Zephaniah 3
The Future of Jerusalem (3:1–20)
1–5 Zephaniah now turns his attention back to Jerusalem, the city of oppressors (verse 1). Its people should have set an example for the nations around them, but instead they had behaved just as badly as their ungodly neighbors.
6–8 The Lord’s announcement of judgment on the nations should have been a warning to Judah. The Lord had hoped that the people of Jerusalem, after seeing what He had done to their neighbors,10 would wake up and accept correction; but they did not (verse 7). “Therefore,” says the Lord, “wait for me; wait for the day I come to judge the nations” (verse 8). “You, Jerusalem and Judah, will be included in that judgment. The whole world will be consumed” (see Zephaniah 1:2–3,14–18).
9–13 Then—after God’s judgment has taken place—something amazing will happen. That judgment will not only destroy the unrighteous but it will also purify the RIGHTEOUS:11God will purify their lips so that all of them from every nation can call on His name; and He will also purify their hearts so that they can serve him shoulder to shoulder in unity (verse 9).
But in addition to God’s worldwide work of REDEMPTION, God has specific plans for His own people,the Israelites. He will gather His scattered people (verse 10), and He will restore them according to His ancient covenant promises. He will remove from Jerusalem the proud and haughty; only the meek and humble will remain (verses 11–12). They are the remnant of Israel (verse 13), the new nucleus of God’s kingdom (see Zephaniah 2:7). And God will reign in their midst from His holy hill, Mount Zion, the restored Jerusalem of the Messianic age.
14–20 We can see that in verses 9–20 the Lord is describing a restoration much greater than that which occurred when the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon. The Lord here is opening up before us a picture of the Messianic kingdom that is still to come. Notice that all the peoples are going to take part (verses 9,20); the believers among the nations will be incorporated into the remnant of Israel. God will have a new and purified people, in whom He will take great delight (verse 17). They will be given praise and honor among all the peoples of the earth (verses 19–20), and through them God’s original promise to ABRAHAM will be fulfilled12 (Genesis 12:3).
Zephaniah has a message for us today. Many modern societies resemble the Judah of Zephaniah’s day. We, like Zephaniah, need to raise the warning cry: “The great day of the LORD is near” (Zephaniah 1:14). But we must also see the hope in Zephaniah’s message:out of the Lord’s judgment on evildoers will come great blessing for those who turn to Him. The Lord desires to bless, not to destroy, and that remains His desire to this day.
1Josiah was a great–grandson of the godly Hezekiah. Hezekiah’s son and grandson had been wicked kings (2 Kings Chapter 21), and when Josiah came to the throne he attempted to cleanse Judah of their influence (2 Kings Chapter 23). But though Josiah himself was a godly king, he could not change the people’s hearts. Most of the people continued in their wicked ways; as a result, God raised up Zephaniah (together with Jeremiah) to warn them that God’s judgment was near.
2For further discussion of prophecies about future events, see Isaiah 35:1–4 and comment.
3 For further discussion of the day of the LORD (verse 7), see Joel 1:15; 2:28–32 and comments.
4 In verse 7, the Lord is speaking ironically; He is describing what will happen to Judah as if He were describing an Old Testament sacrifice. The Babylonians will be consecrated—set apart, appointed—to act as agents of the Lord’s judgment.
5 The expression to avoid stepping on the threshold (verse 9) meant to “enter a pagan temple.” This saying probably originated with the events described in 1 Samuel 5:4–5.
6For other prophecies concerning the Philistines, see Isaiah 14:28–32; Jeremiah 47:1–7; Amos 1:6–8.
7 For other prophecies concerning Moab and Ammon, see Jeremiah 48:1–47; 49:1–6; Ezekiel 25:111; Amos 1:13–15; 2:1–3.
8For other prophecies concerning the Cushites and Egyptians, see Isaiah Chapters 18–20.
9 Other prophecies concerning Assyria and Nineveh are found in the books of Jonah and Nahum.
10Notice that the threatened judgment on Judah’s neighbors is so certain that God speaks of it in the past tense, as if it had already happened: “I have cut off nations” (verse 6).
11Note that God’s judgments and punishments are not just destructive; they are also redemptive. At the very time God is judging the wicked, He is also redeeming (delivering) the humble, those who trust in Him. For further discussion of redemption, see Exodus 13:11–16 and comment; Word List: Redemption.
12In verse 18, God promises to remove the sorrows for the appointed feasts. This probably refers to the sorrow that the godly exiles experienced when they could not longer attend the “appointed feasts” in Jerusalem (see Exodus 23:14–17). In the restored Jerusalem, those “sorrows” will come to an end.
