Bible Study - Zephaniah - Part 2

Last week, we looked at an introduction to Zephaniah, one of the last of the Old Testament books. Today we will begin to look at his message, as “the Word of the Lord came to him” (Zephaniah 1:1). Zephaniah has some of the strongest predictions of judgment for sin and evil, as “the Day of the Lord” draws near for individuals who are far from the Lord, as well as for Judah and Jerusalem, and for many nations who have opposed the Lord and His will, and for the whole sinful, unbelieving world. There are also words of hope, as the Lord takes away judgments from His humbled people, through His coming and saving work (through Jesus.) Watch for these messages scattered through this short book.

Zephaniah 1:2-3 begins by warning that the Lord will eventually “sweep away everything from the face of the earth, including “mankind,” in the final judgment. These words remind us of what was said at the time of the great flood, where nothing was left but Noah and his family, in the ark. (See Genesis 6:5-7, 6:11-13, and 7:4. “Fire” is connected with the final judgment, though, instead of water, in Zephaniah 1:18. Peter speaks of the same in his prophecy in 2 Peter 3:6-7 and 3:10,12-13, along with “new heavens and a new earth,” the whole new eternal existence that will come for all believers.) Zephaniah will return to mention this final judgment in other places, as we will see. 

Zephaniah then speaks of a “day of judgment” coming much sooner for the land of Judah and its capital, Jerusalem, in Zephaniah 1:4-13. The Lord says that He will “stretch out His hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” Remember that the Northern Kingdom of Israel had already fallen to Assyrian invaders in 722-721 BC because of its wickedness. Now the same would happen to the Southern Kingdom, for the same sorts of reasons. The Lord gives examples, through Zephaniah, of how His chosen people had drifted far away from His will, especially with the worship of false gods. Manasseh and his son, previous kings of Judah, had made worship of the Canaanite fertility god, Baal, very popular (Zephaniah 1:4), and there were many priests of this false god still around in Judah and Jerusalem. There were also those who worshiped the sun, moon, and star gods introduced by the Assyrians, who were now very near and influential. These were “priests, those who bow down on their roofs to the host of the heavens” (Zephaniah 1:5). There were also those “bowed down and swore to the Lord,” but who also “swore by Milcom,” a god of the Ammonites (Zephaniah 1:5). (See also 2 Kings 21:1-9, for a dramatic description of how bad it was under King Manasseh.)

How different and opposite this was from the Lord’s First Commandment and its explanation. “I am the Lord your God… You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them…” (Deuteronomy 5:6-9). Also in trouble, of course, are any who “have turned back from following the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire of Him,” who are atheists (who believe there is no god) or agnostics (who are not sure if there is a god or not and so ignore Him) or just don’t have time for the Lord (Zephaniah 1:6).

Dr. Franzmann, in a commentary, also reminds us of the importance of continuing to “inquire of the Lord.” He points to King Josiah, who reigned during the time that Zephaniah was a prophet. When Josiah was 26, he had the temple in Jerusalem repaired, and “the Book of the Law,” which had been lost and forgotten, was found there. Josiah heard some of what that book of Scripture said and was shocked at how much was wrong in Judah. He knew the need to “inquire of the Lord” about all this, asked the help of Hilkiah the priest, and listened to prophetic messages and the Scriptures. As a result, the Lord led him to repent for his sins and the sins of his people. He made many reforms and rid the land of many false gods; and it was said of him that “there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might.” He was not perfect, but trusted the Lord and was spared from terrible times to come, much of his life. (You can read about this in 2 Kings 22-23:25.) Things went downhill again soon after his time, though; and what Zephaniah predicted did happen in 587-586 BC, when Judah was totally conquered by the Babylonians and Jerusalem was destroyed. It was a day of the Lord’s judgment for them.

The Lord had also said earlier through the prophet Isaiah, “When (people) say to you, ‘Inquire of the mediums and necromancers,'"( those who try to consult the dead and try to get other supernatural messages) “should a people not inquire of their God?… To the teaching and the testimony! If they will not speak according to this Word (of the Lord), it is because they have no dawn” - they are living in “distress and thick darkness” (Isaiah 8:19-22).

How do we “inquire of the Lord” today? We certainly pray, but especially we also listen to the Word of God, the Scriptures, which come from the prophets and apostles, inspired by God. We can do that by reading our Bibles and listening to the Word in worship and Bible studies. We don’t have “priests,” but we do have pastors and teachers and others who can help us understand the Word better and help us avoid false teachers. We can ask questions, too, and seek better understanding. (See the warning God gives through the prophet Malachi, in his day, to some priests: “The lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your teaching” (Malachi 2:7-9).)

I will stop here, and we’ll continue next week, as we hear more warnings about what is predicted for Judah and Jerusalem and other nations and the whole world. Obviously, God had not totally given up on people, as He was still sending prophets like Zephaniah to wake people up, as he did with Josiah.