Religion and Theology

Zephaniah, a work from the southern kingdom of Judah,  is quite a short book of prophecy, taking up  only 3 chapters or 53 verses, and so is considered in Judaism to be a Minor prophet, not minor because it is of less importance, but because of the text’s short length. He spoke at about the same time as Jeremiah, that is about thirty years before the city was destroyed by the Assyrians, the temple more or less eradicated, and the majority of the people led off into exile. Jeremiah though continued to prophesy after the death of good king Josiah, whereas Zephaniah spoke only during the king’s reign.

Gordon Churchyard in his commentary suggests that the name may refer to him have been hidden away from the cruelties and murders of King Manasseh, Josiah’s grandfather.

It is possible to date the work fairly precisely as in Chapter 1 v 1 after his genealogy, the longest written of any prophet, though John Calvin points out : With regard, then, to his pedigree, it is a matter of no great moment; but it is of great importance to know that God was the author of his doctrine, and that Zephaniah was his faithful minister, who introduced not his own devices, but was only the announcer of celestial truth.
The prophet tells us  that the work dates from the time of King Josiah of Judah i.e. between 640 and 609 B.C.E. David Graves points out that this dating would make him a contemporary of several other prophets such as Jeremiah, Haggai and therefore Zechariah, and possibly Habakkuk. Josiah was the 16th king of Judah and he and Zephaniah shared common ancestry as the latter was descended from Hezekiah, the14th king. Although this book is placed almost at the end of the Jewish Bible the timing of its writing relates to events recorded in the Books of Kings and in the Chronicles. Zephaniah one of the few prophets whose chronology can be is fixed by a precise date in the introductory verse of the book.

The two kings before Josiah, were Amon and Manasseh, and during their reigns idolatry had been introduced into Judea and  with this worship of foreign gods came a foreign culture , as described in 1  v 8  where people were wearing foreign ( presumably Assyrian)  clothing  and perhasp this  also refers to having Assyrian habits such as worshipping their gods. Gordon Churchyard point out that this  might have included even human sacrifice.There was  a resultant general corruption of morals.The image used in 1 v 12 is of th every dregs  i.e. the corrupted, useless part of the wine. Elsewhere in scripture the idea of Israel as an unfruitful vine is a frequent one  as in Jeremiah 2 v 21 as well as in Isaiah and the Psalms :-
I had planted you like a choice vine of sound an dreliable stock. How did you then turn against me into a corrupt and wild vine? So th ewine, fruit of the vine, was corrupted. Some of these false gods were definitely the gods of Assyria and Babylon. The Assyrians had overlordship of that part of the world until 612 B.C.E. Manasseh, Amon and Josiah, although kings in their own right by inheritance, had to obey the emperors of Assyria.

Despite this Josiah became a  dedicated reformer after the scroll of the law was found in the temple, wanted to put an end the horrers tha t were going on.. One of his  champions in this period of  reform was Zephaniah, and his writing remains an important documents for any proper understanding of the time of Josiah.

The New International Bible places the book near the beginning of Josiah’s long reign, in a period before religious revival swept over the country. David Baker, in the New Bible Commentary, also mentions a possible dating before the reign of Josiah because there is mention of pagan practices still going on as described in 1 v 4-9 i.e. the worship of Baal and Molech, astrology and the worship of the various celestial bodies. However the fact that religious reform had begun might not necessarily mean that all pagan practices had instantly ceased. Israel was surrounded by nations who did not worship as they were supposed to and this must have had some negative impact on the people and the way they worshipped, perhaps especially those who lived far away from the temple, because this was before the time of the synagogues and so worship was still being carried out on many high places, David Baker also points out links to Deuteronomy which can be found in verses such as Chapter 2 v 9 which mentions the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah#and also chapter 3 v 5 which speak of the perfection of God. These verses may point to a slightly later dating , after the discovery of the book of the law in the temple, which seems to have been a copy of Deuteronomy, and which  discovery was the beginning of a time of great reform. This event is dated as being in the18th yea r of Josiah’s reign, which might mean that Zephaniah’s prophecy dates after that. It was certainly spoken before the Babylonian exile which began in 598 B.C.E. . Chapter 2 v 13 and 15 describe a future judgment on Ninevah, then capital of Assyria, something also predicted by Nahum.  This means a definite earlier dating before that city’s destruction in 627 B.C.E., according to David Graves, but the New Bible Dictionary gives a slightly later date of 612 B.C.E

According to the Biblical narratives both  Hezekiah and Josiah were both good, God fearing kings as can be judged from verses such as 2 Chronicles 29 v 3 which tells how in the first days of his reign Hezekiah set about making repairs in the temple and  2 Kings 2 v 2, speaking about Josiah:-He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.
The work has two themes – the future judgments of God in chapter 1  to 3 v 8 and  a promise of future salvation in 3 v 9 – 20.

Calvin points out that Zephaniah does not begin with doctrine i.e. ‘You should believe or do this’ but jumps right in with the result of their behavior.
Judgment is described in Chapter 1 where, passing on the words of God, the prophet says ‘I will stretch out my hand i.e. God will lift up his hand in order to hit out.

At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left  do nothing, either good or bad.’In particular the judgments will come against irreligion and false worship It isn’t just judgment of Jerusalem however. 1:2-2:3. Warnings about the "day of the Lord",I.e the day of judgment. The judgment of God will come down upon Judah and Jerusalem as a just punishment for the awful degeneracy in the people’s religious life (1:4-7a) it will extend across all types of  people from rich princes through to the market traders (1:7b-13). More than just judgment there will be terrible catastrophes including what seems to be a plague or great disease. (1:14-18); Therefore, says the prophet,  repent and seek the Lord before all this happens. (2:1-3).   3:1-8. The Prophet is again focused especially on Jerusalem: "Woe to the city of opressors, rebellious and defiled ! She obeys no one,she accepts no correction. Despite the earlier sayings about a general judgement the severest reckoning will be required of the leaders of the community, and of the arrogant prophets and priests who are described as ‘profaning the sanctuary.’                                                                                                                  3:9-20. In these verses the prophet looks forward to the future Kingdom of God of the future, one  in which all the world unites and turns together  to God,  and in which the prosperity of the Messianic Kingdom will be fully enjoyed. Althrough the book the prophet has repeated the phrase ‘The Day of the Lord, each time with very negative connotations, but now it has a new slant. In 3 v 11 at last he says :-On that day you will not be put to shame.

This last part message of Zephaniah’s message has Messianic ideas, although not to any extent to be comparable with that which can be found
Doom and judgment are also predicted for the whole nation of Judah.’I will stretch out my hand against Judah, ’, but also other nations such as the Philistines, ‘O Canaan, land of the Philistines, I will destroy you and there will be none left.’. and Ethiopia ( Cush) among others ,’You too, O Cushites will be slain by my sword.’
Judah was not living in a peaceful era. Images of destruction and the devastation and disease that follows would have been familiar ideas. Assyria was already a mighty nation who might  ( and eventually would) sweep down on them, but how much worse it  th e destruction  cam e from God himself.
The Message Bible, although a paraphrase, puts the matter very clearly in chapter 1 v 7:- ‘Times up. My judgment day is near.’

The majority of the book is quite negative in its mood - a list of bad things, of threats  from God  that will be carried out at some future date, a future judgment as delineated in chapter 3 v 8-13 which mentions an assembly of people from all nations, not just the Jews. God himself will testify. And God’s wrath will be poured out like an angry, but purifying fire.

Just as Genesis describes the act of creation, this could be described as ‘uncreation’ as in chapter 1 v 2,3  there is a description of the destruction of man, animals, birds and fish which is the reverse of the order as described in the first chapter of Genesis. The words ‘sweep away’ are repeated three times in verse 2 and 3. This emphasizes what is being said by its repetition. No one who heard this message could have been unsure about what was being said. Elsewhere these have been translated as remove. It is almost as if God is an artist who has created something, and has now decided to remove part of his artwork.

In 1 v 4 there is mention of the worship of other gods. Judaism had always been a monotheistic faith from the days of Abraham. Even the most irreligious of Jews would surely have been aware of verses such as Exodus 20 v 1-4:-God spoke all these words,“ I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt , out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make idols in the from of anything in heaven above or on the earth or in the waters below.

The final chapter though offers a ray of hope:
I will leave within you the meek and humble who trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel will do no wrong. In the words of John  Calvin at this point :-he turns his discourse to the faithful, and  exhorts them to patience, setting before them the hope of favor, provided they ever looked to the Lord; and provided they relied on the gratuitous covenant which he made with Abraham.

The prophecy continues on a very positive note for the next 6 verses, concluding with the words, pointing to some future time:-‘When I restore your fortunes before your very eyes, says the Lord.’

His prophecies can then be summed up as in verses 1:1-2:3 and 3:1-7 God will punish his Judean people who do not obey him;

1:2-3; 2:4-15 and 3:8 God punishment will extend to bad people from other surrounding lands
3:9-20 God will be very good to people who seek him and are obedient to him.