Worship for Today: Men spoke from God!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Zephaniah 1:1,

 

"The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah..."

 

I find interesting the way the prophets of old began their prophecies. Here we read, "The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah..." The words of this book never had their origin in Zephaniah, they came to him from the Lord.

 

There are many authors of Bible commentaries that miss a point in my estimation. They begin their analysis with the assumption that the content of the various books of Scripture had their origin in the historical, cultural, geographical, political, religious, etc. contexts within which the biblical authors wrote (if indeed the "biblical author" wrote it!).

 

Zephaniah clearly states at the beginning of his prophecy that what he says had its origin in the Lord himself. Very relevant to our understanding of the prophecy, of course, is the historical, cultural, geographical, political, religious,etc. context within which the Lord addressed his hearers through Zephaniah, but it was to this context, not from it that the prophecy has its origin.

 

This may seem like a splitting of the hairs here to some, but for me, it is important. It speaks to the authority, authenticity and relevance of each one of the volumes in our sacred library. Peter speaks to this issue in his second letter, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21.

 

I find it both wonderful and a marvel as well as sobering that the Creator of all has chosen to step into his creation and speak to us. Recognizing this causes me to acknowledge that what we find in the pages of our Bibles is of vital importance, true and binding on me. After all, the One who spoke is he to whom I will have to give an account of my life on that day...

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com