Deeper Commentary

Zephaniah Chapter 1

Zephaniah 1:1 The word of Yahweh which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah- The detail is perhaps given because the "Hezekiah" could be king Hezekiah, although the generations would have been quite short. In this case, Hezekiah would have been a relative of king Josiah, in whose reign he was prophesying. Putting the listed names together here we have "Yahweh is strength He has spoken, He is great but blackness has come (to His people) because He has hidden His face". The fact Hezekiah had a son with the 'Yah' Name in it might indicate that he did not totally lose faith in his last 15 years.
 

In the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah- ‘Top down’ leadership was never very effective in Israel; repeatedly there is evidence that the reforms of Judah’s good kings had little effect upon the people. They practiced idolatry at the very same time as the reforms took place, and publicly returned to it as soon as the King was dead. Zephaniah’s prophecy is full of exposure of Judah’s sins- which were going on at the very time of Josiah’s apparently sweeping reforms. The way that “all” in Asia turned away, after all Paul’s work there, is proof enough that one good leader, no matter how charismatic and sincere (as Paul was) will not necessarily develop a faithful community. God has always worked with individuals through direct personal relationship.

Zephaniah 1:2 I will utterly sweep away everything off of the surface of the earth, says Yahweh- "The earth" here is not the eretz but the literal ground or soil. The total destruction of everything on "the surface of the earth" at the time of the flood is in view. But "sweep" is the word translated "gather" in Gen. 6:21 concerning the gathering of animals, people and food into the ark to avoid that destruction. As always with the threats of judgment, there is the hint that a remnant would survive- if they responded.

Zephaniah 1:3 I will sweep away man and animal. I will sweep away the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and the idols along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the surface of the earth, says Yahweh- A cataclysm similar in nature to the flood is in view; see on :18. Such total destruction of even birds and animals from the "earth", the ground / soil, recalls the language of the flood. But something of this nature never happened; I suggest that God formulated the plan, but relented because of the intercession of the righteous remnant; or perhaps simply from pity for His own creation. We note that "man" and "idols" are mentioned as being swept away along with absolutely everything else. Perhaps the idea is that we get a picture of the huge collateral damage caused by human idolatry. This is the nature of sin- that it has such collateral damage to others, far beyond a man quietly bowing before an idol in a "high place" in some remote rural spot.

Zephaniah 1:4 I will stretch out My hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place: the name of the idolatrous and pagan priests- Zephaniah prophesied during the time of Josiah, who later in his reign tried to extinguish Baal worship. But there was a "remnant" of Baal still in the temple, from where Zephaniah was prophesying ("this place"). Judgment was to come on all because of this; so whether Zephaniah prophesied before or after Josiah's reforms is irrelevant. Those reforms didn't in fact extinguish Baal worship, not even from the Jerusalem temple (see on :1). "All" were to be judged for the sake of a remnant of Baal worship remaining in the temple, and pagan priests being allowed to operate there. Presumably these were priests of Yahweh who taught that Baal worship was an acceptable form of Yahweh worship; see on :5. Such attempt to do our own thing in the name of serving God has always been the toughest temptation for us all. It was not that the majority ("all the inhabitants") were punished for the sin of a minority. That majority empowered and enabled that minority, just as a population often get the leadership or teachers they themselves really want in their hearts; quite regardless of whether any system of democracy is used or not.

The AV and some other versions offer: "the name of the Chemarims with the priests", literally the black ones, perhaps a group of priests who wore dark clothing rather than the white clothing of the Levitical priests.

Zephaniah 1:5 Those who worship the army of the sky on the housetop- Clearly Josiah's reforms were not as they appeared. The housetops of Jerusalem were full of worshippers of the stars, and this was tolerated within society. Hence the condemnation of "all" Jerusalem society in :4.

Those who worship and swear by Yahweh and also swear by Malcam- As noted on :4, the priests were advocating the worship of Baal in the name of Yahweh worship. It is this dualism which is the abiding temptation of every believer of all ages. 2 Kings 23:10 records Josiah's reforms specifically targeting Molech worship. But clearly the population wriggled around this by saying that their worship of Molech was in fact Yahweh worship; even though the Mosaic law mentioned the sin of offering children to Molech more than any other idol is mentioned (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5). Such wriggling around plain Divine teaching is unfortunately something we are all adept at. "Molech" is formed from the same consonants in melech, "king"; hence the LXX speaks of those that "swear by the Lord, and them that swear by their king". They had two kings. But the Lord Jesus observed that no man can serve two masters. We cannot have two kings.

Zephaniah 1:6 Those who have turned back from following Yahweh, and those who haven’t sought Yahweh nor inquired after Him- This was God's perspective. As explained on :4 and :5, the people had not formally rejected Yahweh. But their claim to worship other gods in His Name was seen by Him as turning their backs on Him. Ez. 8:16 describes men within the temple having their backs toward the sanctuary as they worshipped the sun. They had turned their backs on Him, but claimed they had not. This is all helpful challenge to ourselves in our self-examination. To seek an inquire after Yahweh is to worship Him; but worship doesn't mean we know it all. We are searching and seeking Him closer, and this is understood by Him as worship.

Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent at the presence of the Lord Yahweh, for the day of Yahweh is at hand- The silence called for may be an appeal for repentance; a call to respect Him and no other king or god. Such times of literal silence in meditation, without distraction, will also elicit our repentance. 

For Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests- The sacrifice in view was the total burning of Jerusalem. The guests had been prepared; be they Babylonians, Assyrians or whoever. As noted on :3, God had framed a cataclysm against His people and Jerusalem in particular. It never happened on the scale planned, because of the repentance of a remnant and perhaps simply His pity. All manner of possible futures are prepared by God, but may never happen because He is so open to change in His great respect of human freewill decisions.

Zephaniah 1:8 It will happen in the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice that I will punish the princes, the king’s sons- The ruling dynasty would come to an end. These words seem particularly relevant to Zedekiah and his sons at the time of the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. But "the king" in Zephaniah's context was Josiah who also had sons who were princes. This intended judgment was rescheduled and reapplied (see also on :4) because of the repentance of a remnant, perhaps in response to Zephaniah's ministry. Again we see the openness of God to human repentance, His supreme sensitivity to man.

And all those who are clothed with foreign clothing- We noted on :4 that the Chemarim wore back clothing and served as priests; but likely many of the Levitical priests were serving both as priests to Yahweh as well as to other gods, especially Moloch and Baal. It was this dualism which so angered God.

Zephaniah 1:9 In that day, I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their master’s house with violence and deceit- The priests may particularly be in view, whose master was Yahweh and whose house, the temple, they had defiled by their idolatry. The leaping over the threshold was an imitation of the Philistine custom of not treading on the threshold, after  the head and hands of Dagon were cut off on the threshold before the ark of Yahweh (1 Sam. 5:5). The idea is that the temple of Yahweh had been effectively turned into that of pagan gods- despite Josiah's apparent reforms. This whole message is a stern warning against mere tokenism in repentance and reform, and challenges to the core all our self-examination and the results thereof. These priests were filling Yahweh's house with the rewards of their violence and deceit. Typical of the prophets, Zephaniah focuses upon the apparently negligible (the personal gains arising from deceit) rather than what we might consider the more obvious issues of offering children to Moloch.

Zephaniah 1:10 In that day, says Yahweh, there will be the noise of a cry from the fish gate- This was on the northern entry to Jerusalem, the point which the northern invaders (Babylon, Assyria) would reach first.

 

A wailing from the second quarter- A reference to the 'second city', "the city of David", original Jerusalem, being "the first". The second city was highly fortified, but there would be wailing from that too; for human defence cannot in any way stave off Divine judgment.

And a great crashing from the hills- The hills which famously surrounded Jerusalem.

Zephaniah 1:11 Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the people of Canaan are undone!- 'Canaanite' and 'trader' are related words in Hebrew. Maktesh was the market quarter; there appears to be a play on words between maktesh, 'crushed to powder', and makdosh, a holy place. No longer was Jerusalem holy; it had already been crushed to powder in judgment. The prophets consistently criticize the Jews for deceitful business practices; we have just read of how deceit had lead to material gains which were stashed in the temple storerooms (:9). It was appropriate therefore to focus upon the destruction of the market quarter.

All those who were loaded with silver are cut off- Their wealth, acquired by deceit of their brethren (:9), burdened them down so that they were unable to flee.

Zephaniah 1:12 It will happen at that time that I will search Jerusalem with candles- The Lord may have had this statement in view when He spoke of how the Father searches as a woman searches with candles to find the lost (Lk. 15:8). As with all the messages of judgment, there is the implication that the remnant are being searched for. The candle is used to represent the human conscience in Prov. 20:27. The purpose of the judgments was to elicit self-examination. Jeremiah perhaps alludes to this prophecy by urging the exiles to search themselves and repent (Lam. 3:40 s.w.).

 And I will punish the men who are settled on their dregs- The same figure is used in Jer. 48:11 to describe those who had not experienced captivity in foreign lands, likened to wine being poured out into different vessels so that it doesn't become settled on its dregs. Yet again we see that exile was intended not only as judgment for its own sake, but to stir up the people to repentance and spiritual improvement.

Who say in their heart, Yahweh will not do good, neither will He do evil- The state of the human mind, our self talk, is of critical importance to God. There was the idea that God was somehow distant, unresponsive to good or evil, and never going to openly act. They were not atheists, but God was felt to be so distant that He would not act. This problem of thinking that God exists but is inactive and unresponsive... is an abiding temptation for all God's people of whatever generation.

Zephaniah 1:13 Their wealth will become a spoil, and their houses a desolation. Yes, they will build houses, but won’t inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, but won’t drink their wine- This is clear allusion to the curses for breaking the covenant in Lev. 26. To live unsatisfied lives, never enjoying the work or wealth acquired, is the great curse of those who live after the flesh. The threat that "the men who are [present] tense settled..." (:12) and the reference to the king's sons (:8) would imply that the threatened judgment was imminent. Those who had planted vineyards would not be there next harvest season. This situation was averted, it seems, by the repentance of a remnant in response to Zephaniah's ministry- and that of other prophets contemporary with him.

Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of Yahweh is near. It is near, and hurries greatly, the voice of the day of Yahweh- The judgment day of Yahweh is therefore not a fixed calendar date; for here we read that it is hasting, it was being brought forward in the Divine program, according to Judah's sin and lack of repentance. The last day can likewise be hastened by spiritual development and prayer (2 Pet. 3:12). The actual date is not set, although the preconditions are; there is a final, unknowable algorithm which will be mixed with God's basic pity and love to determine the day.

The mighty man cries there bitterly- Bitter weeping is the language of condemnation at judgment day. The man who trusted in his own might is pictured as already weeping. We too are to live as if future judgment is already upon us; for we live life every moment before the judgment presence of God.

Zephaniah 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness- Other prophets use the same language, perhaps borrowing from Zephaniah, who at this point doesn't name the invaders because of the principle discussed on :14- that there could be different outworkings of these prophecies, in accordance with whether Judah repented. "Distress" is the word for "trouble", and is used of the time of Jacob's trouble (Gen. 35:3; Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1); and this time has a distinctly latter day application, when Zephaniah's words will come fully true. The time of darkness and gloom is that of Dt. 28:29 [s.w.]- the punishment for unfaithfulness to the covenant.

Zephaniah 1:16 A day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements- We have here an intentional mixing of meaning. The trumpet was sounded as an alarm to prepare the cities for an invasion. But the day of the alarm is also the day of judgment (:15). In this we see the intensity of the prophetic message- the day of sounding the alarm was also the day of judgment. God had formulated and stated His judgments, they were as good as executed (see on :14); but in the gap between the statement and the execution of it, there was still the chance for repentance. And this was and is the intensity of the moments in which we live, just as Judah lived in them. Repentance and total surrender to God must be urgent, and our appeal for it and baptism of people upon their repentance must likewise be done with a speed appropriate to the urgency of men's position before God.

Zephaniah 1:17 I will bring distress upon men- "Distress" is the same word translate 'siege', the punishment for breaking the covenant (Dt. 28:52 s.w.). The "men" are therefore Israel and Jerusalem in particular; "men" is adam, alluding to Adam's representation of Israel in his sin and resultant punishment, of being sent out of the eretz to the east, just as was to happen to Judah. But the men of Judah had themselves distressed or besieged the just (Am. 5:12 s.w.); what they had done to their brethren was to be done to them. And that is a principle of Divine judgment which challenges us today.

So that they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Yahweh- Walking like blind men suggests walking in a line with their hand on the shoulders of the blind man in front of them. This was a picture of Judah being led into captivity. And yet the very same term is used in Is. 42:16 of how the blind will 'walk' or be lead back to the restored Kingdom of God.

And their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung- The sense of the Hebrew is that this would happen immediately- hence GNB "and now their blood will be poured out like water, and their dead bodies will lie rotting on the ground". As noted on :8 and :13, the judgment was imminent. It was to happen right away. The day of the alarm being blown was the same day of judgment (:16). It only didn't come in Zephaniah's time because God graciously responded to the repentance of a remnant.

Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath- There is the vain hope in human beings that wealth can purchase all things, even salvation. Only in the day of judgment will some people learn this; it is for us to learn it before then.

But the whole land will be devoured by the fire of His jealousy- Fire was the result of jealousy in the practice of husbands burning adulterous wives. As found in Hosea, God like Hosea had emotions. Judah's unfaithfulness to Him meant that He felt like burning them for ever; but His love for them was yet greater than that legitimate rage and fury. And so He relented, just as Hosea did of his plans to destroy Gomer. Likewise the whole land was not devoured; always a remnant was saved and in wrath God remembered mercy.

 

For He will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land- As explained above, God intended to make a total end of everyone in the land of Judah; but He didn't. A remnant was saved, and far from everyone was slain. As explained on :3, God had prepared a cataclysm similar in nature to the flood, intending to destroy all animal and bird life, and certainly every human being. But such is His sensitivity to the prayer and spirituality of a minority that this didn't happen, just as Nineveh was not in fact destroyed after 40 days- because there was repentance. "A terrible end" is literally 'a hastened end'; as explained on :14, the day was being hastened, speeded up; and yet a stop was put to that accelerated program by the likes of Zephaniah and the minority who responded to him. Such is God's sensitivity to every thought and act of spirituality and repentance.