THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH
OUTLINE
THEME: The Day of the Lord- ... and after (chapter 1.7, 14; 2.2-3).
MESSAGE: God will punish Jerusalem and several nations; afterwards the4re will be restoration and blessing.
ANALYSIS:
1. The Coming Judgements (Chapter 1 - 3.8)
- The Judgement will be universal (1.2-3).
- Will begin by Judah and Jerusalem (1.4-18).
- Call to repentance (2:1-3).
- Judgement will fall on the Philistines (2.4-7), Moabites and Ammonites (2:8-11), Ethiopia (2.12), Assyrians (2:13-14) and Chaldees (2.15).
2. Restoration 3.9-20
- The nations will glorify the Lord (9-10)
- The Lord will reign in the midst of Israel (11-20)
COMMENTS
According to chapter 1.1, Zephaniah was the great grandson of Hezekiah (probably the great king), and prophesied in Jerusalem after the abominable reigns of Manasseh and Amon, and before the reforms made by Josiah.
It is possible that the messages of Zephaniah encouraged the king to make his reforms. These however, did not change the heart of the people, who remained full of iniquity and idolatry. The judgement was inevitable.
Other nations are made aware of the danger to them, for Jehovah is God of the nations, not just Israel.
The prophecy was fulfilled partially in those days; in Revelation, we see its full development.
It is difficult to determine if the verse 2:15 still refers to the city of Nineveh (chapters 13-14), or Babylon, for it was this that said: "I am, and there is no one else besides me" (Isaiah 47.8). Undoubtedly, the two cities had the same proud and arrogant spirit.