Zephaniah 1:12, And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, Nor will He do evil. Complacency is a feeling of being satisfied with how things are and not wanting to try to make them better (Merriam-Webster). In the days of the royal, black prophet Zephaniah (1:1), the land of Judah was dominated by a class of complacent people who did not want the status quo of rampant idol worship, corruption and violence to change, because they profited from that ungodly environment. To prop up their evil ways, these complacent ones had a mindset that made God a non-factor in their lives and in the affairs of their nation. Their mantra was The LORD will not do good, Nor will He do evil. They were saying, Yahweh (the God of Israel) is indifferent or impotent. That kind of thinking made these people practical atheists, no different from the actual atheist. A God that is incapable of helping needy people or punishing evil people is as good as a God who does not exist. One revealing thing about atheism, whether actual atheism (saying there is no God) or practical atheism (living as if there is no God) is that atheism builds a platform for corrupt belief and behavior. We immediately notice this link between atheism and immorality in Psalm 14:1, The fool has said in his heart,There is no God. They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. Wrong belief (there is no God) inevitably leads to bad behavior (corrupt...abominable works). Add complacency to that, and we have a prescription for divine judgment, because Yahweh, the true God must and will take necessary action to prove that He will not be dismissed forever. God will act to make it clear that He exists, that He is real, and that He cares about human behavior, especially what we think of God and how we treat people.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 11:33:09 +0000
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