35 - Bible Commentary | Karuna Sadan

The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

Zephaniah was an unusual prophet, in that he was of royal lineage, descending from the godly King Hezekiah.

Those who have turned back from following the Lord,

And have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.” (Zephaniah 1:6)

This verse gives us an excellent definition of spiritual indifference. The people of Judah had become indifferent to God and turned back from worshipping Him and turned to idol worship.

Even today, there are many who call themselves ‘believers’. However, they do not feel the need to read the Bible, pray and meditate on what the scripture has for them each day. Have you fallen into that trap?

Although Jesus was One with the Father and the Son of God Himself, while on earth, He made prayer a priority in His life. He would get up early in the morning and go to a solitary place to pray. (Mark 1:35)

Historian Arnold Toynbee found in his studies that nineteen of twenty-one civilizations have died from within from indifference and not from outside conquest.

We are living in a day of indifference and it will be fatal to our existence if we do not ask God to forgive us and get back to the biblical principles God expects us to live by.

“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 (Zephaniah 1:12)

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.

Who say in their heart,

‘The Lord will not do good,

Nor will He do evil.’ (Zephaniah 1:12)

This is a lie of the devil: “The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.”

“Don’t worry. God is not bothered. Look, we have been living this way for so long, and nothing bad has happened.” Complacency looks harmless but it is deadly. Empires of the past fall because of complacency, battles and games are lost because of complacency.

Attitudes towards religion today

The people regard all religions as equally true

The philosophers regard all religions as equally false

The politicians regard all religions as equally useful

Chapter 1