Introduction to Zephaniah
The Book of Zephaniah records God’s message through the prophet Jeremiah during the reign of Josiah, king of Judah. Zephaniah followed or was possibly contemporary to Isaiah, and was contemporary to Jeremiah. Zephaniah preaches against the excesses of Josiah’s father Manasseh and encourages reforms to reestablish to rule of God’s law before God’s judgment becomes a reality for Judah and Jerusalem.
As with all Bible studies, commentaries or guided studies are useful resources to help keep the study on track. A good place to start is with the People’s Bible Commentary available from the Northwest Publishing House of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Here also is a link to a public domain commentary available at BibleGatway.com, the source of the Bible references used in these Bible studies.
This study is part of the three-year Bible study available from the WELS and begun on 1 January 2006 on this weblog.
Context for Zephaniah 1
Zephaniah preaches doom against the residents of Jerusalem who have turned their backs on God’s grace. He calls out to those people to pay attention in hope that they will repent before their doom is sealed by their own sin-centered actions.
Listen, the day of the LORD!
Zephaniah 1:14b NASB
It is not usually a good practice to take verses, especially parts of them, out of context, however Zephaniah 1:14b strikes me as perhaps the summary of all of the prophets in a single verse.
“Listen!†Zephaniah and all the Prophets demand, “[Behold] the Day of the Lord!â€
Indeed, we should all submit ourselves to that advice, for as Jesus warned us, the Kingdom of Heave is at hand. The words of the prophets, of Jesus Himself, and of His Apostles are words for us immediately. There is no time for us to dawdle with what we know by faith. We must act because the Day of the Lord is upon us.
Certainly, the devil, the world, and our own sinfulness want to lull us into believing that we have time, but the truth is tomorrow is too late. That day may not come, so right now is all we have, and what we have to do is live by faith.
So, let us all listen! Hear God’s cry to you that He wants you to pay attention, then go and do what He says.
