Bible Study - Zephaniah - Part 5

Last week, we heard more warnings of judgment for Judah and Jerusalem, in Zephaniah 2:1-3, though there are words of hope for humble people who seek the Lord and His righteousness, as the Lord led King Josiah to do, for a while. Then, the focus turns to judgment against the Philistines and their four major cities, including Gaza, as enemies of God’s people. They would be destroyed, and in the future, there is another word of hope for God’s people, as their land along the coast of the Great Sea would become pasture land for “the remnant of Judah.” Again, the focus changes to judgment for other perpetual enemies of Israel: the Moabites and Ammonites to the East. Their nations will also fall, and their “gods” are not real and are of no help.

We begin, then, with Zephaniah 2:12, with one verse predicting the fall of the Cushites, far to the South of Israel. Cush is the name for the area that is now called Ethiopia. Ethiopia was associated with Egypt and with the powerful city of Thebes - but much of this area fell to Assyrian armies in 663 BC.

The Assyrians seemed invincible and so powerful, with their capital city of Nineveh, far to the north of Jerusalem. If you remember the Book of Jonah, the leaders and people of Nineveh had listened to the message of the prophet Jonah, earlier, and were led to repent and pay attention to the One True God for a time, though Jonah was very unhappy about that. That allowed them to survive longer, though they later rejected the Lord and went right back to their evil ways and false gods. Now God raised up Zephaniah to predict the judgment and fall of Nineveh and the whole Assyrian empire, too. They had become such a cruel and hateful nation that most everyone was against them.

Meanwhile, the Babylonians had become stronger and, together with the Medes, were able to defeat the Assyrian armies and captured and totally destroyed the city of Nineveh in 612 BC. (Zephaniah 2:13-15) The city became a wasteland and disappeared for many centuries. The description of it as a place only for birds and wild animals was true. It had been an “exultant city that lived securely” (2:15). The mention of “capitals” refers to the tops of columns of abandoned and destroyed temples and palaces. The mention of “cedar work” was an indication of great wealth and luxury (2:14). See what the Lord says about this in Judah, through the prophet Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 22:13-17. Some of the ruins of the city were rediscovered in the mid-1800s. Around it is now the city known as Mosul, in Iraq, where there has been much fighting with ISIS forces in recent times.

The most serious problem with ancient Nineveh, of course, was its false gods and pride in itself, as if it were a god. God Himself had said twice in Isaiah 45:5-6, “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” Already in Exodus 3:13-14, God was saying that His name was “I am Who I am,” and “I am” has sent me to you. Jesus, as the Son of God, said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), and used the “I am” sayings about Himself. But here, the king of Babylon was saying, in effect, in Isaiah 14:13-14, “I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; … I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” And the Ninevites leaders were saying, “I am, and there is no one else.” In these cases, commentator Walter Roehrs says this is “the political form of man’s primal sin, the desire to be like God” (Genesis 3:5, 22).

Powerful nations can be like that, thinking that they are god-like. As Zephaniah, Chapter 3 begins, God switches back to His own city of Jerusalem, which He also calls “rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city.” The people “listen to no voice” but their own. “They accept no correction,” even from God. They “do not trust in the Lord” and “do not draw near to their God” (Zephaniah 3:1-2). “Their officials” are like “roaring lions,” and “their judges are like evening wolves.” They devour everything of others and leave nothing for the next day (3:3). Even the prophets “are fickle, treacherous men,” and the “priests profane what is holy and do violence to the Law" (3:4). “The Lord is just and righteous,” but “the unjust know no shame” in what they are doing (3:5). King Josiah tried to make many reforms, but they were not continuing, and too many people were slipping back into their evil patterns. Judgment is coming for all this.

In 3:6-8, then, the Lord says again that this coming judgment on Judah and Jerusalem is a pattern for judgment that is coming for all nations in the last days. “Surely people “will accept correction” and “fear Me,” says the Lord, “but all the more they are eager to make all their deeds corrupt” (3:7). Judgment comes, and “cities are desolate and laid waste, without inhabitants,” and no one pays attention (3:6). Therefore, “wait for Me,” says the Lord, for I will “gather nations and kingdoms” and “seize the prey” and “all the earth shall be consumed.” This is a picture given in the New Testament, too, for the last day, the Day of Judgment. Think of some of the Scripture readings we have heard in the last weeks of the old church year and even in Advent. Judgment is coming for unbelievers, for all those rejecting the Lord and not trusting in Him through Jesus our Savior (Matthew 25:31-46, 2 Peter 3:8-13, etc.).

But finally, beginning in 3:9, we hear words of promise that the Lord can turn things around for His people, “humble and lowly.” We will focus on these words of hope, in the final portion of God’s message through Zephaniah, next week.