Zephaniah 1:7 – Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
From the day when Abraham almost offered Isaac up to God, believers have known that ultimately God must provide a sacrifice. The coming of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, changed the world forever. All the sacrifices in the past, no matter how well intended, were but a shadow of the day of the LORD. That dreadful day when Jesus was slain demonstrated the utter depravity of mankind and the sovereign righteousness of the Son of God. Maybe nothing in all of Scripture is so moving as the words of Christ, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
From before the day Jesus was born in Bethlehem until the day of ultimate Passover on Calvary, the path of the Savior was set. His steps were ordered by the Father who did not stay His hand and did not withhold His wrath from His only begotten Son for the sins of Christ’s followers. We can never be worthy of such a sacrifice, but maybe we can hold our peace in the presence of God today recognizing that God prepare this sacrifice for us in love, supreme love. Praise be to God in the Highest!