Zephaniah 1:12, commentary and pictures

At that time is the great day of the Lord that is near and hastens greatly, a day of wrath and distress and desolation and darkness and alarm when the wicked cannot escape for sinning against the Lord. To search Jerusalem with candles means God will thoroughly search out and expose and condemn what is hidden, including hidden sin and motives and principles, and He will punish those settled on their lees in spiritual complacency and ease who say in their heart that He neither blesses nor punishes nor acts in human affairs, bringing terrible judgments so their goods become a booty and their houses a desolation. That warning describes the true state of the unconsecrated in the church, especially leaders with great light who dismiss God's power and judgment and fail to warn others, leaving them accountable when judgment begins at God's sanctuary. The candle calls professing Christians to close and honest examination of their own hearts by the light of God's law, asking God to search them amid the perils of the last days so that no cherished sin remains, and to repent and break every tie to idolatry and worldliness. To be settled on the lees is also to remain inactive and asleep while people perish, so the church must awake and keep growing toward the full stature of Christ, with every member taking personal responsibility to seek the Lord wholeheartedly and work urgently.

Divine Search and Punishment

That time is the day of the Lord's sacrifice, the great day of the Lord that is near and hastens greatly and is approaching, including the fearful events at the close of probation. It is a day of wrath, trouble, distress, wasteness, desolation, darkness, gloominess, clouds, thick darkness, trumpet and alarm. Distress comes upon men for sinning against the Lord, the wicked face destruction and cannot escape, and silver and gold will not deliver them.

Searching Jerusalem with candles means God will thoroughly search out what is hidden and expose and condemn it, including hidden sin, wrongdoing, motives and principles. Being settled on their lees means settled spiritual complacency and indifference to God, being at ease in security, spiritual dullness and coldness, and failing to respond to wrong. Saying in the heart that the Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil means assuming and claiming that God neither blesses nor punishes and denying that He acts for good or brings judgment in human affairs.

God will punish those so settled, and terrible judgments will come upon them. Their goods shall become a booty and their houses a desolation, they shall build houses but not inhabit them and plant vineyards but not drink the wine, and their settled indifference will not shield them. The warning describes the true state of the unconsecrated in the church who neglect duty and resist efforts made in the fear of God to rid the church of hindrances and correct grievous wrongs so that God's people abhor sin, prosper in purity and God's name is glorified. It especially describes leaders who had great light and many opportunities to know God's ways yet did not live by them, who dismiss the need to expect God's power or judgment and fail to warn others, leaving them accountable when judgment begins at God's sanctuary, and this has been literally fulfilled over years in such lives.

Heart Searching and Repentance

The time has come when Jerusalem is being searched as with lighted candles, for God is at work investigating character, weighing moral worth, and pronouncing decisions on individual cases, and everyone who has presumed upon mercy and practiced iniquity will be judged according to works by God's law, the great standard of righteousness. The candle calls professing Christians to close, honest examination of their own hearts, asking God to search the heart, especially amid the perils of the last days. That self-searching must be as careful as searching by candlelight, so that no cherished sin remains unrepented of and unconfessed before it is too late.

One who needs that examination must have a changed heart and a new mind before taking up work for others. Each person should examine his own heart and spiritual condition rather than concentrate on finding and condemning others' faults. The searching exposes motives and principles, and it applies to a searching review of those who have handled God's work, who must examine themselves lest judgment come upon them.

The heart must likewise be searched by the light of God's law, which reveals every defect in character, and every harmful growth must be uprooted as soon as it appears or it will take root and bear fruit. The searching calls professing Christians to repent of murmuring and faultfinding. God searches the heart as with a lighted candle to win His people from every species of idolatry and to expose what is hidden.

That call summons each person with prayer and surrender to discover and break even the finest thread binding to worldly habits that divert thoughts and affections from God. Such habits include filling mantels, stands, and tables with ornaments, pictures, and albums that bring thoughts down from God and heavenly interests to common things, so those ties can be broken and every idol abandoned. Every believer needs to search the heart now as with a lighted candle, which prepares God's people to stand the test as everything that can be shaken is shaken, while God will have a pure, holy people who remain. The candle's searching applies also to examining one's own heart carefully in light of Scripture's guidance for married people.

God has warned to depart from all iniquity and has commanded each person individually to resist the Devil and not entertain him as an honored guest. It may not be too late for those who have sinned to be zealous and repent.

Awake to Faithful Action

To be settled on the lees is to be settled in complacency and to remain inactive. It describes those who are now resting instead of laboring. The warning is therefore to awake and act quickly in spreading the worldwide message, rather than resting or leaving the work to ministers alone. That worldwide message must be carried with urgency, and every member and not only ministers has personal responsibility to work. Those addressed are to seek the Lord wholeheartedly and to engage in work such as house-to-house ministry.

Reclining on the lees is the state of professed Christians lulled into spiritual sleep and neglecting the work of spreading the truth while people perish. It calls for decisive change, spiritual awakening, and renewed zeal for Christian service. In the same sense, being settled on the lees describes professed believers who are indifferent, cold, and satisfied with limited reform instead of continuing to grow. Christians are to take individual responsibility, make progress in spiritual life, and keep growing toward the full stature of Christ, for there is no stopping place before heaven.