Zephaniah 2:4-15
Summary for Zeph 2:4: 2:4–3:20 a Zephaniah turns his attention to the judgment of the foreign nations (2:4-15 b) before returning to the judgment of Judah and Jerusalem (3:1-8 c). He then outlines God’s plans for his purified and obedient people (3:9-20 d).Summary for Zeph 2:4-15: 2:4-15 e Zephaniah began his pronouncements with the Philistines, whose kingdom lay on Judah’s west (2:4-7 f). He moved on to Moab and Ammon in the east (2:8-11 g), and finally singled out Cush (Ethiopia) to the south (2:12 h) and Assyria to the north (2:13-15 i). 2:4 j King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered the Philistine cities of Gaza and Ashkelon ... Ashdod and Ekron. Gaza remained deserted, but the others recovered and continued into later times. Zephaniah does not mention Gath, the fifth major Philistine city (see 1 Sam 6:17 k), which had either disappeared or become unimportant by Zephaniah’s time.
2:5 l Old Testament scholars believe the Philistines came from the island of Crete (cp. Ezek 25:16 m).
2:6 n pasture ... shepherd camps and enclosures for sheep: The destruction of cities and their return to a natural state represents a severe form of punishment from God. See also Isa 7:23-25 o; 13:19-21 p; 32:9-15 q; Ezek 35:9 r.
2:7 s The Baal worshipers (1:4 t) and the Philistines would never be restored (2:4-6 u; see also Amos 1:8 v). By contrast, God promised to return the remnant of his people to their land, care for them, and restore them to prosperity (Zeph 3:18-20 w; Isa 11:11-16 x; Jer 23:1-8 y; Ezek 34:11-16 z, 20-31 aa).
2:8 ab The Moabites and Ammonites were Israel’s traditional foes. The Israelites fought with them frequently (see 2 Kgs 3:1-27 ac; 2 Chr 20:1-30 ad), and they remained Israel’s enemies to the end (2 Kgs 25:25 ae; Jer 40:11-14 af).
• mocking ... invading: The Israelites not only suffered repeated attacks by the Moabites and Ammonites (see Amos 1:13 ag) but also endured their insults over their successes.
2:9 ah The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah serves as an example of God’s severe judgment of sin, both in the Old Testament (Deut 29:23 ai; Isa 1:9 aj; Jer 23:14 ak; Amos 4:11 al) and in the New Testament (Luke 10:12 am; Rom 9:29 an; 2 Pet 2:6 ao).
• salt pits: A ruinous waste (Deut 29:23 ap; Ps 107:34 aq; Jer 17:6 ar). Sowing the earth with salt was a mark of permanent judgment (see Judg 9:45 as) because it made the ground barren.
2:11 at nations ... will worship the Lord: At the end of history, all people in all places will worship God alone (3:9 au; Ps 66:4 av; Mic 4:1-2 aw; Zech 14:16 ax).
2:12 ay Ethiopians: Hebrew Cushites. While the Hebrew term can refer to any nation or people along the southern edge of the known world of that time, here it refers specifically to the Ethiopian dynasty that ruled Egypt.
2:13 az Zephaniah turns from the south (2:12 ba) to the north. Like Nahum before him, he announces the imminent demise of Assyria.
2:14 bb To drive home his point about Nineveh’s fate, Zephaniah invokes powerful imagery: Rubble would fill the doorways through which the wealthy and powerful of Nineveh had once walked. The eerie sounds of owls hooting in empty windows would punctuate the city’s desolation.
2:15 bc utter ruin: The doom was so certain and irreversible (see Nah 1:14 bd; 2:13 be; 3:19 bf) that Zephaniah saw no future for Assyria or its capital. So complete was Nineveh’s devastation that the Greek historian Xenophon once passed by its ruins unaware that it was there.
• laugh ... shake a defiant fist: Those who suffered under Assyria’s cruel empire would be glad seeing its demise.
Zephaniah 3
Summary for Zeph 3:1-8: 3:1-8 bg Zephaniah pronounces a message of sorrow for Judah and Jerusalem and admonishes them to wait patiently for the results of God’s righteous judgment. 3:1 bh Polluted Jerusalem had wandered far from its call to be a holy city (Isa 52:1 bi).Summary for Zeph 3:3-4: 3:3-4 bj See also Ezek 22:23-29 bk.
3:5 bl He does no wrong, unlike those mentioned in 3:3-4 bm.
3:7 bn get up early: Jerusalem’s citizens couldn’t wait to jump out of bed in the morning and do more evil deeds (cp. Prov 1:16 bo). They had moved far from the ways of their ancestor Abraham, who arose early to obey God’s command (Gen 22:3 bp).
3:8 bq be patient: See Hab 2:3 br.
• stand and accuse: The prophet portrays a courtroom scene where God rises first as witness (see also Jer 29:23 bs; Mal 3:5 bt) on his own behalf, and then presides as judge (see also Job 9:15 bu; Ps 50:6 bv) to deliver his righteous sentence.
• The fire of my jealousy describes the Lord’s righteous hatred of sin, as well as his concern for his holy name and for the welfare of his people (see Isa 66:13-16 bw).
Summary for Zeph 3:9-20: 3:9-20 bx God reveals his plans for a humble and purified remnant of his people (3:9-13 by) and encourages them to rejoice in the coming abundant blessings of their saving Lord (3:14-20 bz).
Summary for Zeph 3:9-13: 3:9-13 ca The glorious future described in these verses provides further reason to wait patiently for the Lord (3:8 cb). Like fellow prophets Isaiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk, Zephaniah uses judgment and hope as twin themes. 3:9 cc God intends for the blessings promised to the faithful remnant of 3:9-13 cd to reach people from every nation of the world. Not just Israel, but all people would be transformed, call on the Lord (see Isa 55:5 ce), and serve him (see Isa 59:19-21 cf; Zech 14:16 cg). The spread of the Good News to all nations furthered the fulfillment of this vision (Matt 28:19-20 ch; Rom 10:9-13 ci).
3:10 cj The rivers of Ethiopia are the distant headwaters of the Nile River. The ancient world considered the origin of the Nile a great mystery, so the expression speaks of the farthest reaches of the earth.
3:12 ck Jesus the Messiah perfectly expresses the ethical qualities predicted for the godly remnant of Israel (Isa 42:1-4 cl; 53:3 cm, 7-9 cn; Zech 9:9 co; see Matt 11:28-30 cp; 12:15-21 cq; Phil 2:1-8 cr; 1 Pet 2:23 cs).
3:14 ct Sing ... shout aloud ... ! Be glad and rejoice: The cumulative effect of these commands emphasizes that God’s people will one day experience unsurpassed joy.
3:15 cu The true King of Israel was always to be the Lord (Num 23:21 cv; 1 Sam 8:7 cw; Isa 44:6 cx).
• will live among you: See also Isa 54:4-8 cy; 57:14-19 cz; 62:10-12 da; Ezek 48:35 db; Joel 3:17 dc, 21 dd.
3:17 de a mighty savior: God was Israel’s Divine Warrior and Redeemer (see Ps 24:8-10 df; Isa 42:13 dg; Hab 3:8-15 dh). One of God’s titles is “the Mighty God” (Isa 10:21 di). This title also applies to the Messiah (Isa 9:6 dj).
• He will rejoice over you: Not only will Jerusalem and all Israel rejoice in God (Zeph 3:14 dk) but God will also rejoice over them as a purified and faithful people (see 3:12-13 dl).
Summary for Zeph 3:18-20: 3:18-20 dm The repeated use of I will in these verses underscores God’s further assurances to his people. 3:18 dn I will gather you ... disgraced no more: The Lord’s assurance stands in stark contrast to the pronouncements at the beginning of the book, when God threatened to gather the nations to sweep the people of Judah from the face of the earth (1:2-4 do). Now he promises to gather up those who have been driven from Jerusalem and lead them safely home.
3:19 dp God will turn his people’s former shame into glory and fame (see Deut 26:19 dq; Isa 62:7 dr; Mic 4:6-8 ds; cp. 1 Pet 5:4 dt).
3:20 du On that day: After a time of terrible wrath and judgment, the day of the Lord culminates in everlasting blessings for all who trust in him (3:9 dv, 12 dw; see Ps 2:12 dx; Isa 45:22 dy; see also Rev 19:11–22:5 dz).
• I, the Lord, have spoken! Zephaniah’s prophecy, entirely from God (see also Zeph 1:1-3 ea, 10 eb; 2:9 ec; 3:8 ed), is utterly trustworthy.
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