BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH

The name Zephaniah means “The Lord Hides” or “The Lord has Hidden.” The name indicates confidence in the power of God to hide His worshipper in time of danger.

Probably of royal descent, Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of good king Josiah between the fall of Ninevah and the Babylonian attack on Judah. Under Josiah administration of the Law and worship of the Lord had been revived briefly, but the people still practiced idolatrous customs in secret. Perception of this hypocrisy stirred the young prophet to action. The king joined the prophet in a reform movement, but the evil tide rolled on. The increase of wickedness and disobedience towards God led to God’s using Nebuchadnezzar as the rod of His anger. When reading the prophets we should always try to understand them in their historical (that time), personal (our lives), and prophetic (future) context.

1. Announcement of doom 1.1-9 The day of the Lord’s wrath

1.1-6 - The prophet identifies himself and immediately begins prophesying the wrath of God. The Lord is going to sweep away everything--man and beast, birds of the sky, and fish of the sea. Even mankind will be destroyed from the face of the earth. The Lord is going to stretch out His arm against Judah and Jerusalem because they are worshipping Baal. The people go up to the roofs of their homes and worship the host of heaven and swear by the god Malcham. They have forsaken the Lord for their idols.
1 The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord.

3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.

4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;

5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham;

6 And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired for him.

The translation suggests a scenario of universal destruction. It can be interpreted this way or as pointing to the total destruction of a particular area--Judah and Jerusalem. In Zephaniah’s day he was prophesying and warning the people that judgment was coming unless they changed their ways. In that day they were sacrificing their children to the fire, worshipping idols, and eating at pagan tables. If we do not walk in His ways God cannot stand it. He first sends warnings, but as the people become more and more depraved, destruction comes.

We can relate these verses easily to the Book of Revelation and the end of the age. Prophetically, Zephaniah is seeing that time. It is a time when the apostasy is so great, and the threat to Israel and the Jews so destructive, that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent. We see the duality of prophecy in this light. We can also see that the Apostle John was well versed in the imagery of the ancient prophets. This is the time of the Tribulation.


1.7-9 - The day of the Lord is approaching--be silent. The Lord is preparing a feast and His guests must be purified. The officials and rulers of the nation are going to be punished. Everyone who is lawless, deceitful, and violent will be punished.

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.

8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.

The judgment of the Lord is a terrible thing. It indicates a total lack of repentance and sorrow on Judah’s part. God would not take such action if there was repentance--but the people refuse. The imagery of a feast indicates the total destruction that is coming. This destruction will purify the remnant who survive--they will turn back towards God in true sorrow. This is what revival really is--repentance and sorrow for sin--then we are revived.


2. Description of doom 1.10-13In this day there will be a loud outcry from the wealthy areas of Jerusalem as all trade and finance will come to a halt. The Lord is going to search Jerusalem with lamps and will punish those who say, “The Lord will do nothing, good or bad.” Their wealth is going to be plundered and their homes laid waste. They will be building homes and planting vineyards that they will never enjoy.

10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.

11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.

12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.

13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.We see the imagery of the social and financial fabric of the nation collapsing. The Lord is searching Jerusalem with a lamp--the lamp and light of His word--and finds no righteous people. The people are at ease and mock, saying that the Lord will do nothing. Soon they will realize their grave mistake. All will be destroyed by the Babylonians. Again we see images of Revelation chapters 17 and 18 when Mystery Babylon falls. Duality of prophesy. Again we see the world as it will be in the time of the end.

1.14-18 - The great day of the Lord is swiftly approaching. It is a bitter day. A day of the wrath of God, trouble, distress, calamity, desolation, darkness, gloom, and clouds. It is a day of the trumpet and alarm. People will be distressed and stumble like blind men. Because of their sin the people are doomed. Their silver and gold will not be able to save them on the day of wrath. All will be consumed.

14 The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.

17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
The day of wrath finally comes. It is a terrible day. It is the day of the trumpet. This is why it is important to understand the Feasts of the Lord. The day of the trumpet is the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets--Yom Teruah. This is the final warning prior to the Day of Atonement. On a future Yom Teruah, at the end of the age, the trumpets will sound! There will be trumpets of warning--then the Day of Atonement or the wrath of God. For those who refuse to repent it will be too late.

How can God’s people know what time it is and what to do? Understand the Feasts of the Lord and keep them. This is the beginning of wisdom. We again, see the imagery of the Book of Revelation 17, 18, and 19. What is the Lord telling us? He desires we live righteously and obey His commands. We should be developing our personal relationship with the Lord so that we can hear His voice. We need to return to Him and His ways. We need to “hide” in Him.


Tomorrow: Zephaniah Chapter 2