Zephaniah
Chapter 2
Leon L. Combs, M.A., M.Div., Ph.D.
Zep 2:1-3
Gather yourselves together, yes, gather, O nation without shame, (2) Before the decree takes effect-- The day passes like the chaff-- Before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, Before the day of the LORD'S anger comes upon you. (3) Seek the LORD, All you humble of the earth Who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the LORD'S anger.
Zephaniah continues with a description of the Day of the Lord but now he gives an admonition for the humble to seek repentance. Gathering together is a phrase usually used to describe bringing together firewood for burning. He describes them as a nation without shame and that is a huge insult. It is often said that such is the state of our country now as it views itself as self-sufficient. He states that this Day of the Lord will come quickly as days seem to quickly pass like chaff before the wind. There is no hope for anyone else but the humble could still be saved from God’s wrath. If they seek the Lord by seeking righteousness and humility there is a possibility (“perhaps”) they will be spared in this awful Day of Judgment. The fact that all nations are accountable to God is counter to secular thought.
Pluralism is rampant in the world now with the teaching that there is no one true God or religion. The majority of people believe that all religions are equally valid if they seem true to the person; most philosophers believe all religions are false, and most rulers think of all religions as being equally useful. Remarkably, in our irrational world many people can agree with all three opinions! The second harmful tendency in our world is compartmentalism, which states that various aspects of a person’s philosophies must be kept on the “reservation”. In compartmentalism, a person can believe whatever he wishes but that must not be brought out of the reservation to invade any other person’s region of influence. Considering many areas of a person’s life, we can visualize a person with total compartmentalism as the diagram on the left and a person who allows all areas to interact as on the right:
A compartmentalized person then does not allow his religion to interfere with any decisions in any other area of his life. We frequently hear such people say something like: “My religion does not influence my political decisions”. An integrated person then does allow all areas to interact so his daily decisions are all interrelated. Obviously Christians should not allow the concept of compartmentalization to be his standard.
Zep 2:4-7
For Gaza will be abandoned And Ashkelon a desolation; Ashdod will be driven out at noon And Ekron will be uprooted. (5) Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; And I will destroy you So that there will be no inhabitant. (6) So the seacoast will be pastures, With caves for shepherds and folds for flocks. (7) And the coast will be For the remnant of the house of Judah, They will pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; For the LORD their God will care for them And restore their fortune.
The four cities of verse four represent all of Philistia:
The early history of Philistia is unknown but they were well established on the eastern coast at the time of Abraham (ca 2000 BC). Zephaniah does not discuss the reasons for God’s judgment on Philistia probably because they were well stated by Amos in his writings. Being driven out at noon is rather unusual for that is the hottest time of the day and usually reserved for siesta so this probably means that their fall will occur at a time least expected. Cherethites or Kerethites is used of the Philistines probably because of a branch of them: therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, even cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. (Ezek 25:16) The body guard for David consisted of Kerethites and Pelethites (2 Sam 8:18). The seacoast was heavily settled but it would become a place suited only for shepherds and sheep pens. The remnant of Judah would then be given a place to settle in an area that was formally occupied by their enemies. This renewal was only for the remnant of the people of Judah whom God would bless and restore their fortunes.
Zep 2:8-11
"I have heard the taunting of Moab And the revilings of the sons of Ammon, With which they have taunted My people And become arrogant against their territory. (9) "Therefore, as I live," declares the LORD of hosts, The God of Israel, "Surely Moab will be like Sodom And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah-- A place possessed by nettles and salt pits, And a perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them And the remainder of My nation will inherit them." (10) This they will have in return for their pride, because they have taunted and become arrogant against the people of the LORD of hosts. (11) The LORD will be terrifying to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.
The interaction with Moab dates back to the time of Moses (Num 22-24) and the revilings with Ammon are reported in several scriptures including Judges 3:12-30 and 2 Samuel 10:1-11. After the fall of the northern kingdom and the decline of the southern kingdom the pride of the Philistines increased considerably as they showed their arrogance against God’s people at every opportunity. Moab and Ammon were the descendants of the incestuous relations of Lot’s daughters with their drunk father (Gen 19:30-38) so it is not surprising that they are compared to Sodom and Gomorrah. The older daughter called her son Moab that means “from Father”! The second daughter called her son Ben-Ammi that means “son of my people” and he gave his name to the Ammonites. In later years there were frequent battles between Israel and these brother nations.
Amos wrote of many of the reasons for God’s condemnation of Ammon and Moab so Zephaniah only mentions their taunts against the Jewish people. We know of nettles from an encounter with such in Sweden! They leave welts that hurt very much for some time. The nettles and salt pits statement means that the area is desolate and will remain that way. The remnant of God’s people will then plunder the area and whoever is left from Israel will inherit the area. This pride of Moab is also mentioned in:
· Isa 16:6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride; Even of his arrogance, pride, and fury; His idle boasts are false.
· Jer 48:26 "Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant toward the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock.
God will destroy the illusion of other gods by destroying the nations that bow down before them. All those people will then worship God from their home places. Paul also wrote of such false gods that are worshipped by many people:
1Cor 8:4-6 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. (5) For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, (6) yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
Today we also have the problem of people worshipping false gods and even proclaiming to the world that everybody actually worshipped the same god. Such lies make the identity of the one God fluid and are a great insult to Him. The exclusivity of Christianity is a huge problem in such a world.
Zep 2:12-15
"You also, O Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword." (13) And He will stretch out His hand against the north And destroy Assyria, And He will make Nineveh a desolation, Parched like the wilderness. (14) Flocks will lie down in her midst, All beasts which range in herds; Both the pelican and the hedgehog Will lodge in the tops of her pillars; Birds will sing in the window, Desolation will be on the threshold; For He has laid bare the cedar work. (15) This is the exultant city Which dwells securely, Who says in her heart, "I am, and there is no one besides me." How she has become a desolation, A resting place for beasts! Everyone who passes by her will hiss And wave his hand in contempt.
Zephaniah has prophesied the destruction of nations to the east and west of Judah and now he turns his attention to those nations to the north and south: Cush and Assyria. Some translations will substitute Cushites for Ethiopians in verse 12. Cush was located in the upper Nile region and since Egypt had been ruled by Cushite kings for years, he probably includes Egypt in his judgment. Cush was one of the sons of Ham, the son of Noah and is mentioned in Genesis 10 and 1 Chronicles 1. Isaiah (Isa 18) states that the people were very aggressive and feared. God used Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, in His judgment against the Cushites:
Ezek 30:24-26 'For I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man. (25) 'Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. (26) 'When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the LORD.'"
Assyria was the strongest land north of Judah and God will utterly destroy its capital, Nineveh, leaving it as dry as a desert. This is a remarkable statement because of the city’s huge irrigation system. The once-great city would then be only fit for wild beasts and contempt from anyone passing by the area. She once boasted about her self-sufficiency much as did Babylon and Laodicea:
· Isa 47:8 "Now, then, hear this, you sensual one, Who dwells securely, Who says in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a widow, Nor know loss of children.'
· Rev 3:17 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
This attitude also seems to describe our secular, self-satisfied attitude as we are quickly moving toward a national attitude of exalting ourselves and history does not reflect well of such an attitude.
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