(Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations)
Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
the oppressing city!
She listens to no voice;
she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the LORD;
she does not draw near to her God.
Her officials within her
are roaring lions;
her judges are evening wolves
that leave nothing till the morning.
Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
her priests profane what is holy;
they do violence to the law.
Zephaniah was written to the nation of Judah in general and Jerusalem specifically. God is brining judgment on them and the nations for their disobedience and idolatry. Notice in the above passage how they arrived at a life style that rejected God: Failure in leadership. When leadership fails, people fail. When you have no truth at the top you will have chaos and unrestrained bedlam at the bottom. This is what happened to every nation on the planet. All nations fall because of failure in leadership. God raises up leaders to make sure they can lead people. In the above passage we read that the leaders demonstrated the following characteristics:
1. They are roaring lions. This means they are consuming the world around them. They are not there to nurture their followers.
2. They are wolves. They hunt in packs for the purpose of consuming. They consume with NO restraint and leave nothing until the morning.
3. Her prophets are fickle. They lack stability. They stand for nothing true or secure.
4. They are treacherous men. They fail to show any mercy, justice or care for others.
5. They profane anything holy. They are full of sin and corrupt all things holy with sin.
This is the testament of bad leadership. This is the reason Zephaniah had to prophecy against them. Leadership corrupts followership.
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