very soon before the fall of Judah in the Southern Kingdom. First, in 2:13 the prophet predicted the fall of Nineveh, an event which occurred in 612 BC. After having poured his indignation onto the nations, the Lord will give the world a common language “…with one consent.” (Zephaniah 3:9), this is when people will understand that His gospel has been restored and religions will no longer exist. God promises to destroy the cities of the Philistines and give their land as pasture for the remnant of the house of Judah. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. I pray that I could absorb all that, live it and teach it. by Jay Smith. .

frequent quotations from the Law (for example, compare 1:13 to Deuteronomy 28:30, 39), a document that remained lost in Judah for much of Josiah’s reign.

Zephaniah also says that right before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ that “…they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.” (Zephaniah 1:13) When I read this, only one thing came to mind; the housing market bubble. Chapter 2:2 - the day of Jehovah's anger. In this case, it refers primarily to God’s impending time of judgment on the nation of Judah.

Chapter 2:3 - the day of Jehovah's anger. Zephaniah simply has three chapters of old fashioned prophetic zeal. God bless Chuck, God bless Insight For Living. I am a pastor in Kenya.

Most likely, the prophet wanted to highlight his royal lineage as a descendant of one of Judah’s good kings. But Zephaniah grew into a man of God, able to stand before the people and proclaim God’s message of judgment and hope to a people that had gone astray.

Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Essentially we shouldn’t procrastinate until the end, because then it will be too late. Zephaniah’s prophecy shouted out for godliness and purity in a nation sinful to its core. What Zephaniah does do is show us that the Lord makes a distinction between those who are his people and those who are not, as He did when the Angel of Death moved through Egypt. Sign up to receive e-mail from Insight for Living Ministries.

FOR THE WORLD — TWO PRONOUNCEMENTS OF JUDGMENT MERGED TOGETHER IN A DENUNCIATION OF IDOLATROUS TRANSGRESSIONS Zephaniah (Contemporary of Jeremiah) preached around 625 bc – King Manasseh is dead after a reign of 55 years – the most evil King in Judah he was the exact opposite of his father King Hezekiah. This book mentions the day of the Lord more than does any other book in the Old Testament, clarifying the picture of Judah’s fall to Babylon and the eventual judgment and restoration of all humanity in the future. Change ).

Those living in Judah had turned the worship of God into a fiasco. The day of Jehovah plays an important part in Zephaniah's prophecy. As a young man, the prophet-to-be would have been surrounded by the trappings of idolatry, child sacrifice, and Chapter 1:18- the day of Jehovah's wrath. . View Chuck Swindoll's chart of Zephaniah, which divides the book into major sections and highlights themes and key verses. Zephaniah and Paul both spoke of a time when people would be “unified with one language”, religions around the world would cease to exist, because the Lord would be here and those who wanted to follow the Lord will follow HIS Church and not the church of man, where they might be deceived. The purpose of this book was to show the complacent Southern Kingdoms that they were wicked, God used a prophet (Zephaniah)… Allow Zephaniah to remind you how seriously God takes your life and your relationship with Him. Not only had they built their own places of worship to revere other gods (called “high places” in the Old Testament), but they had begun to desecrate the temple, which at that time was the dwelling place of God Zephaniah saw in the day of the Lord the destruction of his country, his neighbors, and eventually the whole earth (Zephaniah 1:2, 4; 2:10).

All these factors paint the picture of a man who was at the center of Judah’s political and religious world, a man whose close proximity to those in power would have given his shocking message an even greater impact. In Zephaniah 1:1, the author introduces himself as “Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah.” Among the prophets, this is a unique introduction with its long list of fathers back to Zephaniah’s great-great grandfather, Hezekiah. We can begin to pinpoint exactly when Zephaniah prophesied by accounting for a few details in the text. The book tells us that Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of Josiah, the king of Judah from 640 to 609 BC (Zephaniah 1:1). I use Pastor Chuck Swindoll's books a lot: Moses, David, Joseph, Esther, Hand Me Another Brick.

Discover more resources related to Zephaniah. Chapter 1:15-16- a day of wrath, of trouble and distress. The small book of Zephaniah is Narrative History and Prophetic Oracle. So why stop with Hezekiah?

Zephaniah explains that the Lord will utterly consume everything from the face of the land and promised judgment to idolaters in the last days. And if you have failed, remember the message of At the Second Coming, all nations shall assemble to battle. It is interesting that we read in Ephesians 4:11-15; “And he [the Lord] game come, apostles; and come, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ [His church]; Till we all come in the nity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11-15). Think about it, how many homes in the U.S.A are left vacant, while we continue to build new subdivisions? Please contact us or click here to learn more about how to enable JavaScript on your browser. All rights reserved.Site by Ascendio, Insight's Old Testament Handbook: A Practical Look at Each Book, Insight's Bible Application Guide: Isaiah–Malachi—A Life Lesson from Every Chapter, God’s Masterwork, Volume Four: An Invitation to Return—A Survey of Hosea–Malachi. Do you come before the Lord with a false face, week in and week out, looking the part without acting it? https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-minor-prophets/zephaniah And he shows us that God’s intention is the ultimate peace and prosperity of those who are His. The word of the Lord came unto Zephaniah, who was the great great grandson of Hezekiah. Your browser does not support JavaScript. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Zephaniah wrote it shortly before the fall of Judah in the Southern Kingdom. I also receive Insight [for Today] daily. Bible Book Summary.

He prophesied in the days of Josiah. (Zephaniah 1:9). CHAPTER WISE SUMMARY: Chapter#1: The Judgment of God upon Judah. Please note, our website requires JavaScript to be supported.