The Not-So Minor Prophets: Zephaniah

The prophetic writings of Zephaniah–oh, look, another warning message from God for the people of Judah.

It is the same message they have heard before. Josiah will take the message to heart and lead a revival, but most of the people of Jerusalem are too deep in sin and will lead themselves into the prophesied destruction.

"Utterly consume everything" (1:2). Zephaniah was blunt, because judgement was coming soon and harshly on the Jews because of their continual wickedness.

Do we sometimes avoid being blunt or harsh, even when it is necessary? What are times it is appropriate to be like this?

Zephaniah spoke in truth and love (hate would be him not telling Israel how they have separated themselves from God), but the soon-ness of the coming events made the message sound harsh. Bluntness is needed in times of urgency. What is more urgent than the physical and spiritual destruction of people you know?

God has a promise for how He will be removing idolatry (1:4-6). This was sort of an invitation, not a threat. Josiah took this to heart and, in the following years, removed idol worship from the Jews. This reminds me of God’s promise of eternal damnation for the unrighteous. It is not a threat but, rather, an invitation for us to get rid of the unrighteousness in our lives. If we become and are faithful Christians, then we can be included in the part of the promise concerning eternal life.

"Be silent in the presence of the Lord" (v. 7-9). God tells them to be quiet and hear His pronouncement of Judgement. God calls His Judgement a sacrifice (v. 8). He is purifying the nation from their wickedness at the cost of His own creation.

The merchant people are promised to be cut down (v. 10-11); obviously, God dislikes those who are greedy or monetarily taking advantage of others. Colossians 3:5-6 says covetousness is idolatry. Trusting in riches over trusting in God is just as bad as praising a statue.

God says He will punish those in complacency (v. 12-13). Those in complacency were those who had let just about anything go on around them and had settled because God seemed distant. I think it is not commonly worded in this way, but complacency with sin is a sin.

Romans 1:32: "who, knowing the righteous judgement of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them" (emphasis added).

God wants us to hate sin like He does. If we become complacent with it, we are mentally okay with committing that sin. This is a sin of the heart, and it is overlooked a lot because it is not something we can physically point out.

The Lord is not a distant God. He does good. He punishes evil. He did not create everything and then leave us be. He is actively loving us and providing opportunity to serve Him.

Zephaniah continues to declare that the Judgement on them is coming soon (1:14-18).

These people were just called out on their sins, and the first thing Zephaniah tells them to do is gather together (2:1-2). It was a demonstration of national mourning and repentance. While the gathering of the saints today has many purposes, I think we may overlook the purpose of repentance. We should gather and praise God to show Him we choose to remain faithful and will repent of our sins.

Like the protests and marches we often see, what is the purpose of most gatherings when a wrongdoing is acknowledged? The group wants to make a change and call for justice. Zephaniah wants these people to get together and then get right with God.

Zephaniah says they need to repent quickly, before the decree is issued or the day passes. Satan’s biggest lie is not always 'there’s no God, no Bible, or no sin', but that there is no rush. There is urgency for people to know the path they are on and where it leads.

It was not just Jews who would be taken captive by the coming kingdom (2:4-15). Even the surrounding Pagan nations were captured by Babylon, and this is a prophecy of that. While we see God working through this prophet to this group of people, that does not mean that He did not also give opportunity for Gentile (non-Jew) nations to turn to Him. The book of Jonah is one example of God giving Gentiles one more chance.

At first, you may think the oppressing city is Nineveh, coming from chapter 2, but from the mention of the city’s prophets, priests, sanctuary, and Law, we see that Jerusalem is the oppressive city (3:1-4). Who is Jerusalem oppressing? The Lord. God lists the roots of Jerusalem’s oppression:

"She has not obeyed His voice." God has constantly given them His word through prophets and through passing down of the Law, but they have rejected it.

"She has not received correction." God has obviously sent correction and punishment to the Jews before–Egypt, the wilderness, other nations. But Jerusalem has not received it, because they just attribute the punishment to tough circumstances.

"She has not trusted in the Lord." God always gave them a reason to trust Him and always kept His word; yet, they fall short every time, showing a lack of trust in Him.

"She has not drawn near to God." Instead of growing their relationship with God, like He wants, they do the opposite. They draw near to the world.

3:5-13 God promises to be just, and that means He brings judgement not only on Jerusalem but the whole Earth. God will be a Restorer and Protector of those who call on His name, but a Judge on those who do not.

Some imagine God to be a mysterious, abstract force lacking personality or passion. In this conception of the Divine, God is a creator and an initiator, but He is not particularly involved in creation. He is intelligent and powerful enough to design the universe, but He is not interested in interfering or interacting after his initial work. In sharp contrast to this vision of God is the God of the Bible. The Lord, as portrayed in the inspired Scriptures, is not aloof. All of the many terms that could be used to describe him, indifferent is certainly not one that fits; in fact, indifference is antithetical to the nature of the true God.

The book of the prophet Zephaniah makes this exceedingly plain.

God is not robotic, cold, or unfeeling.

All of this is frightening imagery, that God has a fierce wrath and a jealousy worth enacting justice. Yet, He gives hope to us who want to stop being complacent and start being in relationship with Him.

The book of Zephaniah closes with a profound vision of hope. 3:14-20 show what the gathering of a people united in God would look like.

"For I will then restore pure speech to the peoples so that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him with a single purpose" (3:9, CSB).

"I will leave a meek and humble people among you, and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel will no longer do wrong or tell lies; a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths. They will pasture and lie down, with nothing to make them afraid" (3:12-13, CSB).

Even as the day of the Lord’s judgment is coming, there is hope for God’s people and the nations. Though it seemed as if the coming punishment would utterly consume, God promises that He will purify the nations and preserve for Himself a humble and holy people who act justly and trust in Him. His burning anger is designed to lead toward His purposes of purification, restoration, and blessing for the entire world.

Why would he care at all to go to all that trouble to preserve such an evil people for Himself? This love of God, that leads Him to reclaim those who once rejected Him, will always baffle us. Yet, He is so gracious and merciful that He would rather be reunited with those who were once enemies than see eternal destruction of the ones He created.

In the end where there is a united people of God, God sings over us (3:17). He finds joy in His people! Creation did not make Him sing. But the salvation of His redeemed, that makes Him rejoice in song. This is a side note, but imagine singing with and alongside God? We should rejoice in song of our deliverance from sin and wrath. We are able to not fear because we serve a God with this profound love towards us (3:16). With that love, what do we need to fear? There is nothing stronger than His love which rescues us when we call to Him for help.

Long story short, Zephaniah is one last prophet God sends to His beloved nation of Judah. They can repent and witness His righteousness or refuse and be partakers of His justice. As always, the choice is up to them–and God gives us the same opportunity.