Zephaniah

Zephaniah’s ancestry is provided in Zephaniah 1:1, something most unusual for a prophet. He is the great-great grandson of “Hezekiah.” It is debated whether or not this is the famous king of Judah, with some offering limited information to the contrary and others arguing for the idea, again without conclusive evidence. The family tree with these names is mentioned nowhere else in Scripture.

The theme or thrust of the book is clear enough: The Day of the Lord, the Day of Wrath is approaching – but there is also equal assurance of ultimate safety for the remnant of all nations. John Raven (p. 238) gives these fitting words: “His description of the day of wrath which occasioned the great medieval hymn, Dies Irae, is as terrible as any in the Old Testament. On the other hand his closing passage regarding the blessings of restored Jerusalem is unsurpassed for gentleness and beauty (note especially Zeph 3:16-17).” The implied or explicit calls to repentance should also be noted throughout.

Hill & Walton provide this good reminder: “Besides Amos, Zephaniah is the only book among the minor prophets to feature a series of oracles against the nations. In Amos they pronounced judgment on Israel and Judah; in Zephaniah they served as examples of the Lord’s intention to judge all the nations. In this way the judgment that was declared against Judah was not viewed in isolation, but as part of Yahweh’s overall agenda articulated in the concept of the day of the Lord.”²Hill, Andrew E. and Walton, John H. A Survey of the Old Testament. 523. Nations singled out for judgment oracles here are Philistia, Moab and Ammon, Ethiopia and Assyria.

This insight into the prophetic “Day of the Lord” and its relation to Judah specifically merits reading: “The people of Judah and Israel had always anticipated that the day of the Lord would be a time of rejoicing for them. They expected that their enemies would be destroyed and their nation would be exalted to become the chief of the nations, with a Davidic king ruling over a vast empire. Early on, prophets like Amos doused such optimism by insisting that the Israelites would be counted among God’s enemies who were ripe for punishment (Amos 5:18-20). Only after punishment and purging would the hoped-for benefits be realized. Thus the day of the Lord became widely proclaimed by the prophets to convey God’s approaching judgment on Israel and Judah, though the related aftermath oracles conveyed that God’s eventual new order was to feature a politically restored and theologically purified people.”³Hill, Andrew E. and Walton, John H. A Survey of the Old Testament. 524. There is ample evidence in the New Testament that the Jewish leaders still did not adequately understand this concept. The New Testament book of Acts and the epistles of the apostles clarify the nature of this “new order,” namely, the New Testament Church.

As with the other prophets of the Old Testament, Zephaniah’s message is dominated by God’s righteous judgment upon sin, not just for Israel but for the whole world (Zeph 3:8). However, his message is not only about judgment. He also proclaimed a gracious message of comfort for God’s people. This not only gave the nation of Israel hope before they returned from exile, but it also gives hope to all believers who are now a part of spiritual Israel. God fulfilled his gracious promises to the people of Israel so that he could fulfill his gracious promise of bringing a Savior through them for all people. That is certainly a message that we, too, can sing and be glad about (Zeph 3:14-17).

• Zephaniah 1:7,14-15
• Zephaniah 2:3
• Zephaniah 2:11
• Zephaniah 3:5
• Zephaniah 3:9-13
• Zephaniah 3:14-20