The end began in 605 B.C., as the military might of Babylon challenged that of Egypt and Judah, the remnant of the people of God, was squeezed in the middle. Many of her nobility were carted off – prisoners of Nebuchadnezzar – hostages to peace. Babylon exerted her might again in 597 B.C., and finally in 586. In the end, Jerusalem lay in ruins, an empty, ghastly shell of her former self. Her wall lay on its side and her temple, the dream of David, was looted and burned. The once glorious Zion of God had been both witness and victim of some of the worst atrocities of human history.

God was responsible, but Judah was to blame. Even then, in the eyes of God, she’d received far less than her due.

But God’s grace abounded. In 539 B.C., Cyrus, King of the Persians gave permission for the exiles to return to Jerusalem to rebuild. It was in fulfillment of the specific promises of God through Isaiah (300 years before) and Jeremiah (nearly 100 years before). And if that were not evidence enough of His grace, Ezra tells us they returned as they had left Egypt – unexpectedly prosperous. Some fifty thousand returned in the first wave and within a year they set about rebuilding the house of God.

It was an exciting time.

But after a while, the new wore off. They encountered opposition from the people around them. The squatters didn’t like Judah returning to reclaim what they had appropriated for themselves. They’d rejoiced in the Jews’ misfortune, and they weren’t about to let them rebuild a nation they had so delightedly seen destroyed.

The people of God gave in and gave up. The temple foundation was as far as they got. After all, they had themselves to think about. When they had re-established themselves in the land, then they would see about rebuilding God’s house.

Nearly twenty years passed. Twenty years without the worship of God at the temple. Twenty years of trying to be the people of God without the proper worship of God. The important gave way to the tyranny of the urgent and success eluded them all. In 520 B.C., God sent two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to demand He be given His proper place in their lives.

In Haggai, God tells the people that their ‘never being able to get ahead’ was their own fault. They had not put God first. “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it. . . You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.’”

In a series of four speeches, all dated and providing an outline for Haggai, the prophet called Judah to repentance. The real surprise was that she really did repent. Construction was restarted and within four years, the temple was finished.

Haggai also makes it plain that building the temple was not Judah’s only problem. The lifestyle of her people fell far below any threshold for holiness. Continuing in that path would result in more frustration as God refused to allow them to succeed materially.

Does Haggai speak to our time?

Yes, in at least this way: God’s temple today is not a building of stone and mortar, but a building of living stones, the Church. When we get to wondering why we work so hard and never seem to be able to ‘pull ahead,’ it’s worth asking whether our lives are demonstrating that God is our first priority. The answer won’t always be “no.” But if it is, repentance is on order. Our task is to ‘build up the Church,’ by being involved in the community of faith to strengthen one another, and draw outsiders in. Failing to give God the priority He deserves by giving attention to His Church follows in the footsteps of the returning exiles. Success will be elusive. God will be responsible, but the fault will be our own.

Do you have a relative who is a “thorn in your side”?

No?

King Josiah did. The relative’s name was Zephaniah. He is the only prophet (except perhaps for Daniel) of royal blood – the great-great-grandson of King Hezekiah.

Josiah’s grandfather was Manasseh, the worst king in Judah’s history. He promoted the worship of idols and the assimilation of other religions into the religion of Israel. He burned one of his sons as a sacrifice to a pagan deity and enacted oppressive policies that resulted in the wholesale slaughter of all who opposed him. His corrupt monarchy led Judah into evil worse than any of the nations around her, in her own day or before. So evil was he that the writer of Kings blames him for Judah’s misfortunes and ultimate Babylonian exile (2 Kings 23:26).

Josiah, however, was not evil. At age 26, he began a series of reforms in Judah to lead the people back to God. It was a valiant effort, but in God’s eyes, and the eyes of Josiah’s cousin Zephaniah, it was too little too late. Judah was too far gone.

It must have been a source of great consternation to Josiah that, though he wanted his people to change their ways, his own royal house and the house of the priests was so corrupt his efforts were like putting out a forest fire with a garden hose. It must have been further discouraging to hear the negative message preached by Zephaniah.

By Zephaniah’s day, the Northern Kingdom was no more. Judah’s sins were so many that the anger of God overflowed. It’s almost as if God was on a rampage, his anger spilling out (though deservedly so) on other nations. Notice the determination of God: “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth . . .” (1:2). “I will bring distress on the people . . . their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth” (1:17). “In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live on the earth . . .” (1:18). “The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger” (3:8).

What were the sins?

Idolatry (1:4), ignoring God (1:6), becoming too much like the world around them in their dress and lifestyle (1:8-9), focusing on material wealth and a willingness to mistreat others to get it (1:11-13,18), a belief that God simply didn’t care how they acted (1:12), and a ruinous prideful unwillingness to yield to God (3:1-4).

You begin to see how angry God is when you note that He repeatedly says he is going to destroy the earth and everything and everyone, and yet, He speaks of a “remnant” who will be left. It is a classic overstatement – and that’s how the book is to be read. Overstatement or not, however, a genuine day of reckoning is coming and it will be ruinous for the guilty.

Zephaniah has four parts:

1) The coming punishment of the people of God (1:1-2:3).
2) The coming punishment of other nations (2:4-15).
3) The coming punishment of the people of God (3:1-8)
4) The restoration of the remnant of God’s people (3:9-20).

Two points must not be overlooked: First, note that both the people of God and other nations stand condemned for precisely the same sins. God does not have two standards of expected behavior. The world may not acknowledge God, but God expects them none-the-less to follow His rules. Second, though God is supremely angry in Zephaniah, He still loves his people. When the punishment is over, God will take great delight in the righteous who are left, and he will quiet them with His love and rejoice over them with singing (3:17) – the image of a parent reaffirming love for a disciplined child.

I cannot help but think there is a message here for us as we face our own day of reckoning. Zephaniah is not quoted in the New Testament, but in the anticipated judgment day scene of Revelation 10:7, I cannot help but believe inspiration had at least Zephaniah in mind: “But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

Throughout the Bible many have questioned God – and not just for information. When the Lord declared his intention to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham replied: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? . . . Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:23ff).

During the Exodus, Israel complained to Moses, and Moses complained to God: “Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? . . . They keep wailing to me, . . . I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now . . . (Numbers 11:12).

Facing oppression, the sons of Korah cried out to God “Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?” (Psalm 44:23-24).

These are not the only examples. The list of God’s interrogators is not a short one.

As long as Judah had Israel to compare herself to, it was easy to overlook her own sins. But after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, Judah was left to contemplate her own situation. Other prophets decried the injustice and materialism of Judah. At this time however, Habakkuk arose, not to condemn his people, but to ask God why He wasn’t condemning them. “How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?”

God replied (Habakkuk chapter one) that he was going to punish Judah by bringing against her the Babylonians, “that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own.”

This put a whole new twist on things. The Babylonians!? Why in the world would God punish Judah with people worse than Judah? Habakkuk was indignant. “I will stand at my watch,” he wrote, “and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me . . .” It was unjust of God, Habakkuk thought, for God to use sinners worse than Judah to punish Judah. Frankly, Habakkuk believed God had gotten himself in a moral bind on this one and Habakkuk was determined to hold God accountable.

In a lengthy reply (chapter two), God speaks to the arrogance of Habakkuk, which is very much like the arrogance of Judah and Babylon. Habakkuk is a product of his times. God affirms that he will hold both Babylon and Judah responsible for their sins. No one is getting a pass. The Lord ends his speech with a proclamation of His sovereignty.

Habakkuk, properly rebuked, spends chapter 3 of his book in prayer. He reviews God’s power, but also God’s faithfulness to his people. Habakkuk understands Judah must be punished for her sins. He knows the punishment will be inevitable. No matter who does it, however, God will not desert his people, and in that, Habakkuk can find hope. “I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

God has no problem with His people questioning Him, or even disagreeing with Him. But he insists, that at the end of the day, His people trust Him. He is God. We are not. Those who stand “right” in the sight of God are those who, in the end, trust God and demonstrate it with the life they live. Being “right” with God is supremely a matter of trusting God.