A Walk Through the Bible – Zephaniah

Scripture Texts: Micah 1:1-7; 6:6-8; 7:7-9

Zephaniah begins with the longest genealogy of any prophet in the Bible.  He traces his ancestry back to his great-great-grandfather, Hezekiah, king of Judah.  So finally we have a prophet who is a somebody, a descendent of royalty, a true blue-blood, and not just any royalty, but a good king.

Zephaniah prophesied from Jerusalem during the time of the good king Josiah (640-609BC).  I wonder if people were expecting more of a party line from him, something more favorable to those in leadership, something that would tickle the ears of the political and religious powers.

The first sentence out of his mouth dispelled every such foolish notion.  “I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth.”  And then as if that wasn’t enough, he ups the ante in verse 8, “I will punish the officials and the king’s sons.”

Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jeremiah.  That means that they had the saddest of all the prophecies.  Zephaniah and Jeremiah were called upon by God to announce the last warnings and final appeals to His remnant people in Judah, the southern kingdom, before God’s judgment came upon them.

Zephaniah and Jeremiah both lived to see the fall of Jerusalem and the fall of the temple of God, the great temple Solomon built.  They saw the great and terrible day of the Lord in their own time and land.

We have seen the Gospel again and again in the OT and Zephaniah is especially full of gospel.

It begins with the most sober announcement of our sin against God.

Then comes the announcement of judgment on our sin.

Then finally comes the good news of mercy, hope for sinners.

Zephaniah begins with no hope, then a glimmer of hope and finally a full display of a glorious hope.  Zephaniah is the tale of two days, two days of the Lord, a day of judgment and a day of jubilee.