The Righteous Judge Sunday School Lesson

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The Righteous Judge Sunday School Lesson

Introduction

A. Moral Choices

in an Immoral SocietyA recent claim of some genetic researchers isthat the DNA of men is programmed for infi-delity. In other words, the males of the humanspecies are not created in the image of God butare more like bread mold, which exists to spreadits spores everywhere.

If this were true, then the Bible's teachingabout confining sexual activity to marriagewould seem to be fighting a losing battle againstthe irresistible forces of nature. While this maybe welcome news to some in our society, it contradicts the picture of morality found in theBible.

Is there such a thing as biblical morality? Theanswers to this question range from yes, to notreally, to who cares? Increasingly, there are largesegments of the population that want to get awayfrom moral versus immoral distinctions. Theyprefer to see things from an amoral perspective—a perspective that does not recognize any ab-solute standards of right and wrong. Underamorality, what may seem wrong to one personbecomes enjoyable and right to another. Thisworldview is becoming more common, evenwithin the church.

Yet the Christian who believes that the teach-ings of the Bible are from God will never be com-fortable with attempts to paint morality a neutralgray. If we come from the perspective of biblicalmorality, then amoral = immoral, a violation ofGod's standards. We seek to live as God's peoplein a society that does not recognize God. We aremoral people in an immoral world.

In the ancient world there were plenty of peo-ple who rejected God's standards, even withinGod's chosen people of Israel. God continuallyraised up prophets to proclaim His demands forjustice and righteousness. The prophets' call forreform was accompanied by a dire warning: Godwould not allow wickedness to go unpunishedforever. There would be a day when the righteouswould be rewarded and the evil would be purged.Zephaniah was the ideal prophet for this message.

B. Lesson Background

King Josiah was the last righteous king to rulein Jerusalem be Lion of the city bye :a •y onians. He reigned from about 640 to6-09 rlc. J.TLAO... odes that there was "no kiWlie ore him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, . . . neither after him arose there any likehim" (2 Kings 23i2,5).

joss canto the throne under ver

years an

This brought Josiahto become king at age 8 (2 Kings 22:1).

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res onsiblmany re-

v•ntuall wforms in Judah. While Josiah was Icing„_lialciahthe hi•h •riest found the bookjaw while

making repairstemp. j

oo as the basisand his thatpurged Judah of its pagan prac.bled thethe worship of God (see 2 Kings 23:24)., These reforms "didn't take," however. Theyonly delayed the downward spiral of Judah.battle with the Egyptiansabout 608 BC 12 Kings 23:29). His successorswere not of his moral stature, and God allowedthe Babylonians to dominate Judah. The creamOffhe crop of Hebrew young men (10755.inel)was carried into captivity. Eventually the city ofJerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC, roughly 20 years after the death of Josiah.Zephaniah was one of the three great prophets of the last days of Jeri'. ,Th—Un efore its destruc-tion. The other two Habakkuk and Jeremiah,grill be studFieedd niirh b e-.causeproetantls deep sin. A' o ufthough eplZ17!:Lal;the time o''ffly ref ,orins,he saw the corning emise of Judah alter t osereforms were rejected. But Zephaniahn also gave aeicture 0 s uture restoration.

Zephaniah was a spokesman for the concept ofthe y of the Lord, a future point in time .when

nesn:ernrh7reirfully to punish wicfked-o . oe duay othe

ford bound fulfillment inNeehiustsorT-Trdawithe an return but a so oo s orwar o Itife--day of God's final judgment of all humanity

I. God Sees Moral Filth(Zephaniah 3:1-5)

Nations do not rise above the moral level setby their leaders. Under Manasseh, wickednessflourished among the people of God and perme-ated every aspect of the society.

Unrighteousness was not confined to religiouspractices. It extended to business practices andto the integrity of public leaders. This was themoral situation that confronted the reformerking, namely Josiah. It is a situation into whichGod's prophet Zephaniah speaks.

A. Polluted, Disobedient City (vv. 1, 2)

1. Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, tothe oppressing city!

A. As such, a woe is enplivalpnt too curse.

Jerusalem is not the"holy city." Indeed, it is characterized by moralfilth and by oppressing mistreatment of its citi-zens by the rulers.

2.She obeyed not the voice: she received notcorrection; she trusted not in the Lord; she drewnot near to her God.Zephaniah outlines fouluer chargesagainst Jerusalem: general disohedieneekertmotheacetfrrectián, lack of trust in God, and-Willfathahapclonment of relationship with God.All of these accusations hit home with the soci-ety fostered by King Manasseh; for half of a cen-tury, he had led Jerusalem away from the Lord.How faith survived in persons these three persons, Hikiah, Josiah, and Zephaniah is a testimony to theprovidential power of God.

B. Haughty, Profane Priests & Prophets (v. 4)4.

Her prophets are light and treacherous per-sons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary,they have done violence to the law.

After indicting the government leaders, Zeph-aniah turns his attention to the ridigions leadersthe prophets and priests. A prophet in the OldT tar erson who gives accu-rte_predictions of the future. Prop in s are pr2,marilv tasked with demanding repentance fromthe people of God and calling out for justice and tightnonsnec, in the nation Zephaniah is uncon-cerned as to whether or not the prophets of hisday know the future. the condemns them be-cause their words aremeaning something like "arrogant recklessness."

They are in cahoots with those who profit fromsins, and this has stilled their tongues-1767n

The priests are responsible for the purity ofJudah's religious practices, particularly in theJerusalem temple. Yet they had stood silently (oreven cooperated) when Manasseh had defiledthe temple by building altars to pagan godswithin its courts (2 Kings 21:4, 5). Zephaniahsees this as more than mere neglect..kallowing,_od's house to be s iritu ishave one vio ence to the law. __-These priestsfi--irr57i God's covenant-bookout of the heart of Israel and hidde from thepeople. This is seen by the fact that during thereign of Josiah the high priest "fund" the bookof the law in the temple (2 Kings,22:3-23:3). Thiswould be like someone "finding" a copy of theConstitution of the United States (or any othercountry) after 50 years of neglect.

Zephaniah implies that the 'losing" of the lawwas not an accident. It was planned deliberately.The only surprising detail is thât it had not beendestroyed altogether, to disakiear without atrace. (See question #2, pag,,,

C. Righteous, Unfailing judge 41.1(z. 5)

Shame is a powerful influence for social control. A.shamed person has acted inappropriately andbrought dishonor to himself or herself. Avoid-ance of public disgrace is a strong motivator.If, however, a person has become immune tofeelings of shame, then outrageous behavior car-ries no social stigma. A judge with no shame haslittle reason to act with integrity and justice. In-stead, favorable judgments are sold to the highest.bidder. The immorality of judicial corruption be-comes amoral and a matter of opportunity. [Seequestion #4, page 390.1

God will not stand for this. Injustice is alwaysinjustice, no matter who the defendant is. Dis-honesty from the bench of the judge is particu-larly grievous to the Lord.

II. God Punishes Corruptor - (Zephaniak3,6;11)

The_facus_now-Iffifts to the future activity ofGod. At the time of Zephaniah, it may seem as ifJosiah's reforms had put the nation back ontrack. Yet the prophet Jeremiah, Zephaniah'scontemporary, revealed that the sins of Manas-seh were so deep and pervasive that God had al-ready made the decision to cleanse Judahthrough the exile to Babylon (see Jeremiah 15:4).The downfall of Jerusalem is coming. It is just amatter of time.

A. Coming Destruction (v. 6)

6. I have cut off the nations: their towers aredesolate; I made their streets waste, that nonepasseth by: their cities are destroyed, so thatthere is no man, that there is none inhabitant.God first reminds the people that He has actedin the past to wipe out evil nations, including thenorthern kingdom of Israel. Such lands were de-populated, and their grand buildings becamerubble. Today, the Near East is full of ruins ofdead civilizations. Once thriving cities lie underlayers of did and waste.

SCORCHED EARTH

Occasionally an invading army will follow apolicy of scorched earth: this means to inflictutter devastation. This is a policy that ancientRome eventually followed in dealing with itsmajor rival Carthage.

These two rivals clashed in three conflictsknown as the Punic Wars. The first war (264-241et;) began as a squabble over Sicily, where bothRome and Carthage had colonies. The secondwar (218-202 ec) began in Spain, where bothpowers again had interests.

Despite the brilliant tactics of Hannibal,Carthage's general, the Romans ultimately pre-vailed in that second war. Yet Carthage eventu-ally proved to be an economic and militarythreat to Rome yet again. The Roman statesmanCato ended every speech in the Senate by declar-ing, "Carthage must be destroyed."

In the third war (149-146 tic), Rome attackedthe city of Carthage directly. The army wentfrom house to house, systematically slaughteringthe citizens. The city was demolished, and saltwas sown into the ground to render it infertile.Carthage became a desolate site.

The Punic Wars had not yet been fought whenZephaniah wrote. Yet that prophet was wellaware of what God's plans of scorched,orthwould mean for various stations, puticularlyJudah. It is a sobering policy, andetii Have youread Revelation 8:7 recently?

B. Persistent- Corruption (v. 7)

7. I said-,-Surely, thou wilt fear me, thou wiltreceive instruction; so their dwelling should not-be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but theyrose early, and corrupted all their doings.

od's am wi 1 I •evident here. No inattinuaireui444-4.44.444415.3-erholy persistent His prophets, judalLias...,watin-u to i woe God's leadin s. Zthe startling picture o an inability to sleep latedue to the de ' e tot•e worklmsf co wtwir.Lki...du.e...s.

What must God do to gel our attentinn7 Weare ieriTirlde of Jesus' parable of the wicked ten-ants (Mark 12:1-9). In this story, the owner is un-able to get the rent payment from those whohave leased his vineyard. Servants who are sentto collect are abused, even killed. In an act ofutter exasperation, the owner sends his son, say-ing, "They will reverence my son."

Yet they kill the son too, leading the vineyardowner to come and destroy them. This pattern isfound elsewhere in the Bible and still has appli-cation today. SoinetimesGod uses_ ydraordi c' us frobest there are those for whom no amount of pad->' from the Lord will turn Thernj,..L1Lom,lhcir deserved destruction.

III. God Restores His People(Zephaniah 3:8, 9)

Zephaniah pictures God as the ultimate forcebehind the rise and fall of nations. Greek,Roman, British, Russian—history is littered withempires that have collapsed and disappeared, in-cluding the kingdom of Judah.

A. Waiting on God's Wrath (v. 8)

8. Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD,until the day that I rise up to the prey: for mydetermination is to gather the nations, that Imay assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon themmine indignation, even all my fierce anger: forall the earth shall be devoured with the lire ofmy jealousy.

The picture of God gathering the nationsshows Zephaniah's understanding of God'smighty power. The Lord God is not just the Godof Israel. He is the one God and the master ofevery human government.

God's motivation for national destruction ispictured here as red-hot jealousy. This is not thepetty jealousy of a girlfriend who observes herboyfriend looking at another girl for a little toolong. This is the righteous jealousy of the wrathof God. He is unwilling to share devotion withany man-made gods and false religions (Exodus34:14). Why should He? There is no other God!

B. Serving God in Unity (v. 9)

9. For then will I turn to the people a purelanguage, that they may all call upon the nameof the Lois, to serve him with one consent.

From this litany of wrath and destructionemerges a bright ray of hope. Zephaniah looksforward to a restoration of the unity of humanityunder God. He sees three specific elements.First, there will be a pure language. This is animage of atoning for sin (compare Isaiah 6:5-7) orpurity of worship (compare Psalms 16:4; Hosea2:17). Second, there will be a united effort to callupon the some of the Lord. This is a way of refer-ring to worship from the earliest days of human-ity (Genesis 4:26). Unity of worship eliminatesanyone calling upon a false god (see 1 Kings18:24)( this ties in to the purity of worship idea.Third, humanity will serve God with one con-sent. The idea of serve includes worship; numer-ous assages place the two concepts alongside onethey as almost inseparable ideas (Daniel 3:28;uke 4:8; etc.). True believers will serve and wor-ship God in unity. (See question #6. page 390.)

UNITY IN SERVICE

Thomas Campbell (1763-1854) had a burningdesire for the union of all Christians under thesimple authority of the New Testament. Born innorthern Ireland, as a young man he joined a de-nomination that reflected many of the sectariandivisions then rife in the British Isles. ThomasCampbell became an Old Light, Anti-Burgher,Seceder Presbyterian, Protestant kind of a Chris-tian. He immigrated to America in 1807, hopingto find an atmosphere that would foster unity.Campbell was rebuffed by his denomination.So in 1809 he and some friends formed the Chris-tian Association of Washington. Campbell wroteits constitution and bylaws, "Declaration and Ad-dress." In this document he laid out some generalprinciples that would guide their activities.

His first proposition was that "the church ofChrist on earth is essentially, intentionally, andconstitutionally one." All divisions, he con-tended, came either from neglecting part of God'sWord or adding human teaching on top of Scrip-ture. He believed that if everyone accepted theteachings of Scripture and followed the prece-dents of the New Testament church—no moreand no less—then we could have unity.

Today Campbell's spiritual descendants stilltry to follow his twin commitments to Christianunity and scriptural authority. The dream ofCampbell is similar to the vision of Zephaniah.That prophet foresaw a time when the peoplewould speak a pure language, turn to the Lord,and serve Him in unity. It is an ideal that is yetto be realized.

Conclusion

A. The Mighty Day of the Lord

Zephaniah has been called the prophet of theday of the Lord. That phrase occurs several timesin his little book.

The day of the Lord is a concept with strongbiblical roots (see Isaiah 2:12; Joel 2:31 [quoted inActs 2:20]; Obadiah 15; and Zechariah 14:1 for afew examples). Old Testament prophets foresawthis as a future day when God would intervene inhistory to punish evil and reward righteousness.This was accomplished in an unexpected waywhen Israel and Judah both suffered destructionat the hand of foreign invaders.

That destruction was only what we call a "type"of the ultimate day of the Lord, however. In theNew Testament it is synonymous with Christ'ssecond coming (1 Thessalonians 5:2). The New Tes.tament authors see this as a day of finality,when there will be a destruction of heavens andearth (2 Peter 3:10). This too will be a pouring outof the wrath of God (see Revelation 6:17).

The day of the Lord can be either terrifying orcomforting, depending on one's relationship toGod. May we, as believers, take comfort in theassurance that God sees us as righteous becauseof the blood of Jesus. We have nothing to fear.

B. Prayer

God of all nations, we pray for the day whenour speech will become pure, and we will wor-ship You with one voice. We pray this in thename of Jesus, our soon and coming king, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

God is always righteous.whether in punishment or deliverance.

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