Zephaniah

Zephaniah

            Zephaniah identifies himself as a descendant of Hezekiah, part of the nobility of Judah. Isn’t it interesting the various backgrounds from which the Lord calls His messengers—from noble Zephaniah to common Amos, the shepherd and fig farmer!

            Zephaniah also places himself during the reign of Josiah (640-609 BC). My study Bible suggests a date in the 620s, noting that a Scythian invasion (known from history but not in the Bible) as the occasion. If that’s correct, Zephaniah would have been a contemporary of the young Jeremiah.

            Like several of the prophets, Zephaniah’s main theme is the impending judgment of the Lord. If Zephaniah stands out from that pack, it may be in the sweeping way he announces that judgment. He says that in addition to judgment on human wickedness, the non-sentient creation will also be caught up in it (1:3). Most famous is his statement in 1:15, famously embodied in the Requiem Mass. The requiem mass was the medieval name for the service sung at the death of a Christian. It’s been famously set to music by a number of great composers, but if you were to look up the Sequence in Mozart’s requiem, you might well recognize it. “A day of wrath, a day of ashes.” In our hymnal, the judgment is toned down, but the song is adapted in hymn #508, “The Day is Surely Drawing Near.”

            Zephaniah does not get around to good news until chapter 3, where he prophesies the purification of the people of Judah and their return from exile, an event still at least a decade in the future. For all of His frustration with His people, He remains faithful to His promises. Salvation would come from the people of Israel, and that means that a remnant must remain until Jesus arrives.