Lesson 6: A Message from Zephaniah

The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.
-3:15 (NRSV)

Background

The book of Zephaniah comes to us from the time of the king Josiah, sometime between 620 and 630 BCE. The poetry of the book is set against the background of the fading Assyrian dominance in the ancient near east. Jerusalem, which had dodged the Assyrian bullet by the repentance of Hezekiah, had again turned to sin and idolatry. The people of Judah now were under the judgment of God and would soon see the “Day of the Lord”, when he would bring chaos and destruction. Still, even in the middle of this wrath, a few would be spared. A remnant will survive and fulfill God’s true purposes. 

Personal Reflection

God ultimately controls history. Our choices do indeed have serious consequences, even if for now it seems like life will just keep going along this way forever. This prophet reminds his people and us that the need to pursue God is urgent and immediate. Now is the time to choose our side, and now is the time to become the sort of people who can live in fellowship with God, rather than opposed to him and his ultimate power. Note that in the last section regarding salvation, it is emphasized that God is the one acting. (He will…, I will…).


Outline

I. 1:1-1:18 The threat of the coming day of the Lord
II. 2:1-2:3 A call to repentance
III. 2:4:-2:15 Prophecies against the surrounding nations
IV. 3:1-3:8 The sickness and sins of Jerusalem
V. 3:9-20 The Lord’s salvation of his faithful people

Things to think about as you read Zephaniah this week

1. Jerusalem will fall because it listens to nobody. What voices of correction do you need to hear and pay attention to?

2. Zephaniah utterly rejects the contemporary myths about what the world is really like. What are our culture’s myths?

3. What kind of picture does this prophet present about what God really wants? What is his dream? 

4. If we really believed in the immediacy and urgency of our relationship with God, what would we do? How would our priorities change or intensify?

- Steven Hovater

(Steven Hovater loves children of all ages, loves to read books without pictures, and to grill hamburgers. He studied Youth Ministry at Harding University before joining the staff at Pleasant Valley, where he currently works with students in junior and senior high school.)