FRIDAY, JANUARY 20
Scripture: Zephaniah 1:7-8, 14-18, 3:9

Zephaniah ministered in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah between 640 and 609 BC. He says in verse 7-9, “Be silent in the presence of the Lord God; For the day of the Lord is at hand, For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests. And it shall be, In the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, That I will punish the princes and the king’s children, And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.” Verse 14-18 states, “The great day of the Lord is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers. I will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the Lord; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse. Neither their silver nor their gold Shall be able to deliver them In the day of the Lord’s wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance Of all those who dwell in the land.” What a declaration of judgment came forth from Zephaniah! The prophets were given a challenging job. By faith, they had to go against the evil of the land in an attempt to subdue it in order to try and gain a harvest, often times standing courageously alone. Some of them saw repentance and some of them did not. But many of them subdued kingdoms and got to see great glimpses of future salvation. In Zephaniah 3:9 he declared, “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the Lord, To serve Him with one accord.” God was amazing in His selection and use of the prophets who, by faith, declared His Word under the penalty of death, destruction and great persecution. They used their faith on their flesh to obey God to release His authority and bring an end to evil. God honored them and in His divine time brought their words to pass. They are given to us as examples of how the Lord wants us to walk in the last days. Are we ready to walk like the prophets of old? It looks like our time may be drawing near. Our obedience to the Word of God is a vital issue!