Sofonias 1

Sofonias 1

Zephaniah Commentaries Zephaniah 2 Chart from recommended resource Jensen's Survey of the OT - used by permission Zephaniah Chart from Charles Swindoll Another Zephaniah Chart SETTING OF ZEPHANIAH Source: Ryrie Study Bible Circa 620 B.C.(Source: ESV.org) Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of Josiah, when Egypt, Judah, and Babylonia were eroding the power of Assyria. Shortly after this time the Babylonians would replace the Assyrians as the dominant power in the Near East.(Source: ESV.org) Below is a summary chart of the Zephaniah portion of the discussion of the Day of the Lord part 2 Youtube discussion - What the Bible Teaches About the Day of the Lord - Part 1 Youtube discussion - What the Bible Teaches About the Day of the Lord - Part 2| Zephaniah 1:1 The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah: NET This is the prophetic message that the LORD gave to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah: word: Ezek 1:3 Hos 1:1 2Ti 3:16 2Pe 1:19 in the days: 2Ki 22:1-23:37 2Ch 34:1-35:27 Jer 1:2 25:3 15 page commentary on Zephaniah from conservative source KJV Bible Commentary The Announcement of the Day of the Lord 1:1–18 - Walter Kaiser - Excellent Comments - see all three chapters A. A Day of Universal Judgment - Zephaniah 1:2–3 B. A Day of Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem - Zephaniah 1:4–6 C. A Call for Silence - Zephaniah 1:7 D. A Day of Judgment on God’s People - Zephaniah 1:8–13 E. A Day of Judgment on the World - Zephaniah 1:14–18 F. Conclusion Related Passages: 2 Kings 22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 2 Peter 1:21+ for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men (LIKE ZEPHANIAH) moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Zephaniah's Prophecy ~20 Years Before the Near Fulfillment ZEPHANIAH "THE LORD HIDES" The word of the LORD - Don't miss this opening.The Hebrew expression “word of the LORD” (דְּבַר־יְהוָה, debar-YHWH) is the standard formula introducing prophetic messages. It occurs frequently in the prophets (Jer 1:2; Hos 1:1; Joel 1:1). God initiated the message. This underscores the authority of this prophecy. It is not Zephaniah's prophecy, but Yahweh's prophecy moving by His Spirit in and through Zephaniah! The prophet was a messenger, not the originator Peter affirms that "no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." (2Pe 1:21+). Thus Zephaniah’s book is presented as God speaking through His prophet. Isaiah 55:11 says " So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." Walter Kaiser - Zephaniah was a no-nonsense, all-business writer and speaker.Many speakers will attempt to “warm up” their audiences with a certain amount of humor and various types of pleasantries; this prophet felt the times and the issues were far too serious for any “warm-up” period. Immediately he launches into the hard facts he had to deliver from God. (See all three excellent chapters - Preacher's Commentary) Zephaniah had royal blood of Hezekiah in his veins but far better he had a royal message from Yahweh on his lips! Which came to Zephaniah (“Yahweh has hidden” “Yahweh protects.”) son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah (640–609 BC): Zephaniah lists more of his ancestry than any other prophet and it seems his great, great grandfather was good king Hezekiah ca. 715–686 b.c.), leading some to call him "the royal prophet". This would explain why his genealogy is traced so far back — to connect him with a royal ancestor. Some think that Zephaniah's preaching may even have prepared the way for the brief revival under Josiah (2Chr 34:3-7). Zephaniah's ministry corresponds to the time of King Josiah (ca. 640–609 b.c.). Judgment is the central theme of Zephaniah's message and has a near (Babylon's defeat of Judah) and a far fulfillment. Zephaniah was contemporary with Jeremiah, Nahum and Habakkuk Zephaniah means “Yahweh has hidden” or “Yahweh protects” which fits the book’s theme, because later Zephaniah speaks about a remnant that God will hide in the day of judgment. (Zeph 2:3). KJV Bible Commentary Zep 1:1b . As observed earlier (cf. Introduction), the prophet’s name means “defended”, “protected”, or “hidden by Jehovah”. This not only affords a clue to the purpose of the prophecy, as noted earlier, but also gives rise to the observation that God always calls a man who is shaped exactly as the ministry to which God calls him requires; but the ministry is infinitely larger than the man. God would use Zephaniah to deliver a very dark message of judgment through which only a few rays of hope shine. In the midst of this judgment, God would defend, protect, and hide the true remnant, so that His wrath would not fall on them and they would experience the blessings the prophet announced. This principle of matching man with mission can be observed in all the other prophets, as well as in God’s ministers today....King Hezekiah was the godly king under whose reign God brought deliverance from Assyria in the days of Hosea, Micah, and Nahum almost a hundred years earlier (cf. 2Kgs 18-20; 2Chr 29-32). The mention of King Hezekiah, under whose reign a spiritual revival was experienced (cf. II Kgs 18:3-7; II Chr 29:3-19), provides a direct link with King Josiah, under whose reign a revival was about to occur (cf. II Kgs 23:30; II Chr 34-35). Thus, the two righteous kings are linked together as contrasts to the wicked Manasseh and Amon (Josiah’s father), under whose reigns Israel reached a new spiritual low. These facts enable us to date Zephaniah’s prophecy at 625 B.C. and cause us to realize that Zephaniah was the last prophet God sent to Judah prior to its being carried off captive into Babylon. MacArthur Study Bible - Spiritually, the reigns of Hezekiah’s son Manasseh (ca. 695–642 b.c.), extending over 4 decades, and his grandson Amon (ca. 642–640 b.c.), lasting only two years, were marked by wickedness and apostasy (2Ki 21; 2Ch 33). The early years of Josiah’s reign were also characterized by the evil from his fathers (2Ki 23:4). In 622 b.c., however, while repairing the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the High-Priest found the Book of the Law (2Ki 22:8). Upon reading it, Josiah initiated extensive reforms (2Ki 23). It was during the early years of Josiah’s reign, prior to the great revival, that this 11th hour prophet, Zephaniah, prophesied and no doubt had an influence on the sweeping reforms Josiah brought to the nation. But the evil kings before Josiah (55 years) had had such an effect on Judah that it never recovered. Josiah’s reforms were too late and didn’t outlast his life. The moral and spiritual conditions detailed in the book (cf. Zeph 1:4–6; 3:1–7) seem to place the prophecy prior to Josiah’s reforms, when Judah was still languishing in idolatry and wickedness. It was in 628 b.c. that Josiah tore down all the altars to Baal, burned the bones of false prophets, and broke the carved idols (2 Chr. 34:3–7); and in 622 b.c. the Book of the Law was found (2 Chr. 34:8–35:19). Consequently, Zephaniah most likely prophesied from 635–625 b.c., and was a contemporary of Jeremiah. (MacArthur Study Bible - Page 1294 borrow The MacArthur Study Bible) Believers Study Bible - DATE: ca. 625 B.C Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of King Josiah (640-609 B.C.). It is certain that he wrote the prophecy before 612 B.C., for he predicted the fall of Assyria which took place at that time (cf. 2:13-15). Nevertheless, the question remains whether Zephaniah's prophecy belongs to the early or latter part of Josiah's reign. Most biblical commentators attempt to date the book in accordance with Josiah's sweeping moral and religious reform, which he instituted with the discovery of the Book of the Law in 621 B.C. (2Ki22:8ff.). No such reform is evident in the prophecy; therefore, it is maintained that the book should be dated before 621 B.C. Possibly there were two reforms attempted by Josiah (2 Chr34:3). The initial reform (c. 628 B.C.) probably lacked the zeal (IT WAS NOT BOOK OF THE LAW DRIVEN...not Word driven and fueled at least not as clearly as the "second" reform) that accompanied the second reform, thus creating the possibility that Zephaniah's prophecy may have fallen somewhere in between the two reforms. Based on the preceding considerations, the prophecy may be tentatively dated c. 625 B.C., making the prophet's ministry contemporaneous with that of Jeremiah. Josiah's Reform (ED: DON'T CALL IT REVIVAL...IT WAS SHORT-LIVED & JUDAH QUICKLY REVERTED TO HER EVIL WAYS) and the Babylonian Threat: The moral state of the southern kingdom deteriorated rapidly after the reign of King Hezekiah (729-686 B.C.). The religious reforms he instituted were soon eradicated by the evil influence of Manasseh (696-642 B.C.) and Amon (642-640 B.C.; cf. 2Ki 21; 2 Chr 33). HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: Into this scene of moral and religious degeneracy came the boy-king Josiah. Upon the discovery of the "Book of the Law" (2 Ki22:8ff.), in the eighteenth year of his reign (621 B.C.; 2Ki 22:3), Josiah launched a sweeping reform of the national order. His regime was backed by the prophetic ministries of Jeremiah and Zephaniah, but the prophets' call for repentance fell upon deaf ears. Wickedness remained unabated, and Judah was ripe for judgment. Through a quick succession of events, God's providence brought the dark and foreboding clouds of war and destruction over Judah's horizon. Assyria was being replaced by Babylon as the power beyond the Euphrates. In a futile attempt to delay Babylon's rise, Egypt under Pharaoh Necho advanced north for war; but as a means of courting Babylon's favor, Judah's forces under Josiah stood in Egypt's way. At Megiddo, Egypt trampled upon Judah, killed King Josiah, and made the nation its vassal (609 B.C.). The alliance and protection Egypt afforded were short-lived, because in 605 B.C. Babylon extinguished Egypt's aspirations at Carchemish -- a catastrophe which served to pave the way for the Chaldean conquest of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, God's instrument of the judgment about whom Zephaniah had prophesied only two decades before, was suddenly knocking at the portals. THEME: Judgment: immediate fulfillment = Babylon captured Judah. The theme of the book is the necessity of seeking the Lord in view of the coming "Day of the LORD" (Zeph 1:7; Zeph 2:1-3)-the time of God's dire judgment upon the whole earth. The "day of the Lord" more often in Zephaniah than any other prophet of the Bible. In OT "the day of the Lord" refers to occasions when the Lord manifested Himself providentially in the affairs of Israel as well as in those of heathen Gentile nations (cf. Isa 13:6ff.; Jer 46:10; Eze 30:3; Joel 1:15). The New Testament expands the concept to include a future day when the Lord will ultimately return to bring universal judgment upon His foes and triumphant deliverance for His faithful remnant (1Cor 5:5; 2Cor 1:14; 1 Th 4:13-5:11). That "day" will begin with the revealing of the SON OF LAWLESSNESS (2Th 2:3, v4) who is not truly revealed until the MIDPOINT of DANIEL'S 70th WEEK (Da 9:26,27) at the inception of the GREAT TRIBULATION (note: "tribulation" is never found in Scripture as a description of the full 7 years but tradition has led to the designation of this entire 7 years as "THE TRIBULATION"...that designation to reiterate is not defended by God's Holy Word). The DAY OF THE LORD will extend to the end of the Millennium (2Pe3:10,12). Zephaniah also predicted doom of heathen nations, immediately (Nineveh fell in 612; Zeph 2:13) and future (Zeph 3:8). The book closes with a glorious description of the future Millennium which is also an aspect of the Day of the Lord. Ray