Zephaniah 1 - God’s message to Judah

Zephaniah 1 starts off with a brief genealogy of the prophet.  It says that he is a descendant of King Hezekiah

• The name Zephaniah means Jehovah hides/protects/treasures

The prophecy was written during the reign of King Josiah of Judah, around 650 BC

• God starts by first pronouncing His judgment on Judah for their sins.  He then pronounces judgment on the other nations in Chapter 2. 

(vs. 4-6) God is going to smite the people for worshipping idols

• (vs. 4) God specifically calls out Baal and his worshippers.  Baal was a Canaanite god of fertility

  • The worship of this god was tempting for the Jewish people because of their rituals, dancing, and prostitution

• (vs. 5) God also calls out Milcom/Malcam/Molech and his worshippers. Molech was an Ammonite god. 

  • The worship of this god was particularly barbaric as it involved sacrificing one’s children

(vs. 7) God was preparing a sacrifice

• Judah is the victim because of their sins and the guests are the Babylonians

  • God would deliver Judah to the Babylonians as punishment for their sins

(vs. 8-13) God details how Judah will be punished for their wickedness

• (vs. 8,9) God will punish the princes and king’s children

  • This is a warning given to Judah during a time for reform with the godly king, Josiah

  • God is warning the king and the rest of the royals of the consequences of turning away from God

  • God also calls out to those who are clothed in foreign/strange apparel

    • This in reference to the priests and leaders who wore foreign apparel because they were ashamed of their own identities as Jews 

  • God calls out those who leap over the threshold 

    • This is in reference to those who brought pagan ideologies into the house of God, filling it with violence and deceit 

• (vs. 10,11) God reveals that the mourning will be coming from the Fish Gate and the Second Quarter, both of which are the northern entrances to Jerusalem

  • This is a way of indicating that the invasion would be coming from the north.

• (vs. 12,13) Nobody can hide from God’s judgment and God prophesies this by saying that he will search them out with lamps

  • God says that He will punish those who do not take God seriously or are complacent regarding Him

  • God lets the people know that there is great destruction in their future 

(vs. 14-18) God reveals the terror of the Day of the Lord 

• The day of God’s wrath will be filled with war, distress, and slaughter

• God bluntly tells the people that He will judge them for their rebellion and that no amount of riches would be able to save them from His wrath 

What can we learn from this chapter?

• God has pronounced judgment on His people due to their sins and their refusal to turn from idolatry.  

• In the same way, we need to have complete repentance of our sins and turn away from any ‘idols’ in our lives.  These may not be graven images like the Jewish people in Josiah’s reign, but it is anything that takes our focus away from God.  

• God does not tolerate false worship.  He is a jealous God and will punish those who turn to other gods.

• We should seek God’s word, read and meditate on it daily, and allow it to penetrate our lives.  The Word of God should speak to us and our thoughts and actions should be changed because of it.