The Warning and Promise of Zephaniah

The book of Zephaniah gives dire warnings for the wicked in the last days as it details the destruction that will come upon the world.  The prophecies seem to both apply to the destruction of Jerusalem that came around 600 BC (shortly after the time of Zephaniah) as well as those that will accompany the Second Coming of the Lord.  The prophet wrote, “That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness” (Zephaniah 1:15).  That certainly seems to be a description that fits much of what we see in the news about our world today.  He further warns that the wealth of the world will not be able to save individuals in the time of trouble: “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land” (Zephaniah 1:18).  The promise of destruction seems to be as universal as it is powerful: the prophet told of coming calamities for Jerusalem, the Philistines, Moab, Ethiopia, Assyria, and Ammon, seemingly to imply that none will escape the judgments of the Lord eventually.  “I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant” (Zephaniah 3:6). 

                But despite the terrible destruction prophesied for the wicked, Zephaniah also gave great hope to those who would turn to the Lord in the last days.  He said, “Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger” (Zephaniah 2:3).  The Lord’s “determination is to gather the nations” to bring together His people that they might have “a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent” (Zephaniah 3:8-9).  For the remnant of Israel who “shall not do iniquity” and not “speak lies” nor have a “deceitful tongue” they are promised that “they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid” (Zephaniah 3:13).  The final seven verses of the book contain the prophet’s rejoicing over Israel and their ultimate redemption that encourage the faithful to continue in paths of righteousness when wickedness is so rampant around them: “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.  The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more” (Zephaniah 3:14-15).  With “the Lord thy God in the midst of [the righteous]” He will “undo all that afflict” and “save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out.”  Those who “have been put to shame” will have “praise and fame” instead (Zephaniah 3:17, 19).  He finished the book with this great promise from the Lord to those who are righteous in the last days: “At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before” (Zephaniah 3:20).  Zephaniah’s words stand as a warning to the wicked and a promise to the righteous as we face the challenges of the last days up ahead.