Notes from Bible study with Pastor Terry Gray
Book of Zephaniah
This is a book of judgment and warning. Before Zephaniah's prophecy, Judah had a superficial revival under the leadership of his cousin, Josiah, the then king of Judah. Josiah had a good heart and brought about the revival based on coming back to the Lord. However, those responsible for handling the events focused more on the rituals than the true content. This is why the revival was superficial--It had all the bang but no lasting value.
Overall message according to Henry Matthew: Zephaniah foretells the general destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, and sets their sins in order before them, which had provoked God to bring their ruin upon them, calls them to repentance, threatens the neighbouring nations with the like destructions, and gives encouraging promises of their joyful return out of captivity in due time, which have a reference to the grace of the gospel.
Prophet Zephaniah
His name means YHWH has hidden, YHWH has treasured
He is of royal blood, from the line of Hezekiah (who was a great king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah)
He was the last pre-exilate prophet.
"Pre-exilate prophets" are prophets whose books were written before Judah went into exile in 586 BC; Ezekiel and Daniel are exilate prophets; Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are post-exilate prophets, who prophesied after Judah returned to its land.
Being the last pre-exilate prophet, Zephaniah was Judah's last God-given chance to repent before judgment would come.
"The day of the Lord"
"The day of the Lord" is repeated multiple times, more than any other book in the Bible. This "THE day" refers to the time when God supernaturally intervenes into human affairs, either to judge or to bless.
The phrase has been used in 3 senses:
1) The end of time when God's wrath and judgment are poured out on Earth
2) The tremendous amount of blessing that comes after that final time of judgment
3) God directly intervenes into the affairs of His nation, Israel to judge or to bless.
Zephaniah speaks in terms of all of these scenarios.
First Sense: When God intervenes in Israel's affairs to judge
Zephaniah 1:2-3
Zephaniah speaks of the end of days when God judges all, the universal judgment. This judgment is to restore the fallen world to its former holy glory.
Zephaniah 1:4-6
God's hand is against Judah because of their evil practices, including the worshiping of Baal, the worshiping the stars (what we know today as astrology, psychics).
Zephaniah 1:7-13
This judgment happened in 586 BC
Zephaniah 2:1-3
Zephaniah urges his people to repent so that they may be "hidden" when God's judgment comes (remember the meaning of his name) There is no doubt that God's judgment will come. But God does not judge the righteous. God does not judge His own people who are in the right relationship with Him. Those who have repented, given their lives to God will be hidden during the Lord's judgment.
Zephaniah 2:4-5
The kingdom to the west (belonging to the Philistines) will be judged.
Zephaniah 2:8-9
The kingdom to the east will be judged.
Zephaniah 2:12
The kingdom to the south will be judged.
Zephaniah 2:13
The Kingdom to the north will be destroyed.
The events documented in Zephaniah 2:4-15 have all happened. When Nebuchadnezzar came charging in, he and his Babylonian army decimated Judah and all these other nations. Babylon subsequently became the world power.
Second Sense: When God's wrath and judgment are poured out on Earth in the end of time
Zephaniah 1:14-18
Third Sense: When a tremendous amount of blessing and great peace come after that final time of judgment
Zephaniah 2:9
No comments:
Post a Comment