INTRODUCTION TO ZEPHANIAH

'Zephaniah' means 'the Lord of darkness' or 'the Lord has concealed.' Zephaniah 1:12 says that the Lord will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent. So medieval art portrays Zephaniah carrying a lamp. Zephaniah lived in Jerusalem during the reign of King Josiah, and was a contemporary of Jeremiah. He was a 4th generation descendant of King Hezekiah, so he belonged to the upper class of society. King Josiah feared God as had his great-grandfather Hezekiah, but his father Amon and his grand-father Manasseh were two of the most corrupt kings ever to occupy the throne of Judah. They had brought a period of darkness and corruption to Judah that was irreversible.

Zephaniah warned that the day of judgment on the world was coming because God's people worshiped the gods of the Canaanites, but neglected the worship of the Lord God. He spoke about the 'Day of the Lord'--the day of judgment. God punishes so that his people may repent and return to him and be restored. In 1:1-2:7 he announces God's judgment, describes God's punishment of Judah and calls on Jerusalem to repent and seek righteousness and humility. In 2:8-3:7 he announces God's judgment on the nations and on Jerusalem. In 3:8-20 he promises the redemption of God's remnant.

1. Warning of coming destruction (1-3)

Zephaniah saw that corruption was a world-wide problem, and the coming destruction was God's judgment on all the earth.

2. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice (4-13)

God's people had turned from God to worship idols. People were complacent about this, thinking, 'God will do nothing.' When God's people are complacent about sin, God himself will prepare a sacrifice. This time the Lord's sacrifice would the be city of Jerusalem and all its people. In the distant future he would prepare a different kind of sacrifice--his one and only Son. Zephaniah is like a man with a lamp, searching the city for complacent people so that God may uproot and punish them.

3. The fire of his jealousy (14-18)

On the day of the Lord, God's wrath will be poured out on the whole earth. The whole world will be consumed in the fire of his jealousy. Gold and silver cannot save anyone on the day of God's wrath.

Application: Lord, save me from complacency. Help me to love and worship you daily.
One Word: The day of the Lord will come