Zephaniah 3

Here now the prophet pronounced judgment upon Jerusalem -- rebellious and polluted, the oppressing city! Disobedient towards, untrusting of, and far away from God. She, Jerusalem, had not received correction, yet. 

Her political leaders and judges were abusive of their power, and her religious leaders were unfaithful. (Hmm, sounds like America today.)

Meanwhile, the Lord was patient with Judah, though they did not heed His warnings as He carried out His promised desolation of surrounding nations.

THE FUTURE REMNANT

And yet, the Lord is faithful. Look at His future promises:

Therefore wait for Me, until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations to My assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all My fierce anger; all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy. 

For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord...In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deed in which you transgress against Me; for then I will take away from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and you shall no longer be haughty in My holy mountain.

I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed their flocks and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid.  

Zephaniah 3 ends on a joyful note, to say the least. The prophet relays the Lord's command for the remnant to "sing and shout with gladness; rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your judgments, (and) He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. You shall see disaster no more." 

This is future Millennial stuff. In that day...

The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

This is awesome! God promises to save His people from their enemies, including those who were oppressed by other Jews (remember the wicked leaders of Israel?). When Jesus returns for good, all of His future remnant will be gathered back to Him. 

COMMENTARY

The reason God judges Jerusalem harshly is because she was privileged to know the truth, but disregarded it. All nations will be judged, ultimately. But Jerusalem should have known better. 

Again, she ignored the Lord's instructions; she did not learn her lesson and turn back to Him; she looked elsewhere for answers. (side note: even today, Israel proclaims that "Science will bring peace to [the] land." The truth, however, is that the Messiah is the Prince of Peace, and only He can bring peace.); they ran away from God; the political leaders were (and are) useless; judges were (and are) greedy; prophets withheld the Word of God; and priests abused their calling and falsely interpreted the Word of God. 

Sadly, it appears to us today, as it did in Zephaniah's time, that God withholds correction or judgment when someone commits evil; but God says that He will eventually send judgment, though He will do no iniquity. Therefore, the unjust continue shamelessly in sin.

END TIMES

By verses 6-8, we get a glimpse of the future Great Tribulation period, also known as the Day of the Lord. Not only is Jerusalem to be judged, but other nations, as well. This will take place the moment Jesus returns to establish His kingdom on the earth. 

McGee described the Book of Zephaniah as a "Florida hurricane*, a Texas tornado, a Mississippi River flood, a Minnesota snowstorm, and a California earthquake all rolled into one." (*I write this while awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Helene! It's not fun.) And yet, Zephaniah assures us that God is love, and whether He is chastising the unsaved or His own, He is always love.

Zephaniah 2

A Warning: 

Gather yourselves together...before the decree is issued...before the Lord's fierce anger comes upon you...!

Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth...seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger. 

God promises to judge the nations:

Gaza shall be forsaken, Ashkelon desolate, Ashdod driven out, and Ekron uprooted.

O Canaan, land of the Philistines: I will destroy you; so there shall be no inhabitant...The residue of My people shall plunder them,  and the remnant of My people shall possess them. 

All the gods of the nations will be reduced to nothing, and people shall worship HIM from those nations. (Obviously, this is not happening today because it is future - the Millennium period.)

Commentary:

It will be a blessing to be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger. As McGee says: 

It is a glorious, wonderful thing to be hidden in the cleft of the rock and covered by His wings. 

God is going to judge these other nations, not just His own people, Israel. 

Zephaniah 1

The Great Day of the Lord

God said: I will utterly consume everything from the face of the land, man and beast, birds, fish, stumbling blocks, along with the wicked.

What is the Great Day of the Lord?

That day is a day of wrath; of trouble and distress; of devastation and desolation; of darkness and gloominess; of trumpet and alarm...against fortified cities and high towers.

God said: I will bring distress upon men and they shall walk like blind men because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust and their flesh like refuse. 

Nothing will be able to save them for He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land. 

Commentary: 

Zephaniah was related to the royal line of King Hezekiah of Judah and prophesied during the reign of Josiah. His prophecy is directed to the whole world. Obviously, it has not happened, yet; but it will, right before the millennial kingdom, at the end of the Great Tribulation period. 

Zephaniah 1 demonstrates what occurs during a nation's decline. First, there is religious apostasy, next, moral awfulness, and finally, political anarchy. In America, churches no longer influence the national character. People go to church for a religious experience. We don't need more religious experience. 

Vernon McGee lists the five signs historian Gibbon described that lead to the decline of a society:

1. The undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home (the foundation of a stable society); 2. higher taxes (public money spent for more bread and circuses to pacify the people); 3. elevation of pleasure (sports and entertainment); 4. the building of great armaments without, while the enemy was within (decay of individual responsibility); 5. the decay of religion (loss of power to guide people/morality).

Then a nation departs from the living and true God or when it gives up great moral principles which were based on religion, when it goes into idolatry, these factors eventually lead it into gross immorality and into political anarchy.

At the time of Zephaniah's prophecy, Judah/Jerusalem were practicing idolatry. They were going to the  synagogue and being religious, but they were also worshiping false gods. 

McGee listed three forms of idolatry. The first is Baal, introduced by Jezebel. It was a form of nature worship. the second form moved into the home where they worshiped the sun, moon, and stars instead of the Creator. The third form was the worst: it involved swearing by the Lord, but also by Molech, the god of the Ammonites, the god whom they sacrificed their children. It reminds me of people who call themselves Christians, go to church on Sundays, even profess Jesus as Lord; but they also support abortion, the sacrifice of babies to the god of convenience and selfishness. 

About the Day of the Lord:

The Day of the Lord is a day of judgment, and it begins in the Great Tribulation period, after the church is raptured from this earth. 

Unfortunately, right now, as in Zephaniah's time, there are people who do not think God will punish wickedness and evil. This leads people to believe that God is dead. But He is not dead, and He is already judging evil. 

Zephaniah said the Great Day of the Lord is near. While Israel experienced a small portion of tribulation, in Babylonian captivity, there is a greater Tribulation still yet to come.