Seek righteousness, seek humility

“Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.” (Zephaniah 2:3)

 

Zephaniah is a prophet who had served under the reign of King Josiah in the late 7th century B.C. He rebuked idolatry and proclaimed that the great day of Jehovah God the Lord is near – near and coming quickly, in Zephaniah 1:14. He warned Judah and the Gentiles against injustice, and also encouraged them. For injustice brings punishment and difficulties bring sorrow, but if we overcome them well, we could experience righteous change and happiness. I think Zephaniah was a prophet from an upper-class family. The value of cultural heritage in a well-to-do situation will be also beneficial for evangelical work. And you need to be a well-off person in the Holy Spirit, to be a man to preach the gospel of Christ.

 

Josiah was the 16th king of the kingdom of Judah, the reign of BC 640~609, and he carried out religious reforms. It is on record “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord ~,” in 2 Kings 22:2. His father, Amon, was murdered by his vassals, in 2 Kings 21:23~24, and Josiah ascended the throne at the young age of eight. When a man is young and on the throne, he must be bound to be reappointed by someone, and he may be prone to political mishaps. However Josiah was named the most respected king of all time along with David, Solomon and Hezekiah, for he had great politics even at a young age. Josiah suppressed the worship for idols like Baal, and he eradicated the Moloch worship offering a child as a sacrifice. And he let the people celebrate the Passover that they had neglected for hundreds of years.

Zebaniah the prophet would have acted more easily than other prophets who had suffered, because he served under the reign of Josiah the good king. God uses according to the propensity of the people, and out of need. Among the pastors and evangelists is a mixture of people from different backgrounds and characters. So did the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New Testament. God made them born into the world, and they had to spend different lives. And from among them, God picks out the workers of the gospel according to the purpose and plan of Him. one who grows up in a well-to-do environment will take advantage of it and will do one’s own work in a warm heart. And if he has had a trial, he will have to put it to work. one thing important is that the person obeys under the guidance of the Holy Spirit with confidence in the evangelical mission for Jesus Christ, standing firm in God’s word.

Jerusalem’s defeat, the idolatry of Gentiles, and the moral decay caused God’ wrath and disaster. If a church follows sin and is absorbed in idols and morally corrupt, what would the consequences be? If then, the church will be a group with only a name of money, honor, power, and depraved passions that have taken the place of God. A man of Christ should not follow a worldly life, and he must obey himself by the sacrifice in the teachings of Christ. Otherwise, he will be destroyed like Jerusalem. God rules and judges all men in the world. And God does not discriminate by letting one man go and punishing another. But His punishment comes only from love. You have to know it’s not about punishment but about encouraging repentance.

A warning was given against the Philistines, Moab, Ammon, Cush and Assyria. And the warning was issued to Jerusalem, too. Before the warning, God called for the humble who had obeyed the decrees of Jehovah. God asked them to find Jehovah, to seek righteousness and humility. There are some faithful people in the world who remain as the stump of truth and play their parts. We can not tell who they are by their looks, but if you find Jehovah and practice the righteousness and humility, it confirms that you belong to the category of redemption. Self-centered competition to criticize and despise is not desirable for Christ’s people.

 

Everyone has their own thoughts, but it is not righteous in faith to be preoccupied with one’s own ideas. Justice literally means equitable righteousness. And humility is not just about self-depreciation, but it’s about respect for others. God tells us to seek justice and humility. Then God promised us to be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger. The disciple of Christ must be shown to do justice and humility.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Nov 24th 2019)