Zephaniah - Introduction

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NEXT I. Introduction (Zephaniah 1:1)

Introduction

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ZEPHANIAH’S NAME MEANS “YAHWEH has hidden or protected.” He was a prophet of royal lineage, and his genealogy in 1:1 reaches back four generations to King Hezekiah. (Most other prophets listed only two generations; see Zech 1:1). Zephaniah prophesied in the days of King Josiah.

Historical Background

King Josiah’s father Amon (1:1) was a wicked man—so was his grandfather Manasseh. That heritage of wicked kings helps explain the rampant idolatry that plagued the land of Judah when Josiah inherited its throne in 640 BC.

Throughout his reign, Josiah struggled to squelch idolatry. Things were so bad that Judah’s priests, along with pagan priests, led worship of Yahweh while also bowing before pagan gods (1:4-6)! It was the public reading of the book of the law that finally helped spawn reforms in the land: false priests were abolished, people repented, and pagan altars and idols were destroyed (see 2 Kgs 23:1-14). The existence of Judah’s idolatrous practices in Zephaniah 1:4-6 implies that Zephaniah probably prophesied before Josiah’s reforms began (ca. 621 BC).

Message and Purpose

The theme of Zephaniah is the day of the Lord—a time of darkness, gloom, and pain as God’s response to people’s sin, whether that of unbelievers or that of his people. Nevertheless, the day of the Lord also has a positive side. It is a time of restoration after judgment, like the construction of new buildings in place of the condemned ones that were torn down.

Zephaniah not only wrote about the day of the Lord in his time, but also about the day of the Lord yet to come in the seven-year tribulation at the end of history. Then, God will judge the world and prepare the nation of Israel for Christ’s second coming to establish his millennial kingdom.

Today, we experience glimpses of the day of the Lord as he judges us for our sins, with the hope of restoration. Society at large will see it in the days to come as God judges the world for its rejection of Christ. The character of God demands that this day must come, so place yourself in a posture of repentance.

VIDEO INTRO

Outline

  1. Introduction (1:1)
  2. Judgment for Judah and a Call to Repentance (1:2–2:3)
  3. Judgment for the Nations and Jerusalem (2:4–3:8)
  4. Hope for Israel and the Nations (3:9-20)
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