Zep 2:2 | KingComments | STEP | After a judgment that is so radical and definitive, everything seems over and out. But God does not announce a definitive judgment without keeping and offering a way out. That is why there is a penetrating appeal to the people to come to repentance ( ). The fact that it is said twice that they have to gather indicates how emphatic the call is. The meaning is to sift yourself through and through, and to sift on. A diligent sifting and search into oneself must be the beginning of all true repentance and pardon. The call is made to a nation that the prophet calls a “nation without shame”. It indicates the indifference or even the hardening of their hearts. They are numb to what God wants. That the call is urgent is shown in . There is no time to lose… time is short. The day to come to repentance is a wonderful day, but it is very fast over, just as quickly as chaff disappears that is carried away by the wind. Chaff is also a picture of the wicked people disappearing through the anger of the LORD (cf. ). The call must be answered immediately. Delay is fatal.

‏ Zephaniah 2:2

Examine Yourself, Before …

After a judgment that is so radical and definitive, everything seems over and out. But God does not announce a definitive judgment without keeping and offering a way out. That is why there is a penetrating appeal to the people to come to repentance (Zep 2:1). The fact that it is said twice that they have to gather indicates how emphatic the call is. The meaning is to sift yourself through and through, and to sift on. A diligent sifting and search into oneself must be the beginning of all true repentance and pardon.

The call is made to a nation that the prophet calls a “nation without shame”. It indicates the indifference or even the hardening of their hearts. They are numb to what God wants.

That the call is urgent is shown in Zep 2:2. There is no time to lose… time is short. The day to come to repentance is a wonderful day, but it is very fast over, just as quickly as chaff disappears that is carried away by the wind. Chaff is also a picture of the wicked people disappearing through the anger of the LORD (cf. Mt 3:12). The call must be answered immediately. Delay is fatal.