Reflections on Zephaniah 1

 Zephaniah 01  (Contemporary English Version)

1. I am Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, the great-grandson of Amariah, and the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah. When Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah, the LORD gave me this message.
2. I, the LORD, now promise to destroy everything on this earth--
3. people and animals, birds and fish. Everyone who is evil will crash to the ground, and I will wipe out the entire human race.
4. I will reach out to punish Judah and Jerusalem-- nothing will remain of the god Baal; nothing will be remembered of his pagan priests.
5. Not a trace will be found of those who worship stars from their rooftops, or bow down to the god Milcom, while claiming loyalty to me, the LORD.
6. Nothing will remain of anyone who has turned away and rejected me.
7. Be silent! I am the LORD God, and the time is near. I am preparing to sacrifice my people and to invite my guests.
8. On that day I will punish national leaders and sons of the king, along with all who follow foreign customs.
9. I will punish worshipers of pagan gods and cruel palace officials who abuse their power.
10. I, the LORD, promise that on that day noisy crying will be heard from Fish Gate, New Town, and Upper Hills.
11. Everyone in Lower Hollow will mourn loudly, because merchants and money changers will be wiped out.
12. I'll search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those people who sit there unworried while thinking, "The LORD won't do anything, good or bad."
13. Their possessions will be taken, their homes left in ruins. They won't get to live in the houses they build, or drink wine from the grapes in their own vineyards.
14. The great day of the LORD is coming soon, very soon. On that terrible day, fearsome shouts of warriors will be heard everywhere.
15. It will be a time of anger-- of trouble and torment, of disaster and destruction, of darkness and despair, of storm clouds and shadows,
16. of trumpet calls and battle cries against fortified cities and mighty fortresses.
17. The LORD warns everyone who has sinned against him, "I'll strike you blind! Then your blood and your insides will gush out like vomit.
18. Not even your silver or gold can save you on that day when I, the LORD, am angry. My anger will flare up like a furious fire scorching the earth and everyone on it."

---

Zephaniah opened his book with an all-encompassing statement of judgment - Judgment on the whole earth - and then narrowed it to judgment on Judah. No one was immune to God's judgment in light of the people's persistent sin. Particularly the sin of idolatry which attributes God's wonders to inanimate objects. That no one is immune to judgment becomes clear when the focus of His judgment turns to Judah and in particular, Jerusalem. God's covenant people and His Holy city where His temple stands were not exempt.

God's judgment in Judah is aimed at all idolatrous worship, identifying three forms: those who worship the heavenly bodies, those who practice syncretism by combining worship of God with worship of molech, and those who are religiously indifferent. This last group may not worship other gods but are unconcerned about worshiping the true God. Is it appropriate to categorize those who are religiously indifferent as idolatrous? While the worship of objects is given the greatest amount of attention, particularly in the Old Testament, in the New Testament idolatry came to mean any human desire that takes precedence over God's will. So, for the religiously indifferent, other desires have taken precedence over God in their lives.

Verses 7-13 lists those in Judah who would fall under the Lord's scrutiny. No one escaped His scrutiny. Not the political officials nor the king. Not the business people in the Fish Gate or Second District or the Hollow. In fact, the Lord would search Jerusalem with lamps to find all who qualify for His judgment.

Verse 14 emphasizes the imminence of "The great Day of the Lord" when this judgment will take place. It is "near and rapidly approaching," he says. The focus has turned once again, as well, to worldwide judgment which is called for because mankind has "sinned against the Lord."