Zephaniah calls on the humble – the poor
and dispossessed – to obey the Lord’s commands and seek righteousness and
humility. He contrasts this with his earlier warning of the dramatic
consequences for the “shameful nation” – the organised state and its pride in
the face of God’s anger. It is not the
nation state which will ultimately be saved, but there is always room for God's
mercy on those individuals who seek Him in humility. In this we find an echo of
the beatitudes: Zephaniah turns worldly values on their heads, just as the
lowly circumstances of the birth of Jesus lead us to reconsider our own values
in comparison with those of earthly powers.
Guy Milton
No comments:
Post a Comment