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Oppression

by Lance Ponder⁽⁸⁵⁾
http://fkiprofessor.xanga.com

Zeph 3:1 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city!

Context reveals that the prophecies of woe (3:1-5) refer to Jerusalem even though the city isn’t mentioned until much later.

Three characteristics of the condemned are revealed in the first five verses of Zeph 3. First (v1), she is rebellious. Rebellion is when one defies authority. It is implied that authority was once recognized but has since been shirked. Adam and Eve understood God’s command regarding the fruit, but rebelled. Their rebellion was sin because it defied God’s will. Because of their sin, they became defiled and corrupt and the sin which corrupted their flesh corrupts ours today. To be defiled is to become impure and less than holy. Rebellion seeks to replace an external authority with an internal authority. Rebellion against God then means exalting self above God. Self-authority, once defiled by the taste of authority, will naturally seek to expand authority over others. The oppression of common people through the exercise of civic and religious authority is the nature of corrupt leadership. Corruption, like decay in one apple, tends to spread through a society until the decay is widespread.

Article submitted Tuesday, August 30, 2011 & read 117 times.

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