Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds. Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us. Truths unchanged from the dawn of time that will echo down through eternity. And my grace will stand on your promises, And my faith will walk as you walk with us. Speak, O Lord, till your church is built, And the earth is filled with your glory. Amen. People of God, we turn again to Zephaniah, right around page 1,000 in most of the Pew Bibles. We will read the whole second chapter today, although we'll be particularly focused on 4 to 10-11. But we'll read all of chapter 2 Again, it's probably easiest to find Matthew and work backwards. Matthew chapter 1 and then you just flip a few pages back and you get to Zephaniah. People of God, let us hear the Word of God. Zephaniah chapter 2. beginning at verse one. Gather together, yes, gather, oh shameless nation, before the decree takes effect, before the day passes away like chaff, before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord. Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land who do his just commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord. For Gaza will be deserted and Ashkelon shall become like a desolation. Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon and Akron shall be uprooted. Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites. The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left. And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures with meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks. The Seekers shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah on which they shall graze and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening for the Lord their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes. I have heard the taunts of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my people and made boasts against their territory. Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them. This shall be their lot in return for their pride, because they taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of hosts. The Lord will be awesome against them, and he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations. You also, O Cushites, shall be slain by my sword. And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert. Herds shall lie down in her midst, all kinds of beasts, even the owl and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals. A voice shall hoot in the window. Devastation will be on the threshold, for her cedar work will be laid bare. This is the exultant city that lived securely, that said in her heart, I am and there is no one else. What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild beasts. Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist. So far, the reading of God's holy word Dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the promise made to Abraham more than a millennia ago has already seen levels of fulfillment. And now the promise, the promise of the promised land is to be taken away as we see in chapter one. But this is not the end of the story. In fact, while there have been many layers of fulfillment through the history of Israel up to this time, there are yet more layers. There is even an eternal layer to this promise yet to be uncovered. When the people were done with their wilderness wanderings, They were called to come into the promised land. They were called to fully destroy all the Canaanites. There was to be no mercy. This was a special task of the people of God. They were instruments of judgment for God against the rebellious Canaanites. And while the land was conquered at that time, while there was that level of fulfillment, Joshua and many, the wilderness generation does come into the land, the daughters of Zelophehad, many others, they do come in, they do possess the land, but They do not fully conquer the land. They do not follow their orders. And so we would read in Judges chapter 2, right when we think the people have finally arrived, right when it looks like the The promise has been fulfilled. Abraham's descendants are in the promised land. But we read this in Judges chapter 2, Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bacchum, and he said, I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I will never break my covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You shall break down their altars. But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you. Instead of being the instruments of judgment as they were called to do at that time, the people of Israel have left the Philistines and others in the promised land and now they're going to be in their midst and there are going to be thorns in their sides and will even sway the hearts of the Israelites. But, after centuries, even millennia, the promised land will be fully conquered at last. And this will be the divine action of God. That is part of the very heart of what is going on here in chapter two. And so first we'll look at the destruction, the destruction that's delayed and deserved, but then we'll look at the remnant, which is rescued and restored. Before we get into the first point, though, let's step back again just for a moment and think about all of Chapter 2 and the context of the first two chapters, because Zephaniah 1 and Zephaniah 2 are quite different. We see strong words of judgment again, strong words of judgment that we'll consider, that certainly has something to teach us, but it's different than the language of judgment in Chapter 1. You see, in Chapter 1, The theme of judgment is that unrepentant Judah, Jerusalem, will be treated in the same way as the unrepentant nations. And so the language balances back and forth between the destruction of all mankind and the destruction of Jerusalem in particular. But then after that pivot, and it's no accident that 4 to 10 verses 4 to 10 of chapter 2 follow these first free first few verses after this after the words of repentance that pivot that begins chapter 2 after the words of repentance the theme of chapter 2 is quite different because no longer is it saying unrepentant Israel will be judged the same as the unrepentant nations but now the theme is The unrepentant nations will be judged, but there is a vast difference between the unrepentant nations and repentant Israel. You see, there's still words of judgment in chapter two, but the very theme is much different. There is now a contrast between the unrepentant nations and the people of God who have repented, who have sought the Lord, verse three. And so after verses 1, 2, and 3, seek the Lord, we see a description of the great blessing that does come to those who seek the Lord and the great difference between that blessing and the judgment against the nations. Now the judgment against the nations is it is abroad and it is and it is full and so we'll we'll even consider more lord willing next week There are four groups of nations in this whole chapter. The Philistines, the Moabites, and the Ammonites. We'll look at them more particularly soon. But also the Kushites and the Assyrians. And there's a fulsomeness there. There's the four points of the compass. The Philistines, to the east, the Moabites and the Ammonites to the west, the Assyrians to the north, the Kushites to the south. There's powerful nations, Assyria still being a major power of the world at this point, though they will soon be destroyed. There are weaker nations, the Moabites and the Ammonites are not some mighty nations. There are nations which are very near, the Philistines which even live among the people of Judah, and there are nations which are very far, the Kushites being Basically, in all of the Old Testament, the farthest away nation you can reference. So there is a fulsomeness going on in the description of the judgment, but we'll look particularly at the words of judgment against the Philistines and against the Moabites and Ammonites. And that does bring us to our first point, that this destruction is delayed and deserved. The nations should have known the Canaanites should have known and should have repented. The words of Rahab in Joshua 2 would speak of this. The Canaanites knew the might of God in destroying the Egyptians. The Canaanites knew the might of God in conquering the kings across the Jordan. And the Canaanites were trembling before the Israelites came because they knew this was a mighty God. But very few repented. Rahab did. Rahab repented. Rahab became an Israelite. But broadly speaking, these are nations in rebellion against God, and so they were to be destroyed. But again, it doesn't happen. The Israelites do not do it, but now the Lord Himself, the Lord Himself will finally do it. the end of verse 5, there will be no inhabitants left. It took a long time, but at last there will be no inhabitants left. The Philistines, the Moabites, the Ammonites, those who have been who have been that thorn in the side of the people of God. We could think of Psalm 60. We can turn there. It talks about both the Moabites and the Philistines, a psalm of victory for David. beginning at verse 7. And here the difference between the description of the people of God in verse 7 and those rebellious nations who are the thorn in the side of God's people in verse 8. Psalm 60 verse 7, a psalm of victory by David. Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine, Ephraim is my helmet, Judah is my scepter. This is what God has spoken, as it says at the beginning of verse 6. But then how are the four nations described in verse 8? Moab is my washbasin. Upon Edom I cast my shoe, or I stomp my foot upon Edom. Over Philistia I shout in triumph. These are nations that have been in rebellion and continue to be in rebellion. Again, we mentioned Rahab. We know that some did come. We know one by name. We know a Moabite who did repent during the course of the history of Israel. Ruth is a Moabitess, right? But this is not the general way. The general way is that these nations remain in rebellion and they are indeed a thorn in the side of the Israelites. And so, they will be destroyed at last. The end of verse 5, there will be no inhabitants left. The language of destruction in verse 4, Zephaniah once again would use a form of irony. The word for deserted in Hebrew is sounds almost identical to the word Geza. And so if we might give a flavor of it in English, it's something like a deserting town will be deserted. And then for the fourth city, we see something similar. Ekron, the word for Ekron sounds very similar to the Hebrew word for uprooted. So it's something like rootlessville will be uprooted. images of destruction. There will be nothing left. The Philistines have begun to lose some of their power. They were once considered a nation with five capitals. Now only four of the cities are mentioned. They're losing some of their power, but now the four cities that remain will also be destroyed. Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast. Verse 5, there will be no inhabitants left because the awesome Lord is against them. That's verse 11, which is the pivot point of this chapter. The four points of the compass, there will be judgment north, south, east, and west. Why? In the middle of all, verse 11, the Lord will be awesome against them. And then there is the description of the destruction of the Moabites and the Ammonites. They have taunted the people of God, the beginning of verse 8, and what will become of them. Verse 9, in the middle, Moab shall become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah. Now it's not a wordplay irony, but now it's a historical irony. Who remembers where the Moabites and the Ammonites came from? Do even some of our slightly older... It's not a Sunday school story that we teach in the very youngest grades, is it? No, the Moabites and the Ammonites are the descendants of the incestual relationship with Lot and his daughters. You see, those who escaped Sodom and Gomorrah will now become like Sodom and Gomorrah. Historical irony. Clear language of destruction. Now, the actual destruction of Moab and Ammon Other than prophecy, it's not recorded for us in scripture, but historians tell us that five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, the Babylonians would march just a little bit further over on the map and wipe out the Moabites and the Ammonites. The historians say the Babylonians did this. We know the Babylonians were puppets to accomplish the purpose of God. Now, there is a difference between the Philistines and the description of their destruction and the Moabites and the Ammonites. And the main difference is this, that the Philistines actually were Canaanites. We see that in the middle of verse 5, O Canaan, land of the Philistines. The Philistines were part of the Canaanites. And so what's going to happen when they're destroyed? When the Philistines are destroyed, since they're part of the promised land, Green pastures will be left. This is the key difference between these destructions that will lead us into our second point. When the Philistines are destroyed, green pastures are left. Now the Ammonites and the Moabites, they're taunting neighbors. They're just over the river. They're not actually in the promised land. So how is their destruction described? There will be salt pits and wasteland, the end of verse nine. And anything that's not a salt pit or a wasteland will be nettles, it'll be thorns. It is just gonna be a disaster. Why that difference? Why will the Philistines be destroyed and leave behind green pastures while the Moabites and Ammonites leave behind a wasteland? It is because the remnant is rescued and restored. See, this is very important. for us to know, because it helps us to understand how this applies to us, even in a very particular way. You see, it can be tempting to read the oracles of judgment against the nations and say, how does this apply to us? Okay, maybe we get the broad application that God judges sin, and we see that clearly, and we see it in many ways, and we do need to hear that in many ways. It's tempting to not hear that. But is there more? Is there more than that general application? Well, there is. And that's the difference between chapter 2 and chapter 1, because there's also restoration. There's also a reclaiming of the promised land, even an eternal claiming of the promised land. And so as we have this framework in place, we see the great difference between chapter 1 and chapter 2, and we see that there is a particular peaceful application for the people of God who do repent. Verse 3, seek the Lord. What happens when you seek the Lord? There is now this great difference. And people of God, the remnant is rescued and restored. In short, we have been focusing up to this point on how Jesus Christ is the mighty King who conquers all enemies. And now we turn our focus on how the Lord Jesus Christ is the great shepherd who leads his people beside still waters and green pastures. And that's what's going down. That's what's woven through. Yes, that they'll plunder the neighbors, right? They're plundering the Ammonites and the Moabites, but more particularly, the green pastures left behind in the wake of the destruction of the Philistines, those are the green pastures of the promised land and the people will possess it. The people will be restored to their fortunes. Verse seven, the remnants of the house of Judah. They shall graze. They shall lie down at evening. For the Lord their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes. This is much different than chapter 1. This is not judgment through decreation. This is reclaiming the promised land. People of God, you failed when you can. I still gave you the land. I still tore down the walls of Jericho, but you didn't fully conquer, and so you've had these thorns in your side, and you've had this taunting against you, and we see that all through the book of Judges, right, and also in the Kings. The Philistines come. They hamper the people of God. A judge is raised up and brings peace for a time. David has mighty victories over the Philistines, but they're still there, and Uzziah has to fight them later, That will be no more. Because now when I usher you into the promised land, there won't be any enemies. I am going to take care of it all. That's what God says. Now this can also be a great joy because You know, heaven is described in the book of Revelation as the great city. Heaven is described sometimes as the great temple. We see that description in the book of Ezekiel. And maybe if you're like me, you have this weakness where, okay, I'd like to be in the city sometimes. And, you know, great buildings can be cool sometimes. But in a moment of weakness, you hear these descriptions of heaven and you think, well, I'm not really a city boy. And so in short-sightedness and weakness, you might think, well, how great is heaven? It's just all these images of the city and the temple. And where are the fields and the rolling hills? That would be a moment of weakness, of course. We know that the images of scripture are only a small part of what heaven really is. But there are also images of heaven, which are not the greatest images of the perfect city, but the greatest images of the country, the greatest images of rural life, What's the description here? What could have been the title of our sermon if I had thought of it in time? The Pastures of Heaven Restored to God's People. You see, the promised land for the people of God is much better than any of the layers of fulfillment in the Old Testament. It's better than Abraham being buried in the promised land. It's better than the bones of Joseph being brought back to the promised land. It's better than the conquest of Joshua. It's better than the periods of peace with the judges. It's better than the high points of the dynasty of David. It's better than the return of the exiles with Ezra. The final perfect peace is ushered in by Jesus Christ himself. And really, this is not just speaking about the return of the exiles. The exiles will return after the Philistines and the Moabites and the Ammonites have been destroyed. But really, this is the heavenly pasture crossing over the Jordan. Land me safe on Canaan's side. Heaven is not just the great city. Heaven is not just the great temple. The images of heaven are the greatest city images and the greatest rural images. This is the pasture of peace for the people of God. The remnants of the house of Judah shall graze. They shall lie down at evening. Lord, lead me beside still waters and green pastures. all those who hear and seek the Lord." Verse 3. Your portion is verse 6 and verse 7. And it's also that the revilers will be plundered. And we know there's reviling, do we not? We not only see false worship all around us, a thorn in the side of the people of God, we also more and more in the nation of the United States in 2019 are hearing the tauntings of the people of God, are we not? God's people have heard that in many ways, in many different places. It's still heard more fiercely in many parts of the world than it is heard here. But we hear the taunting of the people of God, do we not? Those who would revile, those who would speak against God and speak against God's people. They will be plundered. And the survivors of my nation shall possess all that they have, the end of verse nine. Now it is a remnant. We might say only a remnant. That's what the word remnant means. The rebellion of man is such that even the nation of Judah will not turn to God to seek Him in great numbers. And so that word remnant, it is a reminder Even that word by itself, it's a reminder of both the justice and the mercy of God. There will be many in Jerusalem who are judged. There is a just judgment of God. But I will have survivors. I will hold a remnant forever. That's the language of the promise. If we go all the way back to Genesis 13, this has always been a forever promise. Genesis 13, verses 14 and 15. The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward. Here are the four points of the compass. For the land that you see, I will give to you and to your offspring forever. It has always been a forever promise. And Zosephaniah is not the only prophet that would speak of this. Obadiah, a smaller prophet, not often read. What are the last few verses of Obadiah? Verse 20 and 21. The exiles of the host of the people of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath. and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the Negev. Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." It is a forever kingdom. It is the kingdom of the Lord. God will establish His kingdom. The kingdom of God shall be populated by His people. The forever promised land, free of all oppression, free of all taunting. God will restore the kingdom. It will not be an empty place. As the Apostle says in 2 Timothy 2, the Lord knows those who are His. What does it say in that same verse? Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. Turning from wickedness. Seek the Lord. Zephaniah 2 verse 3. And then this possession is yours. The promised land. of peaceful pastures. Amen. Let us pray. Lord God Almighty, we rejoice that though we are prone to rebellion, you are quick to rescue your remnant And we rejoice that your promises are forever promises. And we wait for the eternal, forever promised land. And those pastures to be led by the great shepherd, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen. People of God, standing if able to sing song 234, our song of application this morning, all the stanzas of 234. so so Ancient of everlasting days and God of love. ♪ Of all the greats I am ♪ ♪ My earth and heaven confess ♪ ♪ I bow and bless the sacred name forever blest ♪ ♪ The God of Abraham praised ♪ ♪ And whose son bring compassion ♪ and seek my joys at his right hand. I will on earth forsake his chrism, fame, and power, and in my only portion make my shield and tower. He by himself hath sworn and sing the wonders of his grace forever. ♪ In peace and plenty blest ♪ ♪ A land of sacred liberty and endless rest ♪ ♪ Where milk and honey flow ♪ ♪ And oil and wine abound ♪ ♪ And trees of life forever blest ♪ righteousness, triumphant o'er the world, and sin not prince of peace. On Zion's sacred height, his kingdom he maintains, and glories with his saints in life ♪ Thanks to God on high ♪ Hail Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ They ever cry ♪ Hail Abram's blood and vine ♪ I join the heavenly lays ♪ All might and majesty are thine Amen people of God it is now time for our gifts our Offerings for this morning this morning as for the general fund following that benediction and the doxology number 567 Yeah. Please stay seated. We do have the reading of the preparatory form. Page 37, the Forms and Prayers book. We'll read page 37 and 38, and Lord willing, pick up at page 39 as we celebrate the Lord's Supper next Sunday, Lord willing. Forms and Prayers book, page 37. Dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us give full attention to the words of the institution of the Holy Supper of our Lord as they are delivered by the Apostle Paul. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body which is for you, do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. that we may now celebrate the Supper of the Lord to our comfort, it is necessary to examine ourselves fully and further to consider carefully that purpose for which Christ ordained and instituted the sacrament, namely His remembrance. The true examination of ourselves consists of three parts. First, let everyone carefully consider their sins and ungodliness, that they may hate their sins and humble themselves before God, considering that the wrath of God against sin is so great that He, rather than leaving it unpunished, has punished it in His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, with the bitter and shameful death of the cross. Second, let everyone examine their heart to see whether they also believe the sure promise of God that all their sins are forgiven only because of the passion and death of Jesus Christ, and that the complete righteousness of Christ is imputed and freely given to them as their own. Indeed, so completely as if they had personally satisfied for all their sins and fulfilled all righteousness. Third, let everyone carefully examine their own conscience to see if they are fully determined to show true thankfulness to God in every area of life, and to walk sincerely before His face, and whether they, with full sincerity, strive to lay aside all enmity, hatred, and envy, and earnestly resolve from this day forward to live with their neighbor in true love and unity. all those then who are of this mind, God will certainly receive in grace and count as worthy partakers of the table of His Son, Jesus Christ. On the contrary, those who do not sincerely believe this testimony in their hearts eat and drink judgment unto themselves according to the command of Christ and the Apostle Paul. Those who know themselves to be engaging in the following sins without repentance have no part in the kingdom of Christ and should therefore abstain from coming to the table of the Lord. Idolaters, those who call upon deceased saints, angels, or any other creature, those who revere images, those who engage in witchcraft, fortune-telling, occult practices, or other forms of superstition, all those who despise God, His Word, and His holy sacraments, all blasphemers, those who seek to cause discord, factions, and dissension in the church or in the state, all perjurers, all who are disobedient to their parents and those in lawful authority, all murderers, contentious people, and those who live in hatred and envy against their neighbors, all adulterers, fornicators, drunkards, thieves, the greedy, robbers, gamblers, covetous people, and all who lead offensive lives. All those who continue in such sins shall abstain from the Lord's Supper, so that they feel the weight of God's judgment and condemnation. But this warning is not intended to discourage those believers with contrite hearts, as if no one might come to the Lord's Table unless they are without sin. We do not come to this Supper to testify about our own perfection and righteousness, but on the contrary, we come seeking life in Jesus Christ Christ apart from ourselves. We come confessing our misery, admitting that we have many shortcomings, and do not have perfect faith. We also confess that we do not serve God with sufficient zeal, but that we must struggle daily with the weakness of our faith and struggle against the evil lusts of our flesh. However, the grace of the Holy Spirit makes us sorry for our shortcomings, gives us the desire to live according to God's commandments, and helps us to fight against unbelief. Therefore, we can rest assured that no sin or weakness that still remains in us against our will can prevent us from being received by God's grace and from being made worthy partakers of this heavenly food and drink. People of God, now may we stand and hear God's benediction. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. all creatures you you