Tag: God Condemns Duplicity - Zephaniah

Zephaniah 1:4-6

“I will stretch out my hand against Judah

and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal

and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,

those who bow down on the roofs

to the host of the heavens,

those who bow down and swear to the Lord

and yet swear by Milcom,

those who have turned back from following the Lord,

who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

Tag:  Duplicity is False Worship

There is nothing worse than duplicity:  Worshipping two opposite entities.  In the above verses, the prophet Zephaniah is condemning the nation of Israel and Judah for worshipping both God and the foreign god of Molech.   Molech was a god of the Ammonites.   When the nation of Israel entered the promise land, they were told to destroy the gods of the peoples that lived there prior to them.  They were not to marry the foreigners or take on their worship practices.  Yet, they did just that.  They not only co-mingled with the people, they took their gods as their own.  God condemns just falsehood.  They waste to claim to be the children of Yahweh, but also wanted to worship the gods of this world.  Notice some other verses that condemn the same thing:

 Revelation 3:15-16

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

James 1:5-8

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

We can’t be stable and hold to two different belief systems.    God demands our complete loyalty and commitment.   In the above passage God says He is going to “cut off” those who practice such things.  Notice what Jesus said, in similar terms, about duplicity:

Matthew 7:22-23

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Many will claim to worship God (Christ) in the end.  But, some of those not only worship Christ, they also worship other things and other gods.   God condemns duplicity and will cut them off.   We are to be completely loyal and committed to God.