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The prophet Zephaniah was born during the reign of King Manasseh, who did evil in the sight of the Lord (2 Chron. 33:1-2). His father, King Hezekiah, restored the leadership and standard of Worship to Judah. Zephaniah, being the fourth generation after King Hezekiah, brought attention to the failure of Israel to please God through faith and righteousness. The foundation of Manasseh’s leadership le...

Zephaniah 3:1-8The attributes that Zephaniah uses to describe the people of Jerusalem reveal the standard that the people adhere to. The characteristic of rebellion is not that one will not follow any instructions,  but particularly, they would not follow the instructions of the Lord.1 The challenge for believers today is to refuse to be conformed to this world while being transformed through the ...

Zechariah 12:11-13:1 The presence and acceptance of guilt is the motivation for the reaction of Israel in Zechariah 12:11-14. The particular sorrow expressed by the generation Zechariah wrote to is possibly compared to the response that was given when King Josiah died.1 In mourning for King Josiah, a proclamation was made to remember King Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:24-25). Rightfully so, as he took a...

Following Christ has a direction of focus to lead a life to be expectant of joy through worship toward God through Jesus. But there is more to experience than just heaven that Jesus promises. Isaiah 11:6-9 expresses a new environment on earth, “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,” and a “nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,” and “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord...

The salvation that we have through Christ gives us the proper perspective to view and respond to God. This proper perspective of God allows us to live a life by faith through certain proclamations that can be seen as a foundation and motivation to use every day of our lives. Zechariah 12:1 expresses an oracle that came from the Lord while also identifying the Lord as the creator of the heavens and...