Sunday Morning Podcast October 20, 2019. Bro. Dave Goble.
TEXT: ZEPHANIAH 1:12-15
12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.
13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
God used Zephaniah to prophesy warnings on Jerusalem for their being Settled on their lees. Saying in their heart, “The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.” It is much like one who is essentially “lukewarm.” Neither zealous or concerned one way or another about their needs, but complacent. “I will search Jerusalem with candles and punish the men that are settled on their lees:,” In another words God will examine us with His light, so we can see from His illumination, those things in our lives we need help in. This prophecy describes a child of God, or congregation of God that have settled on their lees, which prevents them from having a sustainability in God. Jerusalem had some serious problems and needs, and could not see this on their own, so God sent the prophet Zephaniah. We go now to Jeremiah who was a contemporary of Zephaniah. Jeremiah 48:11 “Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.” Psalms 75:8 “And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.” Again “they were settled on their lees.” It is important to remember that “lees” are the dregs. They were no longer truly worshiping. They had other things in their life, that robbed them of that worship of God which is required for a sustainability of a relationship with God. Are you substituting other things that rob you of a true devotion and worship of God as above all else in your heart? Is God first place and the One that you have given control of your vessel on this sea of life? Are you completely steadfast in your worship, of God to be all consuming and first?
Are you settled on your lees? What are you worshiping? Where are you altars located in your life? Given to other fleshly interests? Your life cannot be kept clean without a clear and complete connection with God. Otherwise when the storms come, there will be a reacting without grace to your hard trials. You’ll remember how little it takes to get you to “fly off the handle,” to react in a graceless way. Everything is smooth, than an obstacle comes to throw you and it reverses what you have been blessed with, for sustainability in God. Everyday you are showing whether or not you are married to Christ. Shall I be married to Christ? That will determine the direction of your vessel. “That say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil” (Zephaniah 1:12) The affect will be that you claim salvation, though you actually are deluded, even though you are “settled.” Because of that mentality you are NOT safe, but lukewarm. God is no longer near in your heart, because you have crowded Him out with other things intruding. .Isaiah 51:17 “Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which has drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou has drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. The dregs are not meant to be drunk! For dregs make you sleepy. God says wake up! Stand up! We need to be stirred up and in devotion often, helping with the needs of others!. In the service of God! He has a right to the best we can produce! Am I stirred? Or settled?
Settled on Their Lees…....