Zephania - Next Steps

Message Summary

Manasseh, King of Judah, promoted 55 years of horrific spiritual and moral decline. His successor, the righteous King Josiah, initiated spiritual and moral reforms. However, most of the people continued to ignore God, and were filled with pride, dishonesty and violence. In these days of surface reform, the prophet Zephaniah appears, predicting disaster on a deeply unrepentant nation. He cries out for godliness and purity in a nation sinful to its core. He urges them to repent, to change their lifestyles and humbly seek God. But Zephaniah isn’t all doom and gloom; he proclaims that God is always eager for our restoration and relationship. And for those who respond and seek God, he promises that God will right the wrongs. He will restore fortunes, and shower believers with honor, sometimes in the here and now, but definitely on the other side of eternity.

1) What does personal purity look like to you? How important is it and your daily life?

2) Do you sometimes live as if God isn’t there? What causes this attitude? How can you turn this attitude around?

Consider This

Zephaniah probably witnessed and experienced some of the massive evil encouraged by Manasseh. Growing up in this spiritual decadence must have challenged Zephaniah. Likely, the culture tempted him to take the easy route and worship the same gods as his neighbors and do the same rituals as his friends. Instead of following the crowd, Zephaniah grew into a man of God, able to stand before the people and proclaim God’s message of judgment and hope to a people that had gone astray.

1) Zephaniah 1:2-3 describes terrifying judgment on all of humankind. Read Zeph 3:9-13 and Jeremiah 25:31-33. How do these verses clarify who will be judged and who will be spared?

2) “The Day of the Lord,” refers to both near (more local) and far (universal) events. Judah was destroyed just a few decades following Zephaniah’s prophecy (605-586 BC). Do you think the universal “Day of the Lord” will occur in your lifetime? What do you think it will look like?

3) What do you think was the Baal worship mentioned in Zephaniah 1:4? What might that look like today?

4) Zephaniah condemned astrology in 1:5. Check out Jeremiah 19:13, why is astrology bad, while astronomy is not?

5) Manasseh encouraged the sacrifice of children by fire to the god Molech (2 Kings 21:6).

a. What did God promise to Judah for the bloodshed of innocent children (Jeremiah 19:4-5 and 6-9)?

b. Do you see any parallels between this practice and the issue of abortion in our nation today?

c. What do you think God thinks about abortion? What do you think He will do?

d. How can believers respond in a positive way?

6) What is spiritual complacency described in Zephaniah 1:12? (see also Zeph 3:2). How can we combat spiritual complacency in our lives?

We can seek God by reading His word in the Bible. By praying and listening. By watching where He is moving and giving him the glory.

7) Jeremiah was a contemporary of Zephaniah. What was his advice for seeking the Lord in Jeremiah 29:11-13?

8) Read Luke 3:8, 10-14, Acts 2:38, and James 4:7-8 and list some other ways you can seek God. Which of these speaks to you the most today?

Moving Forward

As modern-day believers in Christ, we make a mockery of worship when we live in open sin. Everyone sins from time to time because we are not perfect, but living in open sin is egregious to God.

1) This week, ask God to search your heart each day and reveal an area you could confess and decide to turn away from that day.

2) What does 1 John 1:9-10 tell us about ourselves and our sins?

3) What does the Apostle Paul say about his personal struggle with sin in Romans 7:21-8:2? How can you apply this to your struggles this week?

4) Repentance means identifying and deciding to go God’s way, but it usually requires God’s help at every level. List some ways God could help you overcome unwanted behavior this week.