Seek the Lord

Zephaniah prophesied in the time of Josiah, the young and godly king of Jerusalem who called the complacent nation to revival. Many were saying, "The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill" (Zephaniah 1.12).

Not all were complacent, however. Zephaniah believed some would seek the Lord and he told them how:

Do his commands. Here is the hook that God used to capture them and us. While the commands of God are good - and we desire them - we find that apart from Christ we are unable to do them. This does not mean that we should not do them, but in the attempt, we will be driven to God's mercy.

Seek righteousness. Even if we were able to perfectly do the commands of God, which we are not, that still will not bring about the righteousness of God. That comes by believing. The Bible says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness" (Romans 4.3). It also says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2.8-9).

Seek humility. And so, the prophet ends up right where the New Testament takes us: seek humility. Jesus told a parable about two men who went to the temple to pray. One, a self-righteous Pharisee, prayed with pride and missed out on the righteousness of God. The other, a sinful tax-collector, pleaded, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." Jesus said that he went away justified or made right with God.

Would you seek the Lord? Listen to the prophet: do his commands; seek righteousness; seek humility.