ECWA Devotional WEDNESDAY 10 APRIL 2024

ZEPHANIAH 2:1-15 NIV

1:Gather together, gather yourselves together, you shameful nation,

2:before the decree takes effect and that day passes like windblown chaff, before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s wrath comes upon you.

3:Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.

4:Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted.

5:Woe to you who live by the sea, you Kerethite people; the word of the Lord is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines. He says, “I will destroy you, and none will be left.”

6:The land by the sea will become pastures having wells for shepherds and pens for flocks.

7:That land will belong to the remnant of the people of Judah; there they will find pasture. In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon. The Lord their God will care for them; he will restore their fortunes.

8:“I have heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammonites, who insulted my people and made threats against their land.

9:Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will become like Sodom, the Ammonites like Gomorrah— a place of weeds and salt pits, a wasteland forever. The remnant of my people will plunder them; the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.”

10:This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the Lord Almighty.

11:The Lord will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the earth. Distant nations will bow down to him, all of them in their own lands.

12:“You Cushites, too, will be slain by my sword.”

13:He will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert.

14:Flocks and herds will lie down there, creatures of every kind. The desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns. Their hooting will echo through the windows, rubble will fill the doorways, the beams of cedar will be exposed.

15:This is the city of revelry that lived in safety. She said to herself, “I am the one! And there is none besides me.” What a ruin she has become, a lair for wild beasts! All who pass by her scoff and shake their fists.

In today’s passage, we discover that because God loves sinners, He does not want them to perish. He passionately calls on a shameful nation to discard sin before the appointed time of God’s wrath comes.

The way to demonstrate an eagerness to escape the fierce anger of God is to seek the Lord in righteousness and in humility.

When God’s children seek His face, even when facing oppression from principalities and powers more powerful than them, God will hear and deal with the enemies.

He said of the Philistines, “I will destroy you, and none will be left. This is the assurance from Our Great God to fight our enemies, if we seek Him in truth.

We need to return to Him humility of heart and seek His face. Then we shall escape the coming wrath.

We do not need to worry about our enemies but contend only against sin and we shall escape the day of the Lord.

QUESTION: According to today’s scripture, how shall we escape the wrath of God when He finally comes?

PRAYER: Let me eagerly seek Your face daily, dear Lord, that I may escape the wrath coming upon the nations that reject Your Lordship here on earth, in Jesus name. Amen.

Food for the Day – 2024