AUGUST 22, 2026 – THE GREAT DAY OF THE LORD IS NEAR

READ: Zeph. 1:12–18.
“… a day of wrath … trouble and distress … Because they have sinned … the whole land shall be devoured …

Verse 12 describes the condition of those who refuse to continue in repentance and possess no living faith. They imagine that they will escape unnoticed, thinking that the LORD neither does good nor evil. In reality, they live as though God does not exist. Their chief concern is the pursuit of earthly gain.

But the LORD sees everything. It is as though He searches all Jerusalem with lamps. Nothing escapes His notice, and everything is brought to light and is judged by Him.

Then He comes with a devastating judgment. They will lose everything in which they have placed their confidence (v.13). Yet not only that, God’s wrath will also affect both body and soul.

The same danger exists in our own day. A person may belong to the church and yet lack that living faith by which one knows the joy of being a child of God who lives by grace to His glory. Others may not perceive this, especially when pious words are spoken. But God perceives all things. Nothing is hidden from His sight.

The Lord desires daily repentance. For this reason there must be daily prayer for the Holy Spirit, that we may walk in the ways which He points out to us. Only then shall we be willing to discover our own sins, confess them before God, and receive forgiveness. Thus we walk with God, looking forward not to the destructive end of the final judgment, but to everlasting glory.

The words that Zephaniah proclaims to the church of his day are alarming for the many who have fallen away from the LORD. Nothing in which they now trust—not even silver and gold—will be able to deliver them (v.18).

Yet for them also there still remains a day of grace. They may yet repent if they believe the Word that Zephaniah proclaims. They cannot say that they were not warned.

The days of Zephaniah are in many respects not unlike our own. Certainly Christ has come, the Holy Spirit has been poured out, and we possess the whole of Scripture. Yet there are still nominal Christians. Therefore this solemn aspect of the gospel must continue to be proclaimed in our own day.

How do we show daily repentance?

Sing: Ps. 139:1,11.