Key word: Renewal
Zephaniah is a descendant of royalty, being the great-great grandson of Hezekiah. He prophesied during the reign of Josiah and comes out firing (1:2). His theme is the “Day of the Lord”, which he references some 20 times. As we have seen in other books, the Day of the Lord includes two distinct periods of time – a day of doom and a day of rejoicing and renewal. In the early going doom is on, Zephaniah’s menu and as we have seen before, the doom/judgment being described is sometimes contemporary and sometimes Eschatological. The coming judgment in this book is contemporary to the times. Despite the apparent, but superficial, revival during Josiah’s reign, the Lord has not been fooled. The Lord will judge the other nations for their rebellion (2:4-15), that is to be expected. But Judah too will face destruction because it has followed suit (3:1-8). Zephaniah holds out one hope during this coming doom – and that it could be avoided if they would humbly seek Him (2:3).
The book, as many of the prophetic books do, suddenly shifts direction at 3:9. The prophet looks to the future and describes the second aspect of the Day of the Lord in the Kingdom Age to come. It can best be described as a day of restoration and renewal (3:14-15, 20). Thus, a book, which begins in gloom, ends with rejoicing (3:14). This is true not because of anything Judah deserved, but because the Lord delights in them, He loves them (3:17). And so, while the Lord hates sin, and will deal with sinners in judgment, His mercy is ever ready to pardon – and He has a glorious future planned for His people. The condition is found in our key verse.
Key verse: Zephaniah 2:3a – “Seek the Lord all you humble of the earth.”
