Zep 1:2-3 | KingComments | STEP | A devastation is announced over “all [things]” ( ). That the LORD will remove everything completely “from the face of the earth”, reminds us of what He said and did at the deluge ( ). It implies a general judgment, sometimes referring more specifically to the judgment of a certain area. Zephaniah describes who is removed by the judgment ( ). He does this in pairs, which we can deduce from the twice added word “remove”. Man and beast – created on the sixth day of creation – and birds and fish – created on the fifth day of creation – are removed. The animals are under the curse because of the sin of man ( ). The same fate undergo “the ruins” (or: “stumbling blocks”) that are the idols, and “the wicked,” that are the idolaters. They too are removed. The deluge is a prelude to the global judgment in the end time. The Lord Jesus says that in that time it will be like in the time of Noah ( ). People thought in Noah’s days that it would all stay as it always was. That is what people think today. But suddenly the cycle of daily events is broken by the coming of the day of the LORD.

‏ Zephaniah 1:2-3

Announcement of a General Judgment

A devastation is announced over “all [things]” (Zep 1:2). That the LORD will remove everything completely “from the face of the earth”, reminds us of what He said and did at the deluge (Gen 6:7). It implies a general judgment, sometimes referring more specifically to the judgment of a certain area.

Zephaniah describes who is removed by the judgment (Zep 1:3). He does this in pairs, which we can deduce from the twice added word “remove”. Man and beast – created on the sixth day of creation – and birds and fish – created on the fifth day of creation – are removed. The animals are under the curse because of the sin of man (Rom 8:20). The same fate undergo “the ruins” (or: “stumbling blocks”) that are the idols, and “the wicked,” that are the idolaters. They too are removed.

The deluge is a prelude to the global judgment in the end time. The Lord Jesus says that in that time it will be like in the time of Noah (Lk 17:24-27). People thought in Noah’s days that it would all stay as it always was. That is what people think today. But suddenly the cycle of daily events is broken by the coming of the day of the LORD.