Zephaniah 3 picks up right where Zephaniah 2 left off, but instead of naming another nation, the prophecy turns back to Judah. Jerusalem is described as rebellious, defiled, oppressing, listening to no voice, accepting no correction, not trusting in the Lord, and not drawing near to her God. Her officials and judges are predators not protectors. Her prophets are fickle, her priests profane and violent. The Lord within her, however, is righteous and just but the unjust know no shame. We see in this description of Jerusalem that the city was not how it should be. They were stubborn and rebellious, and didn't listen to correction. Apparently judges who should protect were devouring and attacking. The prophets who were supposed to be firm were being fickle. The priests who were supposed to be holy protectors of the law were profaning the holy and doing violence to the law. In the midst of all of this role reversal though, we see that God was still in the city and He was still righteous and just. God describes how He has judged the nations in the hope that it would cause Judah to fear Him and accept correction. Instead they were even more eager to make all their deeds corrupt. Because of this, the Lord promises to judge the nations and pour out His jealous anger on the whole earth.
At this point though, we now see the mercy of God interacting with His justice. I feel like there is a tension between the justice of a Holy God and the mercy of God. I believe this tension is resolved in the remnant of people He will keep. We already saw that there would be a remnant left of Judah, but we now see that this remnant is bigger than just Judah, this remnant will be global. In verse 9 we see that God "will change the speech of the people to a pure speech that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve Him with one accord." A couple of thoughts about this. These people are in contrast with those who rely on their own strength, or their money, or other gods. These people believe that God is active in the world. These people call on the Lord and serve Him. They understand where they stand compared to God and it compels them to call on His name. They worship Him and serve Him and give an offering to Him as we see in verse 10. These people will come not just from Judah, but from beyond the rivers of Cush. These people are not shameless and have rebelled against the Lord, yet He promises that on that day they will be not be put to shame because of the deeds by which they have rebelled against God. We see His justice here in that He will remove the proudly exultant and the haughty. He is purifying His people. The humble and lowly He will leave and they will seek refuge in the name of the Lord. They will be just and honest and will have peace.
Zephaniah then finishes with a song of praise and joy because of the restoration of Israel. The Lord will have taken away judgements against them and removed their enemies. He will be in their presence and they will not need to fear. Why won't they fear? Verses 16 and 17 give the answer. "On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." This is amazing! The same God who the people rebelled against will not only come and be in their midst, but He will save them. He will delight in them. He will love them. How does a just God show mercy and keep a remnant? It is because of His intense love and desire for our affections. It is important to remember that not only is God our saviour, not only is He our judge, but He delights in us and loves us and is mighty to save and restore us. In verse 19 we see that God will save the lame and gather the outcast and change their shame to praise. They are in a position of exclusion and it has caused an inward focus on their shame. God will restore and gather them to Himself and give them the community and inclusion they had been denied. This will change their inward focused shame to outward focused praise. God will gather His remnant to Himself and make them into a people who will be renowned and praised. He will restore their fortunes.
Zephaniah begins very negatively. The people are trusting in themselves and in other gods and ignoring the one true God. God's will eventually judge them which means they will be destroyed. However, God will keep a remnant of people who He will restore to Himself. These people will not rely on their own strength, but rather on the name of the Lord. They will call on His name and He will restore their fortunes. We see a people at the end of this book completely opposite to the people in the beginning of the book. Zephaniah ends up being a promise of restoration and mercy and love. It is a beautiful promise from God that if we humble ourselves and turn to Him and seek Him and rely on Him, He will save us and delight in us and gather us to Himself.
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