"The great day of the Lord is near — near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter. . . . That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom. . . ." With these words, Zephaniah warned Judah and all the nations of the coming day of judgment, the Day of the Lord.
The prophecies of Zephaniah are a passionate cry for repentance, to avert the wrath that will come upon the sinner when God makes all things right and brings justice to the earth at the Day of the Lord.
In Zephaniah, as is common in the other prophetic books, though Israel will be severely disciplined, God's chosen nation will not forever be lost or destroyed. A remnant will be preserved who will humble themselves before God and worship him with all their hearts.
What does it say?
Zephaniah's prophecy begins with a grim statement of God's plans to "sweep away everything from the face of the earth." "The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth." Zephaniah is a book of judgment upon Israel and upon all the nations of the earth.
The judgment of Judah is described followed by the judgment of Philistia, Moab, Ammon, and other surrounding nations. The great Day of the Lord will be a worldwide event. It will bring untold disaster on all those who do not repent.
But Zephaniah tells us of a remnant of people who do, in fact, remain true to their God. Through these people, God will restore the fortunes of his chosen people. There will be great rejoicing in the city of Jerusalem as the nation is restored.
Faces & Places
Zephaniah served as a prophet to Judah from about 640-621 B.C. during the reign of king Josiah, the last good king of Judah. His message was delivered to the people of Judah, but he addressed the future of many other nations, including Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Cush, and Assyria. As the capital of Judah, Jerusalem is mentioned several times.
Key Verses & Themes
The Day of the Lord:
Zephaniah 1:14 "The great day of the Lord is near - near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on that day of the Lord will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there."
Zephaniah 2:3 "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger."
The Remnant:
Zephaniah 3:12-13 "But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouth. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid."
Restoration:
Zephaniah 3:20 "At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes."
So what?
If there is any doubt that universal and complete disaster will sweep across the entire world because of sin, if there is any doubt that the "end of the world" will one day come upon us, the book of Zephaniah should remove that doubt. No one will escape, not even one, except those who repent and follow God. We know from the clear teaching of the New Testament that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (see Romans 8:1). This is because our condemnation has already been transferred to Jesus when he died in our place. But all those who are not sheltered in Jesus will know the fury of God's wrath when the world as we know it comes to an end.
