it, probably not very willingly … comments mine) This also is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility) and a great evil! For what has a man left from all his labor and from the striving and vexation of his heart in which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are but pain and sorrow, and his work is a vexation and grief; his mind takes no rest even at night. This is also vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility)!
So let us come back now to the present time for an example and its relation to Zephaniah. Much is made today both in the political arena and the conservation movement of the doctrine of “Climate Change”. This concentration and fixation about changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, holes in the ozone, carbon emissions et cetera et cetera have become an idolatrous obsession in some quarters. Mr. Rudd (a previous Australian Prime Minister) failed at his attempt to perpetuate this matter in Copenhagen, now we are to have another shot at it in Paris shortly. (See the article by Jonathan Pearlman, Tony Abbot’s business advisory chairman at this web address the <www. Telegraph.co.uk/news/australiaandthepacific/Australia/11591193/Australia-PM-advisor-says-climate-change-a-UN-led-ruse.html>
What men don’t recognise is that GOD IS GOING TO DESTROY THE EARTH, He doesn’t need man’s assistance, nor would He accept it, He is quite able to destroy that which He has made, “His glory he will not share with another.” In the meantime He has control over every star, every breath we breathe, and on a more mundane level, He has even told the sea that it cannot cross the barriers in the sand that He has set.
Jeremiah 5:22 Do you not fear and reverence Me? says the Lord. Do you not tremble before Me? I placed the sand for the boundary of the sea, a perpetual barrier beyond which it cannot pass and by an everlasting ordinance beyond which it cannot go? And though the waves of the sea toss and shake themselves, yet they cannot prevail [against the feeble grains of sand which God has ordained by nature to be sufficient for His purpose]; though [the billows] roar, yet they cannot pass over that [barrier]. [Is not such a God to be reverently feared and worshiped?] (This is not realised or recognised by man, otherwise he would “Fear, Tremble before the God of the universe, and not be concerned with the climate but the “Climate Controller”!!!) I would reinforce that God doesn’t need any help, He holds the universe in His hands, and us in His sights.
I raise this point to show the certainty of Zephaniah’s prophecy.
Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord; that is My name! And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images.
WE HAVE TO HAVE AN AVERSION TO IDOLS NO MATTER WHAT THEY CONSIST OF. And so Zephaniah goes on to bring the message of pending judgment upon all the world, and upon Judah in particular, and as we proceed, for those in this generation who come under the scrutiny of God’s all-consuming eye. So Zephaniah says:-
Zephaniah 1:2 By taking away I will make an end and I will utterly consume and sweep away all things from the face of the earth, says the Lord.
Sounds like pretty serious climate change is on Father’s agenda!! Micah takes up a similar theme.
Micah 7:13 Yet shall the earth be desolate because of those who dwell in it, for the fruit of their doings. (Their “doings” become their “undoing’s” .. comments mine)
Our focus should not be on worshipping any environment, whether it be the ecological environment, or our own little sphere, or any other created or manufactured thing, OUR CONCENTRATION SHOULD BE ON LIVING HOLY LIVES, so that our expectation is not constrained by earthly things but we should be launching ourselves with fervent propulsion to reach for that heavenly grandeur, and do it in the midst of the day to day turmoil.
2 Peter 3:11 Since all these things are thus IN THE PROCESS (in other words, God is still about His business, His plans are still being implemented, His purpose can never be aborted, despite my remonstrations or objections …. comments mine) of being dissolved, WHAT KIND OF PERSON OUGHT [EACH OF] YOU TO BE [in the MEANWHILE] (or during the “PROCESS … comments mine) in consecrated and holy behaviour and devout and godly qualities, (some of that “DISSOLVING” is the expenditure of our life, no matter how young or old we are, your life is “melting away” so we need to check “What kind of person we ought to be” … comments mine)
(Old Testament)
Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD
(New Testament)
2 Peter 3:14 So, beloved, since you are expecting these things, BE EAGER (this is different to “be bothered” … comments mine) to be found by Him [at His coming] without spot or blemish and at peace [in serene confidence, free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts].
Zephaniah goes on to describe an event with which we have some insight, and now have archeological proof of the occurrence and proof of the prophecy. Recently I have been looking at Jonah and the manner in which he behaved and also the manner in which he was delivered, and so when I read this verse in Zephaniah it became more interesting still.
Zephaniah 2:13 And [the Lord] will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria AND WILL MAKE NINEVEH A DESOLATION, dry as the desert. (Has this not happened?)
So let me give you some background on Nineveh so that when we come back to Zephaniah 1:6 we can see the seriousness of the charges laid in that verse for today and if we want to evidence our “Aversion to Idols”.
The historical city of Nineveh is just across the Tigris River from a city now called “Mosul”. This city has been in the news regularly of late due to the fact that the Islamic group ISIS has been rampaging through this region over the last 12 months or so and Mosul was considered a critical city.
Nineveh now consists of two mounds, but these mounds covered such significant and numerous historical relics. In fact Nineveh was so laid waste that it was considered a total myth of the Bible throughout most of the recent centuries, that is until it was discovered by Sir Austen Layard in the nineteenth century. The site of ancient Nineveh was extensively excavated and its occupational levels reach far back to the beginning of civilization, in fact to 6000 BC.
The discoveries at the site of ancient Nineveh were breathtaking. Austen Henry Layard excavated the Kuyunjik Mound (Nineveh) in 1847, unearthing the magnificent royal residence of King Sennacherib in 1849 with its 71 rooms and the incredible sculptured walls. He also unearthed the palace and famous library of Ashurbanipal with its 22,000 inscribed clay tablets.
The population was “120,000 children who couldn’t tell their right hand from the left”, so this 120,000 were the tiny tots, and an estimate has been made of the population that it was 6 million. Jonah indicates that it took 3 days to walk around the city, it had a wall that was 16 metres high, and 15 metres wide at the top, and 3 chariots could drive along side by side on the top of the wall …. Some city of consequence.
Now why do I give you this background, well let us proceed to:-
Zephaniah 2:13 And [the Lord] will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria and will make Nineveh a desolation, dry as the desert.
If we today, can stand on the site of Nineveh, and see that the prophecy of Zephaniah came true, and even more so now, because in February 2015, the ISIS group went in and destroyed the excavations and historical relics, so that the destruction was not just historical but continual, then we must be alarmed at the content of Zephaniah 1:6, and this is where the crunch comes, this is the challenge.
Zephaniah 1:6 And those who have drawn back from following the Lord and those who have not sought the Lord nor inquired for, inquired of, and required the Lord [AS THEIR FIRST NECESSITY]. (The context here is that the Lord is going to destroy everything, that is everything that is not identified with Him … comments mine) The BBE version says, “And those who are turned back from going after the Lord, and those who have not made prayer to the Lord or got directions from him. “
“Turned back” These are people now who are half-hearted, and to be half-hearted infers that we are double minded, so that we do not serve God in entirety. And double mindedness leads to total instability, and that instability pervades everything, not just our relationship to the Lord, but EVERYTHING
James 1:14-16 But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, (or turned back … comments mine) enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). (or turned back … comments mine) Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death. Do not be misled, my beloved brethren.
“Those who don’t seek the Lord” These are people who do not totally reject the Lord or engage in gross sin or neglect — they like to think they are on good terms with the Lord, but live a blasé life, offering but lip service to their profession of faith —- they have that warmth that makes God spew, they sort of have their preferences, which is really nice word for idols, they rely on the horses and chariots of Egypt when they need help, instead of relying on the Lord.
Whatever happened to the people of 2 Peter 1, those “expending every effort”, being diligent et cetera, those who know to “Strive to enter the straight gate”?
2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, (What is the reason? “so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay”, this is what happened to Israel, they developed “moral decay”, or were rotten) adding your diligence [to the divine promises] (in more mundane terms, “Pull our weight in the relationship … comments mine) EMPLOY EVERY EFFORT in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence),
“Or Get His directions”. (BBE Version) On a mundane level, I don’t go anywhere without my Tomtom GPS, Qantas flights never take off before they have an established flight plan, ships captains always have their charts in front of them, if you visit a new town or new shopping centre you visit the information centre, if you build a house you get advice from the architect et cetera.
But there are those who call themselves “Followers of Christ” but they never consult with him as to where He is going, even though He has incited us to “come and keep on coming”. If we “hang back” like those in category (B) we may find that God moves too fast for us. There is a cliché that says, “Time waits for no man”, so why should God, but thankfully he does.
Isaiah 30:18(A) And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits (maybe even “ANXIOUSLY WAITS” ) [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you (But the Word never says how long He will wait, so we should not test His patience … comments mine)
BUT:-
Genesis 6:3 Then the Lord said, My Spirit shall not forever dwell and strive with man, for he also is flesh; but his days shall yet be 120 years. This comment is recorded back in Genesis, so do we have much left of God’s patience?
James 4:14 Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air]. (or in the “PROCESS OF DISSOLVING” 2 Peter 3:11 … comments mine)
The directions, when sought, may come from many sources, but the initial, intermediate and final test of ANY direction is “Does it line up with the Word of God?” In Old Testament times we saw the office of the “foretelling prophet”, how often we read “and the word of the Lord came to”.
A great example is found in 2 Kings 6:8 – 12, as follows:-
2 Kings 6:8-12 When the king of Syria was warring against Israel, after counselling with his servants, he said, In such and such a place shall be my camp. Then the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that you pass not such a place, for the Syrians are coming down there. Then the king of Israel sent to the place of which [Elisha] told and warned him; and thus he protected and SAVED HIMSELF THERE REPEATEDLY. Therefore the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing. He called his servants and said, Will you show me who of us is for the king of Israel? (or in other words, who is leaking the information, who is dobbing on us?) One of his servants said, None, my lord O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber.
The story goes on to describe how Elisha WENT OUT EARLY, setting a good pattern for us, and he could see the horses and chariots roundabout but his servants couldn’t, so he is prayer was “open their eyes”.
But that era has passed and we now look forward the “Forth telling Prophet”, the expounder of God’s Word. I am not sure how the church will handle things when the Word is delivered “like a fire and a hammer” (Jeremiah 23:29) by those both preaching the Word and the individual reading of the Word, because there has been inadequate preparation for the journey, that is, “they failed to get directions” as described in Zephaniah 1:6
1 Chronicles 10:13-14 So Saul died for his trespass against the Lord [in sparing Amalek], for his unfaithfulness in not keeping God’s word, and also for consulting [a medium with] a spirit of the dead to inquire pleadingly of it, And inquired not so of the Lord [in earnest penitence]. Therefore the Lord slew him and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse. [I Sam. 28:6.]
Do you keep a “journal”, or as I like to call it “A KEY RING”, if so, so you go back and reflect on the little “gems” or “keys” that Father gives us as direction.
Just to provide an example, I am sure that Psalm 46:10 is a significant “key” that has been afforded us, and it should not just be left on the keyring, but needs to be used to open the door to the resources offered therein.
This week I was prompted to read 1 Chronicles and plowed through several chapters of genealogies, just to come to this verse I think: –
1 Chronicles 9:27 (NET) They (the gatekeepers) would spend the night in their posts (or “in their place” … comments mine) all around God’s sanctuary, for they were assigned to guard it and would OPEN IT WITH THE KEY EVERY MORNING
OTHER SCRIPTURES OF INTEREST
Ezekiel 24:14 I the Lord have spoken it; it shall come to pass and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I relent; according to your ways and according to your doings shall they judge and punish you, says the Lord God
Joshua 23:14 And behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. Know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one thing of them has failed.
1 Samuel 7:3 Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth [female deities] from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
Daniel 3:28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who believed in, trusted in, and relied on Him! And they set aside the king’s command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
2 Peter 1:21 For no prophecy ever originated because some man willed it [to do so–it never came by human impulse], but men spoke from God who were borne along (moved and impelled) by the Holy Spirit.
oOo
Ross Smith 