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PDFThe Book of Zephaniah
“If anyone wishes all the secret oracles of the prophets to be given in a brief compendium, let him read through this brief Zephaniah.” —Martin Bucer (1528)
We know very little about Zephaniah the son of Cushi. His name means Jehovah hides, i.e., “protects” or “treasures.” He liked to put dark against light and light against dark, painting a very gloomy picture of the Day of the Lord, yet giving a very bright foreglimpse of Israel’s coming glory and the conversion of the Gentiles to the Lord. As Bible Commentator Hewitt points out, the Prophet Zephaniah minced no words: There is no compromise in the language used. He denounces sin and announces judgment with perfect fearlessness and closes his book with a song full of inspiration and hope looking forward to the inauguration of the Millennial Kingdom.
Zephaniah ministered during the reign of Josiah (640–609 B.C.). The book was probably written between 621 and 612 B.C.
Zephaniah probably prophesied from Jerusalem (“this place,” 1:4). The historical background of his prophecy will be found in 2 Kings 21–23 and the early chapters of Jeremiah:
Zephaniah saw the menacing hordes of Scythians, rising over the horizon, swift and terrible in their movements. The position of Judah was delicate and difficult, for with its small resources it could not hope to prevail over the great powers. When the greater nations to the north and south of Judah strove for the mastery of the world, the weak nations that lay between became involved and were often ravaged. Aware of the seething unrest all around, Zephaniah became a preacher of righteousness and denounced the evils of his age in unsparing terms.
He uses the expression “the Day of the Lord” seven times in his little book. This gives the theme of the book: God’s judgment is coming on Judah for disobedience. Other key expressions are “jealousy” and “in the midst.” God is jealous in the sense that He resents the idolatry of His people. He is “in the midst” first as a righteous Judge (3:5) and then as Conqueror of their foes (3:15).
GOD’S DETERMINATION TO EXECUTE JUDGMENT ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]Chapter 1[/popup])
On All the Earth (1:1-3)
It is usual for prophets to name their father, and sometimes their grandfather, as the Jews were very “roots”-oriented, as we would say today. But Zephaniah the son of Cushi traces back four generations of his ancestors, doubtless to let us know of his regal forebear, King Hezekiah.
The chapter as a whole describes the destruction of the whole land, then specifically of Jerusalem and Judah. God will make the whole land utterly desolate.
On Judah and Jerusalem because of Idolatry ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+1%3A4-6&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]1:4-6[/popup])
The inhabitants of Judah will be punished for their idolatry—their Baal-worship, their star-worship, and their worship of Milcom, the god of the Ammonites.
The Day of the Lord under the Figure of a Sacrifice ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+1%3A7-13&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]1:7-13[/popup])
The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; Judah is the victim, and the Babylonians are the guests. God will punish Judah for their idolatrous apparel and practices, and for their violence and deceit. Howls will go up from such various sections of the capital as the Fish Gate, the Second Quarter, and the hills, as the invaders slaughter and take booty.
The Terror of the Day of the Lord ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+1%3A14-18&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]1:14-18[/popup])
The most vivid picture in the Bible of the day of the LORD is given here; it is the day of God’s wrath on men because of their wickedness, the men of Judah in particular. It is a day of war, distress, and slaughter. The day is one of wrath, trouble, distress, wasteness, desolation, darkness, gloominess, clouds, thick darkness, trumpet, alarm against fortified cities and high towers.
God is jealous of the affections of His people and will punish all rivals.
[popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+2&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]Chapter 2[/popup]
JUDAH IS CALLED TO REPENT ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+2%3A1-3&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]2:1-3[/popup])
God calls on the undesirable (or shameless, NKJV marg.) nation to repent. Verse 3 seems to point to a remnant of righteous Jews. If they seek the LORD, they will be hidden in the day of His fierce anger.
THE DOOM OF GENTILE NATIONS ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+2%3A4-15&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]2:4-15[/popup])
The Philistines ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+2%3A4-7&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]2:4-7[/popup])
Verses 4–15 foretell judgment on surrounding nations to the west, east, south, and north. First are the Philistines, who are also identified by their other name—the Cherethites. Their cities—Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod—will be forsaken and desolate. They will be destroyed, and their land will be used by Judah for pasture.
The Moabites and Ammonites ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+2%3A8-11&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]2:8-11[/popup])
Next come Moab and Ammon. God had heard their insolent words and boasts against His people. They will be left desolate, and the residue of God’s people will dwell there. Verse 11 anticipates millennial conditions, when the LORD has reduced to nothing all the gods of the earth.
The Ethiopians ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+2%3A12&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]2:12[/popup])
Ethiopia will be punished by God’s sword (the king of Babylon). Some historians, such as Feinberg, link “Ethiopians” here with Egypt: “The fortunes of Ethiopia were bound up with those of Egypt which was subject to Ethiopic dynasties. Note [popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Jeremiah+46%3A9&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]Jeremiah 46:9[/popup] and [popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Ezekiel+30%3A5-9&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]Ezekiel 30:5 and 9[/popup]. There is reason to believe that Egypt itself is meant under the term Ethiopians.”
The Assyrians and Especially the City of Nineveh ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+2%3A13-15&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]2:13-15[/popup])
Nebuchadnezzar will also destroy Assyria. Nineveh will be a refuge for animals and birds, and everyone who passes by her shall hiss and shake his fist.
[popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+3&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]Chapter 3[/popup]
WOE PRONOUNCED ON JERUSALEM ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+3%3A1-7&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]3:1-7[/popup])
Disobedience, Unresponsiveness, Unbelief, Impenitence ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+3%3A1-2&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]3:1-2[/popup])
The city of Jerusalem, personified as a woman, is condemned as being rebellious, polluted, and oppressing. She has been disobedient and has not trusted in the LORD or drawn near to her God.
Greed of the Princes and the Judges ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+3%3A3&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]3:3[/popup])
Her princes are like roaring lions, and her judges are as greedy as evening wolves.
Levity and Treachery of the Prophets and Sacrilege of the Priests ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+3%3A4&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]3:4[/popup])
Her prophets are faithless, and her priests profane. In verse 4 we have the only denunciation of the prophets in this book. They were guilty of trifling with the weightiest matters. There was no gravity or steadfastness in their life or teaching. They were treacherous because they were unfaithful to Him whom they claimed to represent; instead encouraging the people in their apostasy from the Lord. By their unholy deeds they profaned the sanctuary; they made the sacred profane. They destroyed the Law by distorting its plain intent and meaning when they were teaching the people.
The Lord’s Presence in Judgment ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+3%3A5-7&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]3:5-7[/popup])
In spite of all this sin and corruption, the LORD is in her midst to judge righteously. He had punished other nations, thinking that this would surely cause Judah to fear Him, but the people became even more corrupt.
MESSAGE OF COMFORT TO THE FAITHFUL REMNANT ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+3%3A8-20&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]3:8-20[/popup])
Destruction of Wicked Gentiles ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+3%3A8&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]3:8[/popup])
The faithful remnant of Judah is exhorted to wait for God until He destroys all His foes with the fire of His jealousy.
Conversion of the Remaining Nations ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+3%3A9&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]3:9[/popup])
The pure language of verse 9 can refer to a universal tongue, but also to lips that are undefiled by idolatry, or to speech that is pure with praise to Jehovah. All peoples will serve Him with one accord.
Restoration of Dispersed Israel ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+3%3A10-13&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]3:10-13[/popup])
In that Millennial Day the Gentiles will bring the dispersed Jews back to the land as an offering to the Lord. Wicked men who rejoice in their pride will be destroyed from Judah, and therefore will no longer cause the believing remnant of Israel to be afraid. Those who are left will be humble and meek, trusting in the name of the LORD and living righteously.
Rejoicing over the Second Advent of Christ ([popup url="http://www.cbcmidway.org/biblesearch/bible_supersearch.php?submit=true&version=kjv&lookup=Zephaniah+3%3A14-20&searchtype=All+Words&lookup2=&search=&wholeword=Whole+words+only.&lookup3=&table_display=true&style=sans-serif&size=med&interface=compact_book_browsing&old_search=&old_searchtype=All+Words&old_lookup="]3:14–20[/popup])
Verses 14–20 give the song of restored Israel, praising Jehovah for His mighty deliverance and celebrating His love for His own. The daughter of Zion has much to sing, shout, and rejoice about! Not only have her enemies been thrown out, but the Messiah-King, the LORD Himself, is right in her midst. There is no need to be weak or fear, because God the Mighty One will quiet her with His love.
Since judgment was soon to be upon the people, the LORD ends the prophecy with a strong promise of a complete turnabout for the godly remnant. Instead of the reproach and sorrow of missing the appointed assembly, the exiles will be granted praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame.