Zep 1:7 | KingComments | STEP | Before the prophet continues to announce the judgment on all the aforementioned iniquities, he first calls for silence before God ( ). The reason for this is that “the day of the LORD”, the day of judgment, the day of reckoning, “is near” (cf. ; ). Man must be silent, for God has the last word. The “sacrifice” prepared for the LORD is … Judah. The “guests” who have been “consecrated” by Him are the Babylonians ( ; ; ; cf. ). How bitter it must be that God consecrates the pagan Babylonians to be His ‘priests’ to slaughter His people as sacrificial animals. If the sinner does not repent and offer himself to God as a living sacrifice ( ), he will become the victim of his own sins.

‏ Zephaniah 1:7

Be Silent

Before the prophet continues to announce the judgment on all the aforementioned iniquities, he first calls for silence before God (Hab 2:20). The reason for this is that “the day of the LORD”, the day of judgment, the day of reckoning, “is near” (cf. Joel 1:15; Oba 1:15). Man must be silent, for God has the last word.

The “sacrifice” prepared for the LORD is … Judah. The “guests” who have been “consecrated” by Him are the Babylonians (Isa 13:3 ; Isa 34:6; Jer 46:10; Eze 39:17; cf. Rev 19:17-18). How bitter it must be that God consecrates the pagan Babylonians to be His ‘priests’ to slaughter His people as sacrificial animals. If the sinner does not repent and offer himself to God as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1), he will become the victim of his own sins.