Zephaniah

By willbehnke

  • Zephaniah

    Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of King Josiah, "His pedigree is traced back through four generations, and the date of his ministry is given as in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, King of Judah"(Ironside 205). Zephaniah warns the people of Judah about the incoming judgement of them by God: "Zephaniah's call for the people to purify themselves from pagan religious practice and economic abuse"(Sweeney 491). This was a common theme among all the prophets, in Zephaniah he warns the people.

  • The Day of the Lord

    The key to the Book of Zephaniah is the phrase "the day of the Lord." This phrase appears in most of the prophetic literature of the Old Testament" (Sweeney 494). The day of the Lord is when God is in clear control of human affairs. It is a day of God's judgement or blessing. "This phrase sometimes refers to the past, sometimes to the near future, sometimes to the distant future"(Constable). The theme of "the day of the Lord" unifies the book of Zephaniah.

  • The Judgement on Judah

    God announced that He would "stretch out" His "hand against Judah" and the people "of Jerusalem"—in judgment. The Lord also announced any place or people that worshipping Baal will be destroyed. Zephaniah warned the people of Judah about the incoming judgement on Judah, "Zephaniah called the "inhabitants of the Mortar," the market or business
    district of Jerusalem, to "wail" because judgment was coming (Constable).

  • Judgement on Israel's Neighboors

    Since all people need to seek the Lord , Zephaniah revealed that judgment was headed for the nations around Judah as well as for Judah. He selected nations that lived in four directions from Judah to represent all the nations. Philistia lay west of Judah, Moab and Ammon to the east, Ethiopia to the south, and Assyria to the north. His prophecies about the nations reminded the Judeans that God was sovereign over all the earth, and He was not just singling out Judah for punishment (Constable).

  • The Purification

    After the judgements God said he would purify the nations. The Lord instructed the descendants of the Lord's "dispersed ones," the Jews, to bring Him offerings of worship from the farthest corners of the earth. (Sweeney 497). "In that day," the day of blessing to follow the day of judgment, Zephaniah's hearers, the Jews, will not feel any more "shame" for all their previous rebellion against the Lord. This is because He will remove all the pride from their hearts (Ironside 206).