One of the greatest needs of the modern church is to know God and to know him better. We need a knowledge of God that not only stimulates the mind, but moves the heart to worship and the will to obey. The most clear and certain source of such knowledge is, of course, to be found in the Bible. The books of both its Old and New Testaments furnish us with the kind of knowledge that is crucial to the life-changing discovery we wish to enjoy. However, if there is one part of that revelation that is more likely than others to be neglected it is that group of books collectively known as the Minor Prophets. And this is a pity, because these books contain a rich vein of insight into the character of God. They also contain a necessary counter to the slight and superficial views of God which seem so prevalent at the present time. In contrast, the prophecy of Zephaniah in particular presents us with an awesome picture of the God who really is, and whom we are all one day destined to meet. It also beckons us - indeed, it pleads with us - to face up to what it will mean to meet the living God.
