“At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’” (NIV)

Some of my favorite videos on the Internet are the ones that show the different behaviors of kids based on their birth order. There’s one about the dishes, where the first born is expertly doing them, the middle is throwing them haphazardly into the dishwasher, and the youngest child is explaining to his brothers that you leave the dishes right where you used them, and they magically get back into the cupboard nice and clean.  

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I have a youngest son who fits this caricature. When it’s time to do chores, he somehow disappears or throws a fit and claims he is being unjustly treated by being asked to vacuum the living room. His current strategy for laundry is to get the clothes into the washing machine, start it, and then hope someone completes the job for him. Our verse today talks about another process that gets messed up if you start it, but don’t finish all the steps, if you get lazy along the way and think there will be no consequences.  

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In order to make good wine, you have to move the wine to another container so that the dregs or sediments get left behind. My Bible notes explained, “After 40 days, the wine was poured off from the dregs in the bottom of the jar. If this was not done, the wine would be inferior.” So, wine left on its dregs means the process had been started, but the winemaker didn’t see it all the way through. He became complacent somewhere along the way and didn’t care about the consequences of his actions enough to properly finish the job.

The Israelites in Judah had started off strong…well, sort of. But by this time in their history, they had not only gotten off track but had become comfortable in their sin. In his mercy, God sent them the prophet Zephaniah during the reign of King Josiah to get them back on track. One commentary said, “The people of Judah were prosperous, and they no longer cared about God. God’s demands for righteous living seemed irrelevant to Judah whose security and wealth made her complacent.”  

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They were God’s chosen people and had started something good, but they went off on their own way, forgetting God and not persevering in following him. God is not lukewarm, indecisive, or passive. God is pure in all his ways and will bring about justice because his holiness demands it. He won’t just do nothing about our sin. The wealthy people of Judah thought that there wouldn’t be consequences for their sin, but Zephaniah wanted them to understand that God was seeking out the unrighteous. He wouldn’t do nothing.  

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Like a parent asking a kid to complete the laundry from the first step to the last, God doesn’t want our excuses or half-hearted efforts. Because of God’s own character, we are held to the high standard of holiness. Our actions must align with what we know to be true about God and what he requires of us as his children.  

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There are real consequences for our sinful actions. And also – and this is the best part – God knows we are going to mess up, and there’s grace for that! God sent Jesus to take on the ultimate and complete consequence of our sin by dying on the cross for our salvation. And now today, we even have the Holy Spirit to empower us to walk that salvation out.

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When I found the mildewy clothes in the washing machine, I did not kick my son out of our family. I talked with him and let him know that he needs to complete his chores, and there will be consequences for not completing what he started. God is a patient parent with us as we mess up and don’t always follow through on what we know we should do.

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Where in your life are you not taking God seriously? Where are you ignoring your sin or living in disobedience? You can confess those areas right now and ask God’s grace to cover your failures. By the power of his Spirit, what’s the next step you can take to follow through with what he has called you to do today?

Holy and awesome God, we are reminded today that you are set apart, your ways and thoughts are higher than ours, and we cannot comprehend the completeness of your justice or the depths of your love for us. You are a God of action; you created all things and you still work and move among your people today. God, we need your discipline. We are prone to apathy and laziness. We crave the path of least resistance. Inspire us to rise to the challenges you’ve set before us and let your Spirit stir within our hearts the hunger to serve you alone with all that we are and all that we have. Deliver us from complacency, we pray. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.