When we read prophetic books, a lot of times, it's like reading a collection of sermons or a hymn book. If you strung together all of your pastor's sermons that he gave over the past year, and then read them all as a single message, they wouldn't make sense, right? He addresses different topics; some messages are encouraging, and others are scary. Some messages are designed to stand by themselves; others are part of a larger series and assume knowledge (preunderstanding) on your part.
I think Zephaniah 1-2 is supposed to be read, basically, as a single message (with Zephaniah 2:1-4 serving as a hinge of sorts). But when we get to chapter 3, we are supposed to read this as a distinctive message. It's related to chapters 1-2, but it's not directly connected. Maybe, we can think of it as moving from one Christmas song to another.
In chapter 3, Yahweh/the prophet are directly addressing the city of Jerusalem. Zephaniah starts by getting her attention:
(1) Hey!, rebellious and defiled one!;
the oppressing city.
(2) She hasn't heeded the voice;
She hasn't accepted discipline.
In Yahweh she hasn't trusted;
To her Elohim/God she hasn't drawn near.
One of the jokes people used to play in my junior high, was calling out an insult, and seeing who turned around. "Hey Stupid!" And if you were walking away from them, or doing something else, you had to resist the urge to look up, and avoid claiming that title as your own.
Zephaniah here calls out to Jerusalem, calling out to her with names she shouldn't like. She's rebellious, and defiled, and oppressive. She hasn't heeded Yahweh's voice-- neither his prophets, nor the book of Moses. She hasn't accepted discipline, when Yahweh has tried to correct her and bring her back to living how she should. In Yahweh she hasn't trusted; to her elohim she hasn't drawn near.
In short, she's done every single thing wrong, and Yahweh/Zephaniah rebukes her for that, hard.
This is the kind of message no one wants to hear, or admit is true. No one wants to be the junior higher who looks up, and claims these titles.
And that's as true for us, as it was for them. We read these words, and we think, "Jerusalem sure was wicked." But we have to force ourselves to consider, whether these words may be true for us as well. Are these our sins? Are we rebellious, and defiled?
In verses 3-4, Zephaniah moves from criticizing the city as a whole, to her leaders, specifically:
(3) Her officials in her midst are roaring lions;
Her exercisers of authority are the wolves of the evening.
They don't leave [anything?] for the morning.
Usually, a city or country's leaders are very careful to present themselves to their people in a flattering light. But every once in a while, some politician talks into a hot microphone, or gets caught by a hidden camera, and they are accidentally honest. They say what they really think about someone or something. And then it goes viral, and they have to try to do damage control and say they were taken out of context.
Jerusalem's leaders may say all the right things, but how do they really view the people they govern?
They view them as prey-- as people they can hunt, and feed on. The people are theirs, to use how they see fit.
And there's a sense in which this is usually how it works, right? Leaders "take" (1 Samuel 8:11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17). It's what they do.
But Jerusalem's leaders here are exceptional in this regard. Most leaders instinctively understand that you have to hold back from taking everything you want. You have to leave the people enough, that they are still motivated to work, and produce. People won't work, if they get nothing for their toil. Take too much, and people will leave (see IL; NY; NJ; CA).
These leaders, though? They leave nothing for the next day. Devour it all today, and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.
In verse 4, Zephaniah goes on to criticize city's religious leadership-- her prophets, and her priests:
(4) Her prophets are boastful/reckless/undisciplined;
unfaithful people.
Her priests have polluted the sanctuary;
They have done violence to the Torah/Instruction.
So probably, a "reckless" prophet is one who pretends that he has a word from Yahweh, and gives an oracle simply from himself. They stand up, and announce, "God says, "X."" But God didn't actually say anything like that. They are just making stuff up.
Priests have a responsibility to make sure people are worshipping God correctly. And, they are the ones responsible for teaching the people what God wants from them.
These priests, though, do neither of these things.
And so what we see, in verses 1-4, is a total breakdown in society. At every level of government, Jerusalem is led by wicked, oppressive men.
In contrast to all of that, we have verse 5:
(5) Yahweh is righteous within her;
He doesn't do wrong.
Every morning, his judgment he gives at dawn.
It doesn't fail,
and the evil one doesn't know shame.
So we have this picture of Jerusalem. It's filled with all kinds of evil. The rot has spread from the top down, and the city is polluted, and defiled, and violent. And in the midst of that, Yahweh lives. He acts rightly; He doesn't do wrong. And every single day, He makes judgments about right and wrong behavior.
We see this contrasting picture, and we wonder, how long can this continue? How long can God tolerate evil people, who have so hardened their hearts they don't even feel shame anymore?
Many times, when people commit truly terrible sins, they do so in secret. When that secret is exposed, people are usually shocked. A guy is charged with murdering someone, and his neighbors say, "He was just a nice, quiet man." They had no idea what he had done. When people steal from their employer, they do so in secret. You don't walk out of your workplace, opening carrying off the office TV.
But the evil people of Jerusalem have reached the point, they aren't embarrassed about how they live. They openly sin.
Starting in verse 6, Yahweh speaks directly to Jerusalem, talking about what He's done to the surrounding nations:
(6) I have cut off the nations;
Their corner towers are desolate/deserted;
I have devastated their streets,
so that no one passes through.
They have been laid waste-- their cities,
so that no one dwells there.
(7) I said,
"Surely, you will fear/revere me;
you will accept discipline,
and she won't be cut off from her dwelling-- all whom I have punished.
Truly/surprisingly, they rose early;
they made corrupt all of their deeds.
Yahweh thought that his people would see the destruction happening all around them, and understand that HE was behind all of these events. He's wiped out entire cities, and left them as abandoned ruins. And it's reached the point now, verse 7, where there's very little left that He can do to her, without completely cutting her off.
How can you see something like that, and not fear/revere Yahweh?
But Yahweh ended up being surprised. He thought the people would revere him, and accept his discipline. And He thought that they would do this quickly, when his hand turned against Judah itself. But no matter how harshly he disciplines her, nothing changes.
And again, this should cause surprise. It's painful being disciplined. Whether it's your parents doing it, or your boss, or the elders of your church. We all try to avoid being disciplined, and when we are disciplined, we learn from it.
But what has Jerusalem done? They are rising early in the morning, eagerly, (like Joshua, or Abraham in Gen. 22:3) to practice wickedness. There is too much sin to accomplish every day, to lay in bed. It's like they have a FitBit for evil. Got to get up, and meet your daily sin goals.
Who could have expected this? And, what will Yahweh do next?
Verse 8 to the end:
(8) Therefore, wait for me --utterance of Yahweh--;
for the day I rise for prey,
because it's my decision/judgment to gather the nations,
to assembly kingdoms,
to pour out on them my indignation-- all the heat of my nose--
because by the fire of my anger, all the land shall be consumed.
(9) For at that time I shall change to the peoples a pure lip,
so that all of them call on the name/Name of Yahweh (Romans 10:13)
so that they serve him with a single shoulder (=with one accord).
(10) From beyond the Rivers of Cush my worshippers-- the daughter of my scattered ones-- shall bring my offering.
(11) On that day you shall not be ashamed of all your deeds,
that you have done against me,
because at that time, I shall remove from your midst the exulting ones of pride,
and you shall no longer be haughty/exalted on my holy mountain,
(12) and I shall leave in your midst a people humble and poor,
and they shall seek refuge in the name/Name of Yahweh.
(13) The remnant of Israel shall not practice wickedness,
and they shall not speak lies,
and there shall not be found in their mouth, a deceitful tongue,
because(OR: In fact,) they shall pasture,
and they shall lie down,
and no one/nothing is frightening them.
And so here again (as in chapters 1-2), Yahweh announces a two-stage plan. In the first stage, Yahweh will come in judgment against Jerusalem, and Israel, and the surrounding nations. He will remove all who are proud, who have lifted themselves up against God. And all of the humble ones who are left-- people from every nation-- will have pure lips, and will call on the name/Name of Yahweh.
And then the book ends with this note of hope-- that the remnant will pasture, and lie down, and no one, and nothing (the Hebrew allows both meanings), will frighten them.
Lots of things in life are scary, or could be. Maybe we fear losing our jobs, of not being able to provide for ourselves and our families. We fear people breaking into our houses, or stealing our stuff. We fear rioters, and looters. We fear foreign armies, or terrorists.
Imagine a world where you can live, and prosper, and rest, and there is nothing to fear. On that day, it's not a matter of choosing to trust in Yahweh despite your enemies. Or choosing to trust, even though by human standards, something is genuinely scary. It's that there is nothing, truly, that's even a potential threat. There is nothing to frighten you. God wiped out everyone who practices evil, and the only ones left, are his humble remnant.
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A note on verse 8:
There are three main possible readings here, none of which demand changing the original consonants: (1) for the day I rise "for forever" (Vulgate, Adele Berlin, Jerome); (2) for the day I rise "for prey" (Gen. 49:27; Isaiah 33:23; KJV; NKJV, ESV). Like a lion rousing himself, to feed; (3) for the day I rise "as a witness" (repointing the Hebrew); NRSV, NIV, most commentators. Contextually, based on what follows, I think "for prey" is most likely. But all are possible.
Marvin Sweeney, Zephaniah commentary:
"Nevertheless, both of these [Me: OTHER, not giving the whole discussion] interpretations miss an essential point: YHWH is coming to gather the nations and to pour out wrath upon them. In such a context, the statement that YHWH is rising “for prey” makes a great deal of sense (cf. Gen 49:27*; Isa 33:23*).40 In this regard, YHWH acts as an executioner or warrior who comes to take bloody action against the nations who are now YHWH’s victims, much like those in Jerusalem/Judah who are charged with rejecting YHWH (cf. 1:14–18*).
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So that's the book of Zephaniah. Harder than I thought it'd be. More challenging, in a number of ways, than I expected. Now, what do we do with it?
Let's talk first about prophecy, and how it worked in the OT. We tend to think that God has this big plan, and that everything in life happens just as He expects, on his timeline, one thing after another. If God announces judgment, then judgment will come shortly. If He announces peace and prosperity, then that's what will comes next.
But if we stop and think, we'll realize that prophecy doesn't work that way. In the book of Jonah, God announces judgment against Ninevah. 40 days, and the city will be overthrown. But the people (and animals!) repent, and God repents/relents from the punishment He threatened.
Prophecy, by its nature, is contingent. What happens next, after God's prophet speaks, depends on how you respond. If you hear the threat, and humble yourself, and seek Yahweh, He may change his mind about the judgment. None of it may happen, at all.
Let's read 2 Kings 22 (NRSV):
22 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the LORD, saying, 4 “Go up to the high priest Hilkiah, and have him count the entire sum of the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people; 5 let it be given into the hand of the workers who have the oversight of the house of the LORD; let them give it to the workers who are at the house of the LORD, repairing the house, 6 that is, to the carpenters, to the builders, to the masons; and let them use it to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the house. 7 But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.”
8 The high priest Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD.” When Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, he read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workers who have oversight of the house of the LORD.” 10 Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a book.” Shaphan then read it aloud to the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. 12 Then the king commanded the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary, and the king’s servant Asaiah, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our ancestors did not obey the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
14 So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetess Huldah the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; she resided in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter, where they consulted her. 15 She declared to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 Thus says the LORD, I will indeed bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have abandoned me and have made offerings to other gods, so that they have provoked me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. 18 But as to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place, and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, says the LORD. 20 Therefore, I will gather you to your ancestors, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring on this place.” They took the message back to the king.
All of the judgment God threatened against Judah didn't happen while Josiah was king. He was faithful toward God, and humble, and God put off the promised judgment as long as Josiah lived.
That doesn't make Zephaniah or Huldah false prophets. It just shows that God, and people, live in a genuine history with each other. What we do matters, and changes God's plan. How God deals with you next, is an open question. God is flexible.
Maybe, that messes with our theology pretty hard. Maybe, we aren't sure how to make that fit with other things we believe. But if we are going to be simple Bible believing Christians, we have to accept this (and maybe learn to live, accepting that we don't know how to explain everything).
I want to leave you today with three more thoughts (which is probably two, too many):
(1) If you are a leader in the church, understand that God has high expectations for you. By nature, the world's leaders "take." It's what they do. They use their positions and power for their own benefit. They view you as prey. And if you are the sheep, and not the wolves or lions, it's obvious what's going on. Your paychecks, and receipts, and tax returns, tell the story. But when you're in charge, none of this is clear.
Let's read Mark 10:35-45 (NRSV):
35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39 They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 42 So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
If you are leaders in the church, understand that greatness means being a servant. And, maybe, resist the urge to call yourselves "servant leaders." You're just "servants." People who talk about servant leadership, tend to rule like the world's leaders rule, but with a thin layer of kindness over the top. Like being a lion, while wearing the carcass of a sheep. You put the sheepskin on, and call attention to it, but it's not what you really are.
(2) God's expectations for his people remain the same for you, as they were for Jerusalem. God still expects you to act humbly toward him, and toward each other. God still expects you to serve him alone, and give your allegiance to him alone.
If you lose sight of this, and become proud, the day will come when God comes against you in judgment, to discipline you. You are no different than God's people in the OT. God's anger is a terrible, terrifying thing. Take Zephaniah seriously; learn from God's threats to Israel, so that He doesn't threaten or punish you now. Be humble.
(3) Finally, I want to leave you with Zephaniah's closing picture.
In the end, God's kingdom will include people from every tongue, and tribe, and nation. We will be a people who are humble, and pure of heart, and clean of lip. We will call on the Name of the Lord-- Jesus -- (Romans 10:13) and take refuge in Him, and be saved.
And on the final day of the Lord, God's humble ones will inherit the world. God will give them rest, and peace, and prosperity. They will eat, and live, and lie down in safety.
Your job, is to make sure you get to enter into this rest. Be faithful; be humble. Live with your eyes on the prize. Live worthily of your calling.
Translation:
(1) Hey!, rebellious and defiled one!;
the oppressing city.
(2) She hasn't heeded the voice;
She hasn't accepted discipline.
In Yahweh she hasn't trusted;
To her Elohim/God she hasn't drawn near.
(3) Her officials in her midst are roaring lions;
Her exercisers of authority are the wolves of the evening.
They don't leave for the morning.
(4) Her prophets are boastful/reckless/undisciplined;
unfaithful men.
Her priests have polluted the sanctuary;
They have done violence to the Torah/Instruction.
(5) Yahweh is righteous within her.
He doesn't do wrong.
Every morning, his judgment he gives at dawn.
It doesn't fail,
and the evil one doesn't know shame.
(6) I have cut off the nations;
Their corner towers are desolate/deserted;
I have devastated their streets,
so that no one passes through.
They have been laid waste-- their cities,
so that no one dwells there.
(7) I (have) said,
"Surely, you will fear/revere me;
you will accept discipline,
and she won't be cut off from her dwelling-- all whom I have punished.
Truly, they rose early;
they made corrupt all of their deeds.
(8) Therefore, wait for me --utterance of Yahweh--;
for the day I rise for prey,
because it's my decision/judgment to gather the nations,
to assembly kingdoms,
to pour out on them my indignation-- all the heat of my nose--
because by the fire of my anger, all the land shall be consumed.
(9) For at that time I shall change to the peoples a pure lip,
so that all of them call on the name/Name of Yahweh (Romans 10:13)
so that they serve him with a single shoulder (=with one accord).
(10) From beyond the Rivers of Cush my worshippers-- the daughter of my scattered ones-- shall bring my offering.
(11) On that day you shall not be ashamed of all your deeds,
that you have done against me,
because at that time, I shall remove from your midst the exulting ones of pride,
and you shall no longer be haughty/exalted on my holy mountain,
(12) and I shall leave in your midst a people humble and poor,
and they shall seek refuge in the name/Name of Yahweh.
(13) The remnant of Israel shall not practice wickedness,
and they shall not speak lies,
and there shall not be found in their mouth, a deceitful tongue,
because they shall pasture,
and they shall lie down,
and no one is frightening them.
