Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 (NRSV)
Read Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 on biblegateway.com
Verse 7Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is at hand; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests. Verse 12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the people who rest complacently on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, "The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm." Verse 13Their wealth shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.
Verse 14The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter, the warrior cries aloud there. Verse 15That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, Verse 16a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. Verse 17I will bring such distress upon people that they shall walk like the blind; because they have sinned against the Lord, their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Verse 18Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord's wrath; in the fire of his passion the whole earth shall be consumed; for a full, a terrible end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
Devotion
Lead us not into temptation, we pray. However, the truth is that we rarely need anyone else to lead us into temptation. We are pretty good at finding it ourselves. And the distressing thing is not so much that temptation exists, but sometimes we begin to treat our temptations lightly, joking about them or perhaps even rationalizing our ‘little sins’ over time, telling ourselves that maybe they aren’t so bad.
In the Lutheran church we spend a lot of time talking about grace and forgiveness, which is central to our faith. However, we must remember that we cling to a God who overcame sin, the same God who is on our side to help us overcome sin, too. I fear that too often, when we face temptations, we just give in and say it was too much for us.
When did we become so spineless?
Prayer
Dear Lord, on the way to forgiveness may we never forget about true repentance, and sincere contrition. Amen.