Zephaniah 1

       I am studying some of the minor prophets right now.  Why?  Because I believe that the minor prophets can teach us a lot about the character of God.  What is important to Him, what do we do that needs to change, what should we do.  What is a proper attitude of worship?  The way I have approached Zephaniah is I have read it several times, I have researched it, I have thought about it, I have listened to John Piper's sermon from 1982 on it.  I am sitting down with it and going through it verse by verse summarizing it.  When I come to a point that I have a thought on what is going on, I will give it.  These are all my thoughts, but they have been influenced by Piper's sermon. If you want to listen to it yourself, the audio and the transcript are both at http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/the-lord-will-rejoice-over-you

       This prophecy occurred in the days of Josiah.  This was a time when Judah was turning back to the Lord. The prophecy begins with God promising to sweep away man and animal from the face of the earth.  He then specifies that He will also judge Judah and Jerusalem.  He specifies that he will cut away the remnant of Baal along with idolatrous priests and those who bow down on roofs to the host of the heavens.  He also calls out those who bow down and swear by the Lord and also swear by Milcom.  Zephaniah 1:6 summarizes the sins of Judah which the Lord is judging.  He says He will cut off from this place...those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire of Him.  This is the primary issue for Judah.  They do not seek the Lord.  They don't inquire of Him, they don't follow Him.  They basically pay Him lip service while also following and worshipping other gods.  They have relegated the one true God to a status equal to the lesser gods of the nations around them.  This is something that I feel like I am susceptible to myself.  I very often pay God lip service but I don't honestly seek Him.  My first thought is not to inquire of Him.  I ultimately am not following Him.  While I don't have an issue with worshipping Baal or Milcom, or the stars and moon, I do tend to worship myself.  I follow my will, I inquire of myself when I need to make a decision.  I want God's will to submit to mine instead of vice versa.  It is important to remember how serious it is to God when we choose to follow anything other than Him.  

        The chapter continues about the day of the Lord.  This is very similar to Joel 2:1-2 which says "Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness!" (Unlike the prophecy in Joel, God does reveal how the people have sinned in Zephaniah.)  God is going to prepare a sacrifice and consecrate His guests.  I first thought of the sacrifice as referring to Christ, but my notes say it is referring to sinners.  That is consistent with what He says next.  He begins listing who He will punish.  I won't go into a ton of detail, but I will list who He lists.  He will punish the officials and the king's sons, all who array themselves in foreign attire, everyone who leaps over the threshold (Leaping over the threshold was to show respect for a god. 1 Samuel 5:4-5 says, "But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day."), those who fill their master's house with violence and fraud (I think this refers to the temple.  2 Kings 21:3-9 describes how Manasseh built altars and idols in the temple itself).  He lists different parts of Jerusalem which will wail on that day.  He specifically lists traders and those who weigh out silver as being cut off.  Verse 12 seems to once again give a more general reason why God is judging Jerusalem.  The people were complacent.  They say in their hearts that God will not do good nor will He do ill.  They basically don't acknowledge that God is active in their lives at that point in time.  This justifies their following other gods.  God says that they will build houses and plant vineyards but they won't inhabit them or drink wine from them.  The day of the Lord is described in terrible terms.  It is a day of wrath, distress, anguish, ruin, devastation, darkness, gloom, clouds, thick darkness.  A day of trumpet blast and battle cry against fortified cities and lofty battlements.  He says mankind will walk like the blind because they have sinned against the Lord.  Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them.  (That seems to show something else the inhabitants of Jerusalem had been following instead of God) God will consume the earth in the fire of His jealousy.  

         This chapter is very much a warning to Judah which should teach them a lot about who God is and what He is passionate about.  He is a jealous God who wants us to follow Him.  He wants us to trust Him and seek Him.  He wants us to understand that He is active in our world.  He will not let us get away with turning away from Him and following other gods or money.  I think it is interesting that the reliance on money and foreign gods is very much tied to their complacency regarding the true God of the universe.  This was true of God's character then and it still is. He is jealous for our affections and our worship.  That sounds bad, but God is the only one who deserves our worship and affections.