ZEPHANIAH---ZEALOT OF ZION
INTRODUCTION
1. Zephaniah, the man
A. He was the great, great-grandson of the godly Hezekiah. (1:1)
1) He was a cousin to King Josiah under whose reign he ministered. (641-610 B.C.)
2) He was, therefore, probably a prince of the royal house of Judah. (cf. I Cor. 1:26-29)
B. His name means “hidden of the Lord”. (cf. 2:3)
C. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and Habakkuk.
D. His ministry was conducted before the Babylonian captivity.
2. Background of his ministry:
A. He prophesied during a period of great religious reformation that was initiated by Josiah who had come to the throne at the age of eight, committed himself to the Lord at the age of sixteen, and started the reformation at the age of twenty.
B. What the reformation accomplished: (II Kings 22:3-23:30)
1) The temple was repaired. (22:3-7)
2) The scrolls of the Word of God were recovered. (22:8)
3) Restored obedience to the conditions of a previous covenant made between Jehoiada and the Lord (23:3, cf. II Kings 11:17)
4) Removed the high places, priests and practices of idolatry
a. Burned the vessels of Baal (23:4)
b. Stopped the idolatrous priests from ministering (23:5)
c. Destroyed the groves and high places (23:6)
d. Stopped the burning of children to Molech (23:10)
e. Abolished the practice of sodomy (23:7)
f. Slew the idol priests and cremated them (23:20)
g. Restored the worship of the Lord (23:21)
C. If the reformation under Josiah accomplished all this, why does Zephaniah pronounce judgment upon Judah?
1) It was a movement set in motion by the edict of the king.
2) It was an outward reformation but not a heart revival.
3) Because it was only outward, it would not avert the judgment of God upon Judah. (cf. II Kings 22:15-20)
4) As a result of the ineffectiveness of Josiah’s reformation, Zephaniah makes no mention of these outward reforms.
5) Jehoahaz, the successor to Josiah, returned Judah to idolatry. (II Kings 23:31-32)
6) Twelve years later, Judah was taken into captivity.
“Zephaniah saw deeper than the skin; he saw the hearts of the people, and he knew their religious zeal was not sincere. The reforms were shallow; the people got rid of the idols in their homes, but not the idols in their hearts. The rulers of the land were still greedy and disobedient, and the city of Jerusalem was the source of all kinds of wickedness in the land. Even today, many believers lack discernment and think that every ‘religious movement’ is a genuine work of the Lord. Sometimes mere outward reformation only prepares the way for the work of the devil. (Matt. 12:43-45)”
--Wiersbe
THEME OF THE BOOK
1. “A leading theme of Zephaniah is the ‘day of the LORD’, a future event that he describes with vivid power. Zephaniah uses the term ‘day of the LORD’, more than any other prophet.”
--Scofield
2. “The nature of the ‘day of the LORD’ should not be confused with the nature of ‘the day of Christ’. The first has to do with Israel and the nations, the second with the church. The ‘day of the LORD’ has to do with that coming time when the wrath of God will be poured out upon the earth and to the time of blessing thereafter.” --Phillips
SOME KEY VERSES 1:12; 1:14-18; 2:3; 3:9-13
OUTLINE OF THE BOOK
I. GOD’S REBUKE OF ISRAEL (1:1-18; 3:1-7)
A. The pronouncement of judgment (1:1-3)
1. The land will be thoroughly cleansed through judgment.
2. Carried out by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
3. Further purification will come during the “day of the LORD” - the tribulation period.
B. The judgment defined (1:4-13)
1. Upon Jerusalem--it begins at the house of God (v. 4, cf. I Peter 4:17)
2. Upon idolaters--five kinds of idolaters listed:
a. Baal worshippers: the god of good fortune and wealth; the god of farming (v. 4)
b. The Chemarims: black robed priests that polluted the altar of God (v. 4)
c. Worshippers of stars (v. 5)
d. Those with divided loyalties, who professed to worship God while still serving Molech (v. 5)
e. Those who turned away from the Lord, and those who never sought Him (v. 6)
3. Members of the king’s court: because of shameful dress and evil practices (vs. 8, 9)
4. Merchants: for their mad rush for gold at the expense of all principle (vs. 10, 11)
5. Practical atheists: those who professed to believe in God, but lived like He didn’t exist (vs. 12, 13)
6. Princes, judges, prophets, priests: for their lack of morals (3:1-7)
II. GOD’S RETRIBUTION UPON THE NATIONS (2:1-15)
A. If God judges His own chosen people for their sins, He will certainly judge the Gentile nations.
1. Against Philistia who claim to be the rightful inhabitants of Canaan (vs. 4-7)
2. Against Moab and Ammon because they opposed Israel (vs. 8-11)
3. Ethopia because of their frequent alliances with Egypt against Judah (v. 12)
4. Against Assyria because of their self-sufficiency and pride (vs. 13-15)
B. When will the retribution take place? (v. 14)
III. GOD’S RESTORATION OF ISRAEL (3:8-20)
A. From distant lands, assisted by the very nations that opposed her (v. 10)
B. Israel’s future blessings:
1. Unspeakable joy and rejoicing (v. 14)
2. The presence of the Lord (vs. 15-17)
3. Release from the afflictions brought on them by the nations (vs. 18-19)
4. Israel will be a thing of praise to the people of the earth. (v. 20)