Zephaniah 1:7-16 "The Wrong Side of God's Judgment"

27th Sunday after Pentecost - November 16, 2008

Pastor Troy Slater, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Herington, Kansas

Probably some of the least favorite words any child likes to hear are, "Just wait until your dad gets home." I know I heard those words more than once - probably most of you as well. You had done something, said something you shouldn't have, something that required the full wrath, the mighty judgment of dad. But probably the worst thing about it all was the anticipation, right? Waiting the couple of hours before dad did get home, agonizing over the heavy hand - quite literally - of dad's wrath.

Well in a way, that's where Judah - the southern half of the land that once belonged to the people of God - Israel - that's the situation they found themselves in at the time of Zephaniah the prophet. Zephaniah's message as we heard in our OT lesson for this morning was that Judah had merited God's judgment - the heavy hand of their heavenly Father's wrath. Zephaniah's message was, "Just wait until the Day of the Lord." For the Lord had told them to be in the world but not of the world; He said they were to be the light in a dark world; He said they were to worship and trust in Him and Him alone. But what's been the situation in Zephaniah's day and even before? Well, they had become a people who knew no shame as immorality sank again and again to new lows. Their merchants had grown rich through deceit and corruption. They trusted in themselves for deliverance and protection. Their religious leaders were more concerned about their bank accounts than the welfare of the people. They worshipped many a false god right along with the one, true God. They worshipped God's creation - the stars - while ignoring the Creator. And now, because of all this, they were awaiting the heavy hand of God their Father's wrath. "The day of the Lord" is how Zephaniah describes that day. And it would not be a pleasant day for them - it would be a day "of distress and of anguish," Zepheniah says. It would be "a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers." Punishment, wailing, ruin, plunder, destruction, bitterness are some of the descriptions Zephaniah used. It would be a day of judgment and that day, "the day of the Lord was near," Zephaniah warned. The day of the Lord was near. …

But you know what? They didn't care. They didn't care. Like a little child who spurns his mother's warning to "just wait until your dad gets home", they said, "whatever Zephaniah, whatever. For after all, we are Israel! We are the chosen people of God - children of Abraham - followers of Moses. We are Israel - we're exempt from calamity and catastrophe." Like Zephaniah said in our reading they thought, "The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad. And so be quiet Zephaniah, be quiet and go back to your little hole. Leave us alone." .. But Zephaniah's word still stood, didn't it? It still stood because it was God's Word. And so "just wait until the day of the Lord, Judah. For like it or not, you will soon find yourselves on the wrong side of God's judgment." And they did. Despite being God's OT people, God's judgment came - in fact by the Baylonians just a few years later as Judah was destroyed and not even a stone was left standing on another in all of Jerusalem. … They ended up on the wrong side of God's judgment. …

You know unfortunately we live in a world very much like Zephaniah did, don't we? I mean look at the United States. Not that the United States is the new Israel as some seem to like to think. For after all, OT Israel was created by God - it was a theocracy. The United States was created by people - it is a democracy. But still, what seems to be the prevailing opinion of a majority of American citizens? We are the United States, nothing can happen to us, we are exempt from calamity and catastrophe. We can fix whatever crisis or woe comes our way.

Meanwhile, like with Judah in Zephaniah's day, we are a people who knows no shame as immorality continues to sink to newer and newer lows. We just elected a President who has the most liberal record on abortion than any other Senator or President we've ever had. Many of our corporate execs grow rich through deceit and corruption. In greed we have borrowed and borrowed until our financial system is on the brink of collapse. We trust in ourselves for deliverance and protection as Uncle Sam - not the Lord God - is looked to as the savior. So many of our religious leaders are more concerned about their bank accounts than the welfare of the people. We worship many a false god right along with the one, true God. We worship God's creation - the environment - while ignoring the Creator. Yes, sadly, our situation is very similar to that of Zephaniah's day. …

I know there was a lot of controversy surrounding some of the statements by Barrack Obama's pastor of 20 years - Jeremiah Wright - especially the "God damn America" comments. And of course he was saying that because of some nonsense about the US government injecting blacks with the aids virus and all sorts of other "black liberation" theology. But you know that phrase, "God damn America" - as in God will judge America and it won't be pretty - with the path that we are on - that may not be too far off. We are not exempt from God's judgment. There is no guarantee that the United States of America will even be a country in another century. Like Sodom and Gomorrah, we may soon find ourselves on the wrong side of God's judgment. May not come soon, for after all, the Lord God is incredibly patient with us, but we're in serous trouble if we start thinking, "We're the U.S. of A. We don't need to fear God's judgment - after all, He's on our side."

But you know, as bad as all that is - the immorality and corruption of our society today, it actually wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that so much of this is practiced and even tolerated by the Christians of our country. Unbelievers are supposed to act like unbelievers - but when believers start acting no different, we are in serious trouble. As Christians, as God's NT people, we are to be IN the world - yes - but not OF the world. We are to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world, a city on a hill that shines as a beacon to the unbelievers around us. But what do we find? We have church bodies including the ELCA whose health plan pays for elective abortions for its workers. We have the Episcopalian church unapologetically promoting an openly, practicing gay man to serve as a bishop in the church. We have those who bear the name of Christ, yet they openly deny that Jesus is the one and only way of salvation. We have Christian preachers worried more about the bottom line of their ministries than they are about preaching Biblical, Christ-centered, Law/Gospel sermons. And lest we think it's only them out there, well, in our own wider fellowship we have the teaching of evolution in many of our synodical schools not to mention that we can find broken families, a neglect of God's Word, greed, gossip, and grudges, even within our own local fellowship. Yes, I'm afraid we are going to soon find ourselves on the wrong side of God's judgment. … …

But you know it doesn't have to be. It doesn't have to be. Here a moment ago I mentioned how God is incredibly patient. In 2 Peter chapter 3 the apostle writes regarding the day of the Lord, "the Lord is not slow in keeping His promise. … He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." Repentance. What's that? Well I suppose the simplest definition of repentance is "to turn" - to turn from something.

To repent is to turn from our sin - to lament of the fact that we are but poor miserable sinners who deserve nothing but God's present and eternal wrath; to repent is to sorrow over the reality that we deserve to be on the wrong side of God's judgment. But of course to turn from sin implies that we must turn toward something else, doesn't it? And what is the "something else" that we turn to? ..

Well of course it's Jesus. It's Jesus. … It's Jesus we turn to as poor, miserable sinners. It's Jesus that we seek shelter in from God's present and eternal wrath. It's Jesus for though He had done no wrong - though He had participated in none of Israel or Judah's sin - in fact had no sin of His own, we turn to Him because He - the Son of God - came to stand in our place and face the wrong side of His Father' judgment … FOR US. He - the one who knew no sin became sin for us - became the scapegoat, the lightning rod who was to be struck down, crucified, dead and buried as He bore the sin of the world. Isaiah the prophet, who prophesied a century or so before Zephaniah's day, once told how the Christ, the Messiah would "take up our infirmities and carry our sorrows." Isaiah told how He would "be stricken by God, smitten by Him and afflicted." "Pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities." "The punishment that would bring us peace would be upon Him and it would be by His wounds that we would be healed." .. Apart from Jesus we are on the wrong side of God's judgment. But with Jesus, with Him standing in our place taking every last bit of God's wrath and anger for our sin, we are on the side of God our Father's grace. .. With Jesus we are on the side of God our Father's grace.

And so now, in Jesus, trusting in Him, we can be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. In Jesus, baptized into Him we can be a city on a hill as we shine a beacon of light and of hope on an otherwise dark and evil world. As a people belonging to God and not to the world, we can be IN the world but not OF the world. As God's people we can live as witnesses to the joy, to the hope, to the peace, to the love, to the concern, to the mercy that is ours in Christ Jesus and that can be for all people through faith in Him. …

God our heavenly Father's judgment will come - the day of the Lord will come. Not just upon our country, but upon all the world when Jesus returns in all glory to judge the living and the dead. The day of the Lord approaches - in fact it is nearer today than it ever has been. But it doesn't have to be a day to fear. It doesn't have to be a day of wrath and destruction upon people. Certainly it will be upon Satan and his demons - but it doesn't have to be for people - for you, for me, for our neighbors, our families and our friends. For the Lord wants all people to repent and to come to the knowledge of the truth - to turn from sin and to turn to Jesus. For Jesus has come, Jesus has lived, Jesus has died, Jesus is risen and Jesus calls all to repent and to trust in Him. And so let us repent; let us turn to Jesus and invite others to do the same. Let us rejoice and be the people God has made us to be by Jesus and His cross.

And may the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.