Zephaniah 1:5 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Zephaniah 1:5

Comments

‘Them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops, and them that worship and swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham.’ They worship the stars which God placed in the heavens to glorify him and not to take his place as objects of worship. They then come and swear by the Lord, as if he went no further than listening to the sound of their prayers and did not search their hearts. Malcham was considered to be a king among the deities of the worshippers of Baal.Again there is a joining together of those who practice blatant idolatry with those who still worship the Lord in the prescribed way. Both are to be condemned. Why? Because they are doing both at the same time; because there has been a melding of religious practices. These are people who profess to be worshippers of the true God, but at the same time they swear by Baal. They have got an idol on the rooftop, they take it out there, they claim to worship the Lord, and they worship the idol as well. So the two-faced people are going to be judged.

Application

God is not deceived by those who add a little orthodoxy to their corrupt worship systems. He knows it is a sham. This is what the Book of Zephaniah is telling us here. Do we make friends with those who have rejected the truth of God’s word? – not to win them, but to fraternise with them. Do we think that after doing that we can go back and convince the Lord our hearts are true to him, and treat him as if he cannot see? Will a little correct doctrine persuade him that we are truly on his side, when our actions say something completely different. It is certain that God will not use us in any meaningful way, but rather will cut of the remnant of us and erase our name from among his people. How long before we understand that God will not let his truth be mixed with falsehood?

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Zephaniah 1:5 Commentary and Bible Study

The meaning of Zephaniah 1:5 explained