He Is In The Midst Of Thee

Today’s Passages – Zephaniah 1 – 3; Proverbs 29

(Second Milers also memorize – Hosea 10:12)

The audio from the Wednesday Night Bible Study is available here.

Read a great article from Dr. Paul Chappell – “How to Finish Well” here.

Listen to last night’s Scripture song – Deuteronomy 32:4 here.

“The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.” (Zephaniah 3:15)

I love that phrase in verse 15, “…the Lord, is in the midst of thee”. Isn’t it wonderful to know that God dwells in and with His children. It is wonderful when we are gathered together in the house of the Lord for worship to feel the presence of God among us. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

If I understand this verse correctly, it appears that Zephaniah is looking forward to the Millennial Kingdom of Christ on earth. It would seem that this will be the only time that all of the things mentioned in the context could take place. In the first two chapters Zephaniah wrote of judgment which has already come and is still coming, but the future holds a time for Israel when they will be reconciled completely with God; and God will once again be pouring out His blessings upon them; and will remove all of the enemies of God’s people from the land.

My thought this morning, however, is how this verse, though directly dealing with Israel, applies perfectly to the Christian today. The Christian already has today what He is going to give Israel in the future. First, it says “The LORD hath taken away thy judgments”. How wonderful it is to know that the penalty for sin is gone. I will not be judged for my sin. I used to hear preachers say that when I stand before God, He is going to show a video of every bad thing that I have ever done. Not true. Jesus paid for all of my sins at Calvary and they are all under the blood. My record is clean because of what Jesus did for me at Calvary. My sins are gone! Praise God!!!

Secondly, Zephaniah says “he hath cast out thine enemy”. Now this isn’t true yet; but it soon will be. My enemy is Satan, and though he and his devils are reeking havoc today, he is already defeated. Some day soon, we will see Satan cast into the lake of fire. I am on the winning side and Satan is a loser. Just a thought: why do so many people, including Christians, follow him. My flesh is also a formidable foe; but God has given me His Spirit, and if I will yield myself to Him, I can crucify this old wicked flesh on a daily basis.

Finally, Zephaniah says “the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee”. I know that this verse is talking about God dwelling in the midst of His people, Israel, but I have God dwelling in me right now.

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Colossians 1:27)

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” (John 15:4)

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” (Ephesians 1:13)

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

God is not only with me, He is in me. And if I will allow Him to have His way with my life, I will reveal Him to others around me.

P.S. I have one additional encouragement from Zephaniah 2:

“Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.” – (Zephaniah 2:3)

This verse is a great encouragement to me because it teaches that though there may be judgment by God on the world around us, we may escape it if we are in a right relationship with Him. God has not appointed His children to wrath, and though He may pour out His judgent on this land, He will still protect and provide for His own.