Zephaniah

There is an exact date for this book. It is in 1:1. Josiah was king in Judah. (This was the southern kingdom of the land of Israel). Josiah wanted the nation to return to God. And an important reason for this desire could have been the prophet's words. A description of Zephaniah's main message could be in 1:4-9.

Zephaniah gave this message before the nation returned to God. It shows pain and despair. Moral and religious affairs were very bad. Manasseh was king before Josiah. And he was a very evil man. He refused to allow any prophets to speak. He preferred wizards (2 Kings 21:6). A wizard is a person who uses evil powers to do magic. Zephaniah was probably the first prophet since then. He had a clear, plain word from God.

Judah's Sins (Chapter 1:1-2:3)

The prophet was speaking about sins. They were the sins of Jerusalem's people. This was Judah's capital city.) Zephaniah knew its streets and its markets well. He thought that the sins of the citizens were very serious.

They did not honour God's name (1:4-5). The citizens tried to worship false gods as well as Yahweh. (This is the Hebrew language name for Jehovah God.) This clearly reminded them about Exodus 20:3-4. (Compare 2 Kings 21:3-4. Especially read 2 Kings 23:5, 12 and Matthew 6:24 too.)

They did not ask for God's help (1:6). Their worst sin was lack of prayer. They did not think that there was really any need to pray. We are probably no better than they were.

They did not obey God's word (1:9). The prophet spoke about two more sins. First, there was cruelty (1:9). Then, there was the desire for more things. And these sins were instead of love for people (1:11).

God clearly told them not to be like this. It was in the Laws that he gave by Moses. (You can read them in Exodus 20:17 and Deuteronomy 15:7-11.)

They did not accept God's rule (1:12). Some of them suggested something. They said that God did not care about their bad behaviour.

This was a very sad situation. The prophet was warning them. (He was a citizen of Jerusalem city too). He warned them that the Day of the Lord would come. Zephaniah was careful to mention three things about that Day. It would be a Day when:

  • God searched (1:12). Nobody can hide anything from God. This was a familiar subject for the prophets. (Read Jeremiah 16:16-17; Ezekiel 9:4-11; Amos 9:1-3. Compare Psalms 7:9; 26:2; 139:1-16 and Proverbs 17:3).
  • God judged (1:13-18). The judgement was near. And nobody could escape from it. No amount of wealth would be able to buy protection (1:18).
  • God would forgive (2:3). That Day would have no terrors for some people. They were the people who repented. God himself would keep them safe.

Judah's Neighbours (Chapter 2:4-15)

The prophets did not think about God as the Jews’ God only. That was why they were all against idol worship. They knew that these idols did not mean anything. They were nothing. There is only one God. He rules the whole world and everything else that is in space. He decides the fate of everyone. And this includes those who do not believe in him.

This is the second main passage in the book. It is about the sins of Judah's neighbours. God rules over them too. There was a famous Christian writer. His name was Dr Graham Scroggie. And he noted something. It was this. The prophet pointed to nations in four different areas:

  • West (Philistia, 2:4-7)
  • East (Moab and Ammon, 2:8-11)
  • South (Ethiopia, 2:12)
  • North (Assyria, 2:13-15).

There was a possible reason for this choice. He might have been showing that God rules the whole world.

Judah's Leaders (Chapter 3:1-7)

Attention now turned away from nations that did not love God. It turned to bad leaders. They were in Judah itself. They were not spiritual leaders. The prophet did not mention the city by name. But he was probably thinking about Jerusalem here (3:1).

  • The city's people refused God's authority. (This sin was against God.)
  • The city's people were wicked. (This sin was against themselves.)
  • The city's people were cruel. (This sin was against other people.)

These things showed more about the people. They trusted in themselves. They refused to believe God's word. They did not pray (3:2. Read 2:4-6 too).

This section is about groups of citizens. They came before God for judgement. There were officials and judges. There were prophets and priests. The words and ideas that Zephaniah and Jeremiah used are similar. (Remember that the two prophets lived at the same time. See Jeremiah 6:13-14; 8:8-12.)

Zephaniah could not understand something. It was about the people of Jerusalem. He wondered how they could continue to sin, when:

  • Their holy God was there (3:5. ‘But God is still in that city. He does what is right. He never does what is wrong’). Zephaniah could not understand how the people could be so evil. They had the Temple in their city. And it was always reminding them of who God is. It also reminded them what he is like.
  • God's mercy did not fail (3:5. ‘Every morning he brings what is fair to his people. He never fails’). They were sinning. But God continued to show that he cared. His generous goodness continued towards them. (Compare Matthew 5:45-47.)
  • God saved them in former times (3:6-7). When the enemy attacked, God helped his people. He helped them to overcome their enemies. But his people still refused to return to him (3:7).

Judah's Hope (Chapter 3:8-20)

There is some teaching in this passage. It is about a small group of people. They were the few good people. They followed God and they lived in the right way. In the future, God would clearly separate people into two groups. There would be those who really believed in him. Then there would be those who pretended. They just mentioned his name.

Zephaniah saw several things. They were about that special Day. God would establish his people in the land. He would bless them in that Day too. Zephaniah declared five things about God's people:

They must be patient (3:8. God said, ‘Wait for me’. Compare Habakkuk 2:3). God's final rescue seemed to be taking a long time. But the few people who really believed must learn something. They must learn to wait for God's time.

They would grow in numbers (3:9-10). Here, the few people who loved God were caring about other nations. They are sharing God with the people.

They would become more holy (3:11-13). Those who were proud would go. Those who were humble would remain.

They could be full of joy (3:14). They were sad because of their defeat. But that would change to songs of success.

They could be confident (3:15-17). God was with them. He would rescue them (3:17). He would give them new life (3:17). He would change them into better people (3:19).

These promises are still true today. They are for all those who love God and who follow God.