6. (12-13) Judgment is promised to the
complacent.
*
>>>“And it shall come to pass at that time
that I will search Jerusalem with lamps<<<, and punish the men
who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do
good, nor will He do evil.’ Therefore their goods shall become booty, and
their houses a desolation; they shall build houses, but not inhabit them; they
shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.”
*
a. I will search
Jerusalem with lamps: No one will be able to hide against the judgment of God.
It is coming, and even if God must get out the “flashlights,” He will find
them.
..................................................
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Ch2 (4-7) Judgment against the
Philistines.
*
For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon desolate; they
shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be uprooted. Woe to the
inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of the
Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you;
so there shall be no inhabitant.” >>>The seacoast shall be
pastures, with shelters for shepherds and folds for flocks. The coast shall be
for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their flocks there; in
the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the Lord their God
will intervene for them, and return their
captives.<<<
*
a. For Gaza shall be forsaken: Judgment
will come against an unrepentant Judah, but it will also come against the
pagan nations neighboring Judah. God promises to destroy the cities of the
Philistines and give their land as pasture for the remnant of the house of
Judah.
*
b. The name Cherethites is “a reference to their early
geographical links with Crete.”
(Baker)
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Ch3 1. (8-13) Judgment and
restoration.
*
“Therefore wait for Me,” says the Lord, “Until the day I
rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations to My assembly
of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all my fierce anger; all the
earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy. 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.
>>>From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, the daughter of
My dispersed ones, shall bring My offering<<<. In that day you
shall not be shamed for any of your deeds in which you transgress against Me;
for then I will take away from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and
you shall no longer be haughty in My holy mountain. I will leave in your midst
a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The
remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a
deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed their flocks and
lie down, and no one shall make them afraid.”
*
a. Pour on them My
indignation . . . then I will restore: In light of the repeated and chronic
sin of the nations and of God’s own people, God will bring judgment - and then
restoration.
*
b. That they all may call on the name of the Lord: In
this ultimate restoration, God will give the world a common language again (a
pure language), and the entire world will worship the Lord, not only
Israel.
*
i. Most Bible scholars see this as fulfilled in the days of
the Millennium, when Jesus reigns for 1,000 years over this earth after His
return in power and glory. From this passage many scholars believe that in
that day the world will go back to a common language - perhaps
Hebrew.
*
c. To serve Him with one accord: Literally, this is with one
shoulder. The idea is that the shoulders are working together as one to bear
the load of the work.
*
d. You shall no longer be haughty in My holy
mountain: In the millennial earth Israel will be the world’s superpower, but
she will not be proud or haughty. Under the leadership of the Lord Jesus and
His redeemed, she will know that her standing is all of grace.
*
e. For
they shall feed their flocks and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid:
This speaks of the peace and prosperity Israel will know in the millennial
earth.
LewisHB