Zephaniah 1

Josiah was the last good king of Judah. He ruled from about 640-609 BC. He tried to revive the nation’s religion by tearing down shrines and worship centers devoted to other gods. But his effort on behalf of Judah seemed too little, too late. Babylonian invaders from what is now Iraq destroyed Jerusalem about 20 years later, in 586 BC. Babylonians leveled the city and Temple, deported most of Judah’s survivors, and wiped Judah off the map.

Zephaniah is the only prophet to climb this high up his family tree, to four generations. Some scholars say he may have done this to get to his relative, King Hezekiah. If that’s so, Zephaniah was also related to the current king, Josiah. All the kings of Judah descended from King David. But other scholars say if Zephaniah wanted to name-drop King Hezekiah, he would have made it clear which Hezekiah he was talking about because Hezekiah was a common name. If Zephaniah was talking about King Hezekiah here, then Amariah would have been Hezekiah’s son. But the Bible doesn’t list him with Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son and successor.

Look at the order of God’s targets for termination: people, then animals, then birds, then fish. And then everything is gone. Now go to Genesis 1 and look at the order of creation: fish (Genesis 1:20), birds (1:20), animals (1:24), humans (1:27). Zephaniah’s list is in the opposite order of creation. It’s the reverse of creation. Destruction. If Zephaniah was talking about Judah’s destruction in 586 BC, falling to Babylon, this message was hyperbole—exaggeration to make a point. But if part of the message is for a day yet to come in a sinful age, perhaps it’s not exaggeration, some would say. Humans have reached the point now when they can do pretty much what Zephaniah says God planned to do. We tend to not want to think about that very long. Okay, let’s move on.

Baal was the main Canaanite god, worshiped in what became the Jewish nations of Israel and Judah. Baal was considered a god of fertility in family, flocks, and fields. Some scholars say the idea behind one worship ritual was to entertain Baal by letting him watch people have sex. They did this so he would make it rain. It’s a tad gross, but some taught that the rain was Baal’s semen. So, if the sex of worshipers got Baal stimulated enough, he would make it rain in this predominately dry part of the world.

Milcom was a fertility god from Ammon, in what are now parts of Jordan and Syria. But the word might also mean “their king.” And it could be a variant spelling of the god Molech, a local god that some Israelites worshiped.

More literally, “day of the LORD.” Bible writers talk about a “day of the LORD” or “on that day” or “day of visitation” or “there’s a time coming.” It’s a day that can go in one of two directions. It can be a good day—a day God comes to save his people. It’s something to look forward to. Some scholars trace the idea back to what happened when God came to Egypt and with 10 plagues, he freed the Israelites. But it can also be a fearful day to people at odds with God. To them, it is Judgment Day. But to people on good terms with God, his arrival for Judgment Day or any other reason is welcome. The prophet Joel describes it in graphic terms as a terrible day when invaders destroy sinful Jerusalem (Joel 1:15; 2:11). Obadiah uses the phrase that way as well. But to God’s people, the “day” is the day of salvation (Joel 2:32).

The sacrificed animal may symbolize what God is going to do to the people of Judah. Babylonian invaders will kill many of them.

All of King Josiah’s sons left a sad legacy. Jehoiakim, perhaps most of all. He burned the scroll containing God’s messages about the fall of Judah, which Jeremiah delivered (Jeremiah 36:23).

The original Hebrew text says only “all who dress in foreign clothes.” We have to guess what was wrong with that, though the people in Zephaniah’s day likely knew exactly what he was talking about.

The verse doesn’t say why the person is avoiding the threshold. But 1 Samuel 5:5 says Philistines weren’t allowed to stop on the threshold of the temple devoted to their god, Dagon.

Fish Gate was one entrance into the city. Location is uncertain. Many scholars place it on the northwest wall, above the Tyropoeon Valley. Merchants often set up shop near the busy city gates, to catch people coming and going. Perhaps this was where most fish venders sold fish from the Mediterranean Sea and from the lake in the northland, the Sea of Galilee.

Mishneh and Machtesh (1:11) were neighborhoods inside the walled city of Jerusalem. Perhaps the point is that cries will come from every corner of the city. Babylonians invaders, for the first of two times in known history, leveled Jerusalem. Romans did it again in AD 70.

This distressing prophecy reads like the consequences Moses promised if Israel abandoned God. “The LORD was happy to show kindness to you and help you grow into such a large nation. But now, the LORD will be happy to vacate you from his property and get you out of here” (Deuteronomy 28:63).