All right, have your Bibles and have it ready, and please have it open to the book of Zephaniah, Tzvanya, Chapter 3, and stand with me for the reading of God's Word. We're coming to the very end of the book of Tzvanya. It's a very short book, actually, three chapters. Tonight we're going to look at the first four verses. There's a lot of applicational lessons here. That's Fania chapter 3, verses 1 to 4. This is the reading of God's Word. Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressive city. She did not listen to any voice. She did not receive discipline. She did not trust in Yahweh. She did not draw near to her God. Her princes in her midst are roaring lions. Her judges are wolves at evening. They leave nothing to gnaw for the morning. Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men. Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law. Please be seated. Tonight we're going to start the first of the last chapter in the book of Tzfanya that begins with the very strong prophetic language of severe confrontation of Yahweh against the sins of Israel and it refers to the city, the capital city of Yerushalayim, the capital city that represents the entire nation. We're going to study the characteristics of this city, its citizens, and its leadership. And that's what this opening first four verses are about. The harsh tone and the fearful judgment is proclaimed against God's people in Yerushalayim, but that's not how it ends. It ends in a glorious up note. But this chapter begins with a very severe language of condemnation. There's not even a call to repentance here, it's just an indictment after indictment of the spiritual condition of the nation at this point. And so it's a straightforward indictment and so we may begin to ask the question, because we're Bible students, we're going to ask a question. Okay, this is God's indictment and commentary on the condition of Israel namely the capital city of Jerusalem in the mid 7th century B.C. So what has this got to do with us? And that's the beginning point of our inquiry. If it is true that this is a time capsule that God intends for us to just look back and know something about the history of Israel, then we're missing the entire point of the inspiration of the Word of God and the eternality of His Word that applies to all generations, to all believers, in all ages. And so we need to find the point of commonality. In order to find proper interpretation and proper application, we need to understand the context well. If we understand the context, we interpret well, then we're going to see which points cross over in application and what God's Word means to us in our generation as it meant for them in that generation. They were the people of God. We are the people of God. Jerusalem was the only place among the pagan nations where the one true God was worshipped. The church of Jesus Christ, the gathering of all believers, is the only place in this pagan world where God is honoured and worshipped. We are the salt and the light of the earth. We don't come to a place or a building, we bring ourselves with us. So therefore, as members of his universal body of Christ, the gathering of believers, is instrumental in testifying to the world. Just as God had to indict the spiritual rottenness of Israel at the time, we need to take a sobering look at the condition of the church today. Just as this passage points to not only the people, but its leadership, we also need to think about not just the malaise of professing Christians in general, but also its leadership. Leaders are more responsible, but both people and her leaders are indicted in this passage. And so it's a sobering passage. Do you have a mirror at your house? Do you look at it every day? Do you find flaws? Do you correct them? Well, that's what this is. This is a spiritual mirror, and we need to look at it intently. And if the word of God exposes our moral and spiritual flaws, we need to correct them. So that's the point of connection and its application. Now, we're going to look at this because God uses picturesque language from the wild, the roaring lions, the wolves in the evening. Now, we may not understand this very well, but I assure you, the people in Spania's time understood it very, very well. And so, sometimes we need to ask, okay, are there similar situations here? If we understand this properly, can we also understand how this, what it looks like in our generation properly? Now, we're not Israel or the Church of Jesus Christ. And we don't live in times where there are prophets, but we do have people who claim to speak for God. We don't have priests. All of us are called to be as we are named as priesthood of all believers. We don't have a sanctuary. We don't have a central meeting place where sacrifices are offered, but Our bodies are a living sacrifice as living sacrifices unto God. So there are points of connection that we can be very careful that we don't confuse the two and or equate the two, but we need to see the connection between the two. And so let's take a look at this passage of the three fold indictments of God. First, we see in verse one, three actions of the people of the city. Of course, the corrupt city is mentioned, but we know when the city is mentioned, the Lord is mentioning the people, the inhabitants of the city, the citizens of that city. So the Jews who live in Jerusalem, that represents the entire nation. So this is the representative body. And so verse one, we see three words which are all in the Hebrew participle, and participles highlight action or activity. So when we take a look at this, we see that the first word is a woe, which is the exclamation of judgment or calamity. This is not a positive word in the Bible. It's always negative in its connotation. The reason for God's judgment or God's woe and the calamity upon the city of Yerushalayim is because of her historic sins. The same sins that the Jewish ancestry, the Israelites who came out of Egypt committed is the same sin that persists here. And that should be very clear to us. Just take a look at your parents and their generation or your grandparents or their generation. We're no better. Sometimes I think if we're sober minded, if we take a look at the clear mirror of God's word, we should be able to say we're probably much worse. They had so little and yet they seem to be more faithful than our generation. They knew so little and yet they believe so much. What do we do with our faith in this generation? We see the same sins, same repeated mistakes, we see the same fallen human nature. So we shouldn't be quick to judge other people, but we should be quick to see the log in our own eye before we can try to help or try to discern other generations or other people. Well, the reason for God's judgment and the calamity because of Israel's historic sins that still continue and will continue even to the very end until the Lord sends his Holy Spirit, the spirit of repentance and supplication that they will truly repent. And there is a spiritual revival in the nation of Israel. Three words are used to describe the characteristic of the corrupt city of Yerushalayim, the citizens of that city. as the capital of the nation had always been a microcosm of the nation. All of its social, political, religious aspects are highlighted here in these three words. They indict and expose Yerushalayim as a corrupt city filled with corrupt citizens. This is a big problem. among God's people has always been. It's the sinful corruption, a sin that manifests and permeates among its people. Such characteristics are fitting for pagan cities and pagan nations. But among God's holy people, people who profess that they are am Yahweh, the people of Yahweh, and we profess that we're people of Christ, that we're the body of Christ, we're the bride of Christ, while sin brings great shame. Well, when we take a look at Nahum, let's take a look at chapter three of Nahum, the prophet whom God had sent to proclaim to the capital city of the most powerful empire at the time, the Assyrian Empire. A century before Spaniel, started his ministry, God sent Nahum to proclaim against Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. And we see three concepts here, three words, bloodthirsty, deceptive, and thieving in Nahum chapter 3 verse 1. Woe to the city of bloodshed. See the very similar phrasing? identical wording, completely full of deception and pillage, her prey never departs. This is the characteristic of that pagan city and the people who lived in it. They were violent, bloodthirsty, they were deceptive, they were liars, and they were pillaging, they were thieving and robbing people. Violent, deceptive, exploitative populace is truly shame to any people, no matter how powerful they may have been, no matter how technologically advanced they may be. Proverbs 14 verse 34 says, Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is disgrace to any people. So according to God's standards, he measures the group of people by the character. of whether they uphold justice, the word righteousness means justice, upholds right standards, fairness, because this is what God sees. And when people treat each other this way, justly, fairly, righteously, it is an honor to the people. This is a good characteristic of any people. But sin is a disgrace to any people. God calls Jerusalem and the Jewish people three names which are just as unflattering and just as condemning. One commentator writes, the message of the two prophets concerning the cities could be reversed without missing the point of the prophets. That's quite interesting. Tzvanya and Nachum can be reversed. You can say this about Yerushalayim, city of bloodshed. They killed a lot of innocent lives for money and for their pagan beliefs, deception and pillage. Instead of speaking the truth, they were lying to one another, exploiting one another. So it's sad when the people of Yahweh have all the characteristics of a pagan and brutal, idolatrous nation. The three words are all activity or action oriented words, as I mentioned previously, they're participles. The first word describes the character of the citizens of Yerushalayim as those who are callous and hardened people who do not respond to God's authority. And that's what this term rebellious means. It's an active voice, it's called participle. It's an active spirit of rejecting authority. Active spirit of rejecting authority. The recalcitrant population that defies God's authority, namely biblical authority, always will substitute self-will and maintains a bent spirit of hardened stance against God. Such people are not very teachable. That's why Israel constantly rejected the messengers God sent to her. That's why Israel constantly promoted their own self-will and unrighteous life. Notice how long the Israelites maintained this rebellious attitude. Let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 9 and see for yourselves that it started with the Exodus generation. A generation that God called a stiff-necked people. God sent his servant Moses to lead but they were constantly grumbling and complaining. God provided and yet they were dissatisfied. They said we will obey the Lord yet they ended up rejecting the Lord. Deuteronomy chapter 9, let's look at verse 7. God said, remember, do not forget how you provoke Yahweh your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you went out of the land of Mitzrayim, that's Egypt, until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. So what is a spirit of rebellion? It's an active spirit rejecting the blessings, the graciousness and the authority of God. So throughout Israel's history, the citizens of Yerushalayim were rebellious. And there were little flashes and little pockets of time where God's people responded by faith and humility. But for the most part, they were rebellious and rejected God's word as instruction. So let's bring it home. Any professing people, any group of Christians who claim to belong to God, but refuses to submit to God's authoritative word, prove themselves to be both corrupt and shameful. What do we learn from Proverbs? Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is disgrace to any people. So it's disgraceful for people to profess that they're Christians, but they live in constant rejection of God's authority, rejection of his word. Let's take a look at the second word that God uses to describe Yerushalayim. It's defiled. It's defiled. Again, this is a nifal participle. It's passive, which means they allow themselves to be defiled. Which shows that undefiled status requires an active resistance to the defiling elements of sin. So the defilement here points to the kind of moral, religious defilement. or stain that is hard to remove. The term is often used for guilt of murder and defilement of bloodshed. If a nation allows violence to persist and do not pursue and prosecute the criminal and does not cleanse themselves from the guilt of bloodshed by exacting justice, then the entire land becomes defiled. The law is completely overlooked, therefore people become lawless. And the leaders who refuse to enforce the law to eradicate evildoers from the land are guilty of compromise. And so the word is often used for murderers and the defilement of the land that has bloodshed. Isaiah 59 verse 3 says this, Oftentimes violence and deceitful tongue go hand in hand. Have you seen criminals? who commit heinous crimes and always say, oh, no, it's not my fault. It's my environment. It's my parental upbringing. It's all other people's fault, but not mine. This is a big problem with defilement. That sin continues to corrupt morally, religiously, and then it continues to spread. defiles others. The lack of purity of the citizens of Yerushalayim made them unfit for God's purposes both religiously or as models of moral uprightness. I mean how can a defiled land become a model for the pagan idolatry and the vileness all around them? If our lives are not pure There's no way we're going to have a very effective witness and testimony to the impure lives of our neighbors around us. And this is a big problem for Yerushalayim, a city that was called to be holy, wasn't holy anymore, it was defiled. The third word that God uses here, it says it's a city of oppression. Oppression, so they're oppressive. This term points to gaining an upper hand through cheating. How do you gain an upper hand? By pushing somebody down. And when the upper hand is achieved, it uses that power and that position to oppress others, especially those who are foreigners, who have no legal protection, and the weakest of society. They get trampled on. Widows and orphans were easy targets in an oppressive society. In Exodus 22 verse 21 says, you shall not mistreat the sojourner or oppress him for you were sojourners in the land of Mitzrayim. This oppressive behavior was not only upon the foreigners, but upon the weaker Israelites among them. So it had this trickle down oppressive effect. So as long as there were people who uses trickery and cheating to get the upper hand above others, they will always use that position of power to oppress others. Allowing wicked people to continue to perpetrate in the land would not only defile the land, but fill the land with criminals. that would continually bring the land down. Now let's bring these three things and let's reflect on them as they appear in the religious circles. Number one, if we as Christians do not humbly submit to the authority of the word of God, but then we constantly inject our own authority, our own vain interpretations, our own vain imaginations, Well, God said, and then we would say something like this, and then we pair it off something that is untrue about what God said. Are we not asserting our own self-authority, using the name of God? Are we not being rebellious? Are we not being haughty? Are we not rejecting His authority? And so we need to think twice before we exonerate ourselves. We're not rebellious people. We're submissive to the word of God. And we need to be very careful that we do not fall into this category because Israel had an active spirit of rejecting authority. Now Tzfanya had the unsavory task of telling the people that this is how you were. You are like this, you are rebellious toward God. And most people did not like that. Most people don't like to be confronted with our sin. And yet when they are confronted, would they be humble? Would they submit to the Word of God? Would they humble themselves before the authority of God? Or will they fight, demonstrate themselves to be rebellious? Let God be true in every man a liar. As we cultivate a heart of humility of submission to the Word of God, make sure that you are not in the business of asserting your own self-will. That you do not maintain a bent spirit of hardened stance against God. And a key mark is, how teachable are you? That's the mirror of our self-reflection. How teachable are you? If you are teachable, you want to be taught, you want to learn God's word so that you will submit to his authority, that you would receive his blessing, not his rebuke. Then we would say, you are teachable. But if you have a habit of injecting your self-will, rejecting God's authority, maintaining a bent spirit, a hardened stance, rejecting people who bring the Word, or staying away from the Word altogether. Those may be some signs that you may be cultivating a rebellious heart, and it's not too late to turn from that before God's Word proclaims this indictment and it sticks. Let's take a look at what he said, defiled. Can we have a pure and effective Christian testimony in a world just so defiled? Look at the way people talk. Look at the way people relate to one another. Look at the way people pursue the defiling things of this world as a matter of pleasure, as a matter of pursuit. You know, staying pure and holy in a impure and godless generation is difficult. And so we cannot be pure and holy by our own strength. We need to rely upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Cling to Him. Go to Him for His power, His resources, His word. We need to humbly cling to Him in prayer and dependence. There is no substitute for humble dependence. There's just defilement everywhere. And so this is where we need to ask the Lord to help us. And thirdly, God forbid that any of us would cultivate an oppressive spirit to want to dominate over others, want to manipulate others, want to have heavy hand over others, the power to oppress others, take advantage of others. So make sure that you don't fall into any of these categories as you worship the Lord. And make sure that you reflect what's going on in your heart, in your life through the Word of God. Now against these three words which describe the character of the corrupt city, there are four wrongs of the corrupt conduct of the Israelites toward God. Let's take a look at the corrupt conduct. The four wrongs that Israel committed against God in verse 2. First, she did not listen to any voice. Prideful obstinacy and self-righteousness was a major problem with the Israelites. If you have a habit of comparing yourself with lesser people or immoral people, unrighteous people, criminal people, then that kind of attitude can fuel self-righteousness. And you may never see the corruption that's working through the deceiving power of sin. And so prideful obstinacy, this arrogant attitude and the heart of pride was behind the rejection of the Israelites in the messengers God sent, the prophets. As Yeshayahu prophesied that the future realization of Israel when she finally repents will be the recognition that each one, like sheep, have gone astray. And yet the Lord provided the Lamb of God to take away their sins. But everyone, each one of us, Isaiah 53, 6, has turned to his own way. That is a classic sign of arrogant pride, insisting on one's own way and not listening. to the Word of God. So it's not that Israel didn't have any opportunity. She just was committed to self-righteous, prideful obstinacy. Just did not want to hear. So did not listen to a voice, as the literally Hebrew says, no sounding voice of the prophets. Here's the second wrong that Israel committed. She did not receive discipline. Israelites refused to accept God's corrective actions. There was a lot in Israel's character and life and faith and morality that needed correcting, but just did not want to be corrected. Proverbs 1, verse 7, The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge. Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline. Hear, my son, your father's discipline, and do not abandon your mother's instruction. There you have it. When did it start? It started young. When they were young, when the correction, the instruction came, they rejected it. So now it's time for us to reflect a little bit. Are the habits of stubbornness, refusal to listen, refusal to be corrected, the kind of rebellious and haughty attitude that you once had when you were a child, does it still appear and maintain? in your life? That's a sobering analysis of where we are today. And does this affect the way that we grow in Christ? Or rather, conversely, the way we are not growing steadily in Christ. Proverbs 15, 32 says this, he who neglects discipline despises his soul, but he who listens to reproof acquires a heart of wisdom. So we do need constant correction from God and His Word. Again, do you have a mirror in your house? Do you look at it? This is what we need to do daily as we look at the Word of God. Stop worrying about other people. Start asking the Lord to deal with you personally before God and His Word. And you'll find grace. you'll find his yoke to be light and him to be gentle. He will lovingly reprove you and discipline you. He will correct you as you desire to be corrected. If you have no desire, chances are you would reject his loving discipline. But God disciplines his children whom he loves. Here's the third wrong that Israel was guilty of, that we may be. As a matter of fact, most likely we are. She did not trust in Yahweh. This is perhaps the most serious of her wrongs, of sin. There's none who is more trustworthy than the Lord. He never lies. He never deceives. He's never ambiguous. He is a rock. He is so trustworthy. And the fact that the Israelites did not trust in Yahweh means that they would rather trust something else. The word trust here expresses the sense of well-being and security, which results from having something or someone in whom to place confidence. So when you think of trust, think of confidence. Are you confident or are you doubtful? If you're doubtful, you're not going to trust the Lord. So what are you going to trust? Chances are 9 out of 10 times, you're going to trust your instincts. Trust your feelings. Trust your experience. Trust your knowledge. In other words, you're going to trust you. That's what the basic fallen nature wants to do. Trust yourself. Trust your judgment. And that's why the Israelites refused to trust the Lord. God promised protection against harm when we trust him. But so it's easy for a doubter not to trust him. Well, I'm not going to face harm. I'm going to trust myself and make sure that I build high enough fences all around me so that I'm well protected. Well, God says he's going to protect you. I don't know about that. I'm going to make sure. that I'm well protected. Psalm 62 says trust in Him at all times O people. Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. Salah. Sure we can read that but do you believe that? Do you have confidence in the Lord and His power to protect you? Well He will and that's a blessing. God promises to help those who trust in Him. Psalm 115 verse nine says, O Israel, trust in Yahweh, He is their help and their shield. O house of Aharon, trust in Yahweh, He is their help and their shield. You who fear Yahweh, trust in Yahweh, He is their help and their shield. When we have confidence in the Lord, He will come and become our shield. and our help, not man, not your devices, God. Do you have confidence in the Lord to protect you? God promises inner peace for those who trust in him. Isaiah 26 verse three says, the steadfast of mind you will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in you. How can you have perfect peace when you constantly have doubts about God? when you constantly affirm yourself, but I, but I, that's what your thoughts always say, that's what you say, but I feel this way, but I know this, but I, but I, rather than saying you, oh Lord, you are the one that I trust. You will keep in perfect peace. Why do people struggle with anxiety? Why do people have panic attacks? They're fearful of tomorrow. Why are they on anti-anxiety drugs? Why is our society so filled with all kinds of phobias and anxieties and fears and doubts? There's no trust. There's no confidence in the Lord. This is the result of trusting in man. But God's word promises great blessing. Trust in Yahweh forever, Isaiah 26, 4, for in Yah, Yahweh himself, we have an everlasting rock. In order to trust in Yahweh, to grow in our confidence in Yahweh, you need to get to know Yahweh. As you see him coming through every time without fail, rescuing his people, exalting his people, then you will say, ah, That's my Lord. I trust in Him. I choose to trust in Him. And then He will guard your hearts and your minds with perfect peace in Christ Jesus. God promises joy to those who trust in Him. Psalm 33 verse 21, for our heart is glad in Him because we trust in His holy name. Why do people not enjoy the great inner joy that God promises because they lack trust. They don't delight in the Lord because they think so little of Him. God promises to lead and guide us into straight paths when we trust in Him. Proverbs 3 verse 5, He's going to direct our paths. He's going to lead us to the path of obedient living, good success, and the rich blessings which He intends for us. Israel forsook all these blessings because she sinned against the Lord by not trusting in Him. That's why this is probably the greatest and the most serious of Israel's wrongs committed against God, of their sins. Like the pagan nations who were in constant anxiety because of their worldly and earthly concern, Israel forfeited the rich spiritual blessings which were promised by Yahweh. That's why Jesus said, do not worry about tomorrow. Do not worry about what you're going to eat or wear or live. For all these things, the unbelieving Gentiles, they eagerly seek. They live for the moment and for this world. Listen to what one commentator wrote. It was Jerusalem's attempt to find her security in wealth, in military power, in foreign alliances, or even in other gods. In short, in almost anything other than Yahweh himself that led her to reject God's demands. Rather than draw near to her God and trust, she sought to establish her own security, and in so doing, she refused God's offer of life. and turn from justice to trust in oppression. It's fending for oneself, doing what is right in one's own eyes. And here it is, here's the fourth phrase. In Hebrew, this phrase has to her God in the forward position. So it says, to her God, she did not draw near. They claim that Yahweh was the object of their faith, object of their worship. They claim that, but they did not draw near, which shows that just because you know God doesn't mean you automatically desire to worship God, to live for God, or draw near in faith and love for God. A holy desire is one that is eagerly sought after in a right relationship with God. And so for the heart to well up with the holy desire for God, for one to draw near to God in intimacy. But when one learns of God's gracious loving invitation, in Isaiah 48 verse 16 it says this, So God desires for us to draw near to him. But do professing believers have the desire to draw near to God? And this is what Israel failed to do. And this is what many professing Christians fail to do. When we're so preoccupied with our worldly desires and wants, it's easy. to not to have the passion and the desire to draw near to God, the source of all blessings. God wants to bless us. As we draw near in worship to God, He lifts us up and elevates us to the heavenly realms to adore God as we honor Him with our lives. He honors us. That's what He says, those who honor me, I will honor. To pray to God in dependence, when we depend on the Lord, God is pleased and he grants all of our desires that are in Christ Jesus. So if you have these desires, you are truly blessed. If you lack these desires, or they wane, they come and go, sometimes you have them, sometimes you don't, then ask yourself, am I drawing near to God? Do I have love for the Lord? Do I have confidence in the Lord? As you draw near to the Lord, as you honor Him, as you seek Him in His sanctuary of His worship, as your faith in Him grows, I will assure you, your witness to others will improve. Your joy will improve. Your confidence in the Lord will improve. your appetite for the things of God and the Word of God will improve. Jerusalem was a place of the temple where God's people gathered to worship. And this is what you look forward to, gathering together to worship the Lord. Having the desire to be good witnesses to others, not only being there, with your time, but also being there with answers that they have. When the hearts of the people are not with the Lord, then can we truly say that people are drawing near to the Lord? To be near Him? Sometimes I wonder why our passion for witness and evangelism is waning. Perhaps we're not drawing near to the Lord. Jerusalem was the seat of biblical instruction by the priests and the Levites who minister at the temple. But were the people paying attention? I mean, they had to draw near to the Lord. They had to have the desire to be instructed. to grow in faith, to grow in joy, but much like today's professing believers among the church, these things are lacking. So these are four wrongs that the corrupt conduct of Israel demonstrated toward God that needed confrontation and fixing. Thirdly and finally, we find the leadership of Israel They were corrupt, the corrupt chiefs of Israel. The corrupt character, the corrupt conduct, and here now thirdly, verses three and four, the corrupt chiefs. And it begins with the political leaders, the civic leaders, the princes in our midst. That's a generic word for civic governmental leadership. And here, the metaphor of the roaring lions is used to describe these civic leaders. When Israel's leaders give false representation to the people, and then the people blindly follow their leadership, you have blind leading the blind, that situation. Instead of trusting the Lord, who should demonstrate that better than the leadership. The civic leaders should be the ones who should be leading people in this sense and say, hey, let's trust the Lord. He is our great rock. He is dependable. I will trust in Him. Follow my example. Let's trust Him together. Instead of doing that, they find their civic leaders really fending for themselves, thinking about themselves. Instead of trusting the Lord, they trust in themselves and other men. Let's look at Jeremiah chapter 5, Yirmeyahu chapter 5. Young Jeremiah, as a young prophet here, was dismayed at such phenomena in Israel during his day. As we see in chapter 5 verse 4, he thought, man, these poor ignorant people, They're the only ones who are foolish in the land. But he found out he was wrong. Yirmiyahu chapter 5 verse 4, Look at verse 5. Let me go to the great, that's people in high position, right? The wise, the learned, people in high position. And let me speak to them, for they know the way of Yahweh, and the legal judgment of their God. But what is his conclusion? But they too all together have broken the yoke and torn apart the bonds. I mean, these were covenant breakers. He thought that the problem with the poor, the uneducated, the uncouth, the less sophisticated, these people are the problems. But the problem was even worse. when he saw those in higher positions, but they too, all together. So Yermiyahu was shocked to discover that it wasn't just the poor, the uneducated people were foolish, but the great men in positions are just as foolish, even worse. That's what Spania saw also, that the great men of the leadership were using their powers to tear up their prey like the roaring lions. They weren't leading, they weren't serving, but exploiting and abusing the people. This is what the governmental leaders and the people of Yahweh and Am Israel in the capital city of Yerushalayim were doing. With another metaphor from the wild, Spaniel observes that those who are delegated with the power of the court, the judges, those who adjudicate cases, they are ravenous wolves who are greedy for gain. It says her judges are wolves at evening. This is a time when they get hungry and they go out night hunting in packs. Paul saw this tendency in Ephesus also. The very people who are elevated to the positions of leadership, who are called to serve the flock, they come in disguising themselves in an altruistic fashion and yet they're ravenous wolves ready to devour the flock. Acts 20 verse 29, popularity contest, they're drawing people away to exploit them, not to serve them. These predators thoroughly exploit and abuse the people that they clean out the people of their resources here. And that's what this means. They leave nothing to gnaw for the morning. They're so hungry and ravenous. They attack in the evening. They eat every morsel of meat off the bone. When their night raid is over, there's nothing left in the morning. They're thorough in their exploitation and their abuse. That's the characteristic mark of brutal leadership of the pagans. That's what pagans do. But among the leaders of God's people, Israel, the civic leaders were called to shepherd the flock of Yahweh. Church leaders among all people should be involved in serving, teaching, giving, and shepherding, and never exploiting and abusing the people of God. But what did Svanya observe? He observed what Yirmiyahu observed. And other prophets and the leadership in Israel was egregiously irresponsible. The same is true for the Church of Jesus Christ today. When God's people lack servant leadership and exemplary life that pursues the excellencies of Christ, then they are most to blame for the destitute conditions of the Church. So we are most to blame. in God's economy. When we lack the leadership, lack exemplary leadership, we're the most to blame. But when God sends men into the world, like Svanya, like Irmiyahu, he sends them to his people like Yeshayahu. I want you to go and tell them what I'm telling you and provide for them the leadership that they need from you. Because the civic leaders have failed. But you, you are my servants. You're my prophets. You go tell them. And that was the responsibility of the prophets. That was the responsibility of the religious leaders, the Levites and the priests. They knew better. And yet, what is God saying? They're more guilty. When they did the right thing, when the righteous leadership and the prophets of Yahweh, like Svanya, like Yirmiyahu, like Yeshayahu, when they did, then the people mocked them, ridiculed them, slandered them, beat them, rejected them, and killed them even. That's why judgment came upon Israel. Because they rejected the Lord's The great problem with Israel is perhaps with the religious leadership. When the religious leadership fulfilled their responsibility, regardless of whether people responded to them or not, God would continue to send more because his patience continued to remain with his people. But when they reject, reject, reject, then really the problem was with the people. As Apostle Paul had very similar experiences, to one congregation that he founded, he said, you bring me much joy. To another congregation he founded, he says, you grieve, I'm grieved. To one congregation, he says, I'm so thankful for you. To another congregation, he says, how? How have you been bewitched? O you foolish Galatians! O you foolish Corinthians! Strong words of rebuke. To others, he says, you are my joy, my delight. I'm so thankful for you. You became a model to the world of who Christ is. Words of commendation. One would expect the priests and the Levites in Israel to be immune from excesses of corruption among the leadership like the civil leaders. But sadly that wasn't the case. Look at verse 4. Now these two words in combination show that these false prophets peddle their vain imaginations and tell people what they want to hear. They manipulate people and they proclaim that they're speaking God's Word when God has never spoken through them. Yirmiyahu chapter 23 verse 32 says this, Behold, I am against those who have prophesied lying dreams, declares Yahweh, and who recounted them and led my people astray by their lying and reckless boasting. Yet I did not send them, and I did not command them, and they do not furnish this people the slightest benefit, declares Yahweh. The problem was that Yirmiyahu was the true prophet, but people refused to listen to Yirmiyahu. But they chose to listen to the false prophets. But the false prophets are greatly guilty. God indicts them. Her prophets are reckless and treacherous men. The fact that a city can be filled with false prophets is an indictment upon the citizens of that city. Why do they permit them to persist? Why are they not rejected? Why are God's prophets rejected, but they are accepted? Some of the largest gatherings in America are led by reckless and treacherous men who speak their vain, lying, reckless boasting. And they were not sent by God with his word. but it seems that the people who do speak God's word are rejected. So that's an indictment upon not only Israel but our generation as well. Here are the priests. Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. We see this example in the book of Samuel like Eli and his two sons. The priests of Israel had profaned the sanctuary. This is what it says in 1st Samuel chapter 2 verse 22. Now Eli was very old and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Well these were just perverts. His two sons were perverts and yet they had the position of being the sons of the high priest so they enjoyed the position but they were allowing great profanity in the sanctuary to persist. Ali should have demoted them, rebuked them, removed them, but he didn't. He was responsible and his two scoundrel sons were responsible. Now we're constantly shocked when we hear clergy who use their position of influence to sexually exploit women in the church. From time to time we hear famous people being guilty of this and we're shocked. Oh, how can this be? It's in the Bible. People who don't fear the Lord, who profane the sanctuary, they've done violence to the law. And so this is a time for religious leadership, people in the church, to really take a serious look at How if we've been honoring the Lord? Malachi chapter 2 says this in verse 7, Isn't that true? Right? You should go to someone who had studied the Bible. You should know what the Word of God says. You should be able to ask questions. That's what it says. Men should seek instruction from his mouth for he is the messenger of Yahweh Tzva'ot. Okay. But verse 8, but as for you, you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by the instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says Yahweh Tzva'ot. This is a huge problem among the clergy. Not enough word a perversion, profane of the sanctuary, a violence to the law. So yeah, every church and every church leadership should also have a mirror that they would constantly look at and to see, oh man, Lord, have mercy on me, be gracious to me so that I may not bring dishonor to your name. and I may never profane the place of worship and bring violence to the law or break the covenant. Instead of teaching faithfulness to the people of Yahweh, the religious leaders were corrupt and they corrupted the sanctity of God's worship system to serve their corrupt desires. This is the indictment of the Lord. It began with the people, the citizens of the city, And he continued to point out the sins of the civil leadership, the civic leaders. But as we see, I think the greatest indictment, greatest sin, greatest responsibility is with church leadership. So what does God think about all the abuses of religion and religious people? Could it be that our unfaithfulness is the reason why that people are not open to the truth and the reality of our awesome God. Could we be the stumbling block from people from coming to know Christ? We really have to look at the mirror of the word of God and be sober about this. And hopefully that we're not so blinded that we can't see any fault or error in our part and only find fault in others. Mekah exposed the abuse of his day in Mekah chapter 3 verse 11. Her heads pronounced judgment for a bribe and her priests instruct for a price and her prophets divine for money. May I say something to you? Yes, there was a monetary corruption in the days of the prophets like Mekah. But today it could be just the praise of men. Maybe it's popularity, maybe it's fame, maybe it's not wanting to offend others with the truth and therefore wanting to get along, wanting to be loved and appreciated and liked and favored. That could be a powerful motivation. Yet they lean on Yahweh saying, is not Yahweh in our midst? Evil will not come upon us. What presumptuous thinking. There's just no self-reflection. and people who are like this. Of both followers and leaders, of the civil leadership and religious leadership, you don't have to wonder. God's Word is spoken, indicted all the abuses of men. Isn't it true that the judgment will begin with the household of faith first, household of God? And before God judges the world, He's going to have to judge the church and say, were we really faithful to the Lord? And it's a time when the word of God confronts us this way, it's time for us to take a sobering look at how we've been living. Are all these sins, are they also prevalent in the churches of Jesus Christ today? Let's bring it home. Is any of this true about your condition? Do you trust in the Lord? Do you draw near to Him? Do you desire to hear His voice and be transformed by His grace? Do you want to receive His blessings and His good graces upon your life? Or is your mind and your desire so firmly planted on the things of this world that is passing away? After a while, After living the life, the comfortable life, the house, marriage, kids, vacations, yeah, things of this world can often be very enticing and very normalized that our hearts may not be drawn to the Lord. And it could just be just that. But if professing believers stay on that path, the sins that are prevalent in biblical times, which stubbornly persisted from their ancestry from the Exodus generation, that are still present centuries later, that could really come home to roost in our lives as well. The desire for comfort, prosperity, the desire for earthly things that would tune us away from God's rich blessings that he intends for us in Christ. Instead of desiring how I can be used of this generation to be a laborer in the work of God, disciple maker, a witness, a living testament of his grace. All those spiritual desires that may once be there slowly begin to dissipate. This is the great sin and the problem of suburban life in America. Just kind of cruise. So times like this I think it's important that we reflect on this. God's people therefore must trust in the Lord. If you have a hard time trusting in the Lord then chances are you don't know the Lord very well. Now go back to get to know the Lord that you have just forgotten. He is much more than the one who sent his son to die for you. He is that, that the most greatest work, but is much more than that. Get to know him and you will trust in him. Seek him constantly, draw near to him. If you're drawing near to all kinds of diversions, but not drawing near to him, that may be the reason why you may not have a great love and passion for him. Go to him by faith and prayer. Ask him to help you to grow in your faith. Exercise faith as you desire to hear his word and live it out by faith. If faith is what you lack, then you need to go to his word and spend much time there so that you will latch on to the object of your faith. Now it's the beginning of the year, it's January. It's really a good time for you to start off on the right track, right? So since the word of God has shown us the reflection, an ugly reflection of his people who once drifted away from him, let this not be true of you in your personal reflection. So if it is, this is a great time to allow God's spirit to come in and fix those things so that you can be in a right footing. So let's go to the Lord together in prayer. Let's ask the Lord to help us to cling to him and to have a rich relationship of blessing with him and not fall under his rebuke and discipline. Father, we come into your presence through the mighty name of our Savior, Lord Jesus Christ, confessing our sins and all the encumbrances that so easily entangle us in this world. We started out our journey in faith by trusting in Jesus alone, the one who finished the work of our redemption on the cross and through his glorious resurrection. We have been clothed with his righteousness. And yet through the course of life, out of neglect, out of not drawing near to you, out of not trusting in you alone, but trusting in so many other things and taking our eyes off of the Lord Jesus and putting it squarely in the world. We find ourselves bumping into things and losing our bearing. And all of a sudden, anxiety, uncertainty, doubts, and lack of power and strength, a sapping of joy and energy. Lord, these things that are part and parcel of the citizens of this world, we also sense in our lives. But you have been so faithful in every generation as you were faithful to Israel. You send your prophets to proclaim the word so that they would listen to you and turn back to you. Lord, we pray that you would cause our feet to turn back to you. Lord, we know that there is no satisfaction in this world. that there's only deep and lasting joy and peace and satisfaction in Christ. We confess to you that we have not imbibed from the deep waters of the rich promises and the blessings that you have in store for all your people. And so, Father, bring us back to a steady relationship of love and of commitment back to you. Thank you for giving us a new year, a fresh start. Thank you for blessing us with brothers and sisters, friends and family in Christ. Thank you for blessing us with the word. Thank you, Lord, for gathering us together in a God-honoring, Jesus-worshiping, Bible-teaching church where we can be equipped and strengthened. Lord, give us the heart and the appetite to cling to your richness so that we would be satisfied in the richness of what you have in store for us and not to allow our spiritual appetite to be spoiled by the things of this world. We are weak people, Father, we confess, but you are mighty. And so we come to you for strength. We come to you to cling to you alone, for you are the fountain of all living waters, and you are the rock upon whom we can anchor our trust. Lord, teach us to go to you and to your word. Help us to cling to you by faith, and help us to continue to walk in faith. Keep us pure in this sinful and adulterous generation where men love themselves, love pleasure, love money, rather than loving you and loving others as your great commandment tells us. And so keep us on the narrow path of discipleship, we pray, and that you would continue to remind us that we belong to you. and to one another for all of eternity. May we be a constant reminder of your living grace as we gather together again and again and we point each other to the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for your word. Now we pray that you would go before us and make our path straight as we trust in you with all of our hearts. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.