Zephaniah

I always had a problem with the name of this book, because it was so similar to Zechariah. Oh well. Anyway, this book is just full of expressions of anger and destruction. Happy reading!

Zeph 1:2-6 - I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth, says the LORD. I will sweep away humans and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. I will make the wicked stumble. I will cut off humanity from the face of the earth, says the LORD. I will stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests; those who bow down to the roofs to the hosts of the heavens; those who bow down and swear to the LORD, but also swear by Milcom; those who have turned back from following the LORD, who have not sought the LORD or inquired of him.
I guess this is supposed to convey God's anger at those who don't follow the "old time religion," but there are some interesting things stated here. It starts off by predicting the complete destruction of all life on earth, which I think should about end all discussion. After all, if all living things on earth are to die, what's the point of going over the reason? However, we then proceed to narrow down things a little, saying that God's anger is directed at Israel. Or even more specifically, at the Jews who are less than what God wants in his chosen people. My, how the anger has changed in only a few short sentences!

Zeph 2:3 - Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the LORD's wrath.
What's this? Doing what the preacher here says only *might* result in safety from God's anger? How very odd that there's no promise or guarentee here!

Zeph 2:9-12 - Therefore, as I live, says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them. This shall be their lot in return for their pride, because they scoffed and boasted against the people of the LORD of hosts. The LORD will be terrible against them; he will shrivel all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the coasts and islands and nations.
This sounds more like WWF trash talking than a serious prediction of the future. I notice that the promise to destroy all other religions, while there's no shortage of believers trying to make it come true, obviously hasn't. I'd have thought there was a statute of limitations on these things - certainly less than 2000 years!

Zeph 3:6,7 - I have cut off nations; their battlements are in ruins; I have laid waste their streets so that no one walks in them; their cities have been made desolate without people, without inhabitants. I said, "Surely the city will fear me, it will accept correction; it will not lose sight of all that I have brought upon it." But they were the more eager to make all their deeds corrupt.
I suppose that if one wants fear from one's children, these actions really ought to have been successful. My guess is that taking credit for the desolation of cities might not, logically, have been the best choice, as cities have lived and died all through human history, so who's to say which ones died because God was angry at them, and which ones died because they could no longer support a human community? Another interesting aspect here, is the idea that God said that he was mistaken in thinking that such destruction would create the desired fear. How could an omniscient being goof up like that?

Zeph 3:12,13 - For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD - the remnant of Israel; they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths. Then they will pasture and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid.
While I'm sure the Christians (and a fair number of Jews, for that matter) would just love to point to themselves and say that they are fulfilling this prediction, we must get real - it ain't happened yet, and it ain't very likely to ever happen, especially considering that God seems to desire fear from his people!

Zeph 3:17-20 - The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD.
This is an interesting and inspiring dream of a future with an all-powerful, loving, protecting god of war. We start with the standard concept of God giving victory in wars, just as in the book of Joshua. We also see a promise of revenge against all those who harmed Israel, another favorite dream of those who have a hard life. By the end here, we see a promise of glory and respect for God's people from all over the world. Of course, in the realm of the religions that look to this book, it hasn't happened yet.