Zephaniah 1:1-11
CONTEXT: The first verse of this book tells us that "the word of Yahweh... came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah" (1:1).
We don't know whether or not the Hezekiah of Zephaniah's genealogy is the good king Hezekiah who reigned from 715-687 B.C. If so, Zephaniah is establishing his own royal lineage in this verse.
King Josiah reigned from 640-609 B.C., having risen to the throne at age eight following the assassination of his father, King Amon (2 Kings 21:24 - 2:1). He reigned during a turbulent time. Not only was there internal turbulence, as evidenced by the assassination of his father, but Assyria, the reigning superpower, was in decline and Babylonia was emerging as the new superpower.
Josiah "removed all the houses also of the high places" in Samaria (2 Kings 23:19) and put away "those who had familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Yahweh" (2 Kings 23:24).
A few years after the end of Josiah's reign (609 B.C.), Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians (587 B.C.). The Babylonians killed many of the people of Judah, and carried most of the rest into exile in Babylonia. It is this terrible time that Zephaniah predicts in the first chapter of this book.
The book of Zephaniah is quite short-only three chapters in length. The prophet portrays a grand sweep of history that begins with judgment on Judah (1:1-13), the Great Day of Yahweh (1:14-18), judgment on Israel's enemies (2:1-15), the wickedness of Jerusalem (3:1-7), the punishment and conversion of the nations (3:8-13), and a Song of Joy (3:14-20). We who have the benefit of hindsight can see that he was predicting the Babylonian Exile and the eventual return of the exiles to Jerusalem.
EW Commentary - Zephaniah 1:1-11 - Coming Judgment and the Reasons For It
A. God's promised judgment.
1. (1:1) Zephaniah: The man and his times.
1 The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:
a. The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah: This first verse of the prophecy of Zephaniah sets it apart from most other prophets, in that he told us both his time and his lineage. Zephaniah was an unusual prophet, in that he was of royal lineage, descending from the godly King Hezekiah.
i. The name Zephaniah means "Yahweh Hides" or "Yahweh Has Hidden." Zephaniah was almost certainly born during the long, wicked reign of Manasseh, whose reign began 55 years before the start of Josiah's reign. Zephaniah was probably hidden for his own protection.
b. In the days of Josiah: Josiah was a godly, young king who brought great revival and reform to Judah but Josiah reigned for 10 years before he led his great revival. Zephaniah was likely written in the years before the revival, and God used this prophecy to bring and further revival.
i. Since Zephaniah predicts the destruction of Nineveh (which happened in 612 B.C.) we know that his prophecy belongs to the first part of the reign of King Josiah.
ii. The 12 Minor Prophets are divided into two groups: pre-exilic and post-exilic. The first 9 are pre-exilic, writing before the Babylonians conquered and exiled Judah. The last 3 are post-exilic, writing during and after the return of Israel from Babylon to the Promised Land. Zephaniah is the last of the pre-exilic prophets, and can be said to "sum up" the messages of the previous 8. This is why Zephaniah seems unoriginal to some scholars, because he quotes the words and ideas of many previous prophets.
2. (1:2-3) The promise of judgment.
2 "I will completely remove all things From the face of the earth," declares the LORD. 3 "I will remove human and animal life; I will remove the birds of the sky And the fish of the sea, And the ruins along with the wicked; And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the earth," declares the LORD .
a. I will utterly consume everything: Zephaniah didn't waste any time getting to the point. Delivering the message of the LORD, he warned of harsh and complete judgment that would consume everything before the LORD.
3. (1:4-6) Judgment is promised to idolaters.
4 "So I will stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the other priests. 5 And those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly lights, And those who bow down and swear to the Lord, but also swear by Milcom, 6 And those who have turned back from following the Lord, And those who have not sought the Lord nor inquired of Him."
a. Against Judah: The promise of judgment in Zephaniah 1:2-3 was broad enough to include the whole earth, and to allow some to think that God didn't really mean them. Now God focused in on His people in the land of Judah, and He would not allow them to think that He spoke just to others.
b. I will cut off every trace of Baal: King Josiah inherited a corrupt nation from his father Amon and grandfather Manasseh, a nation almost wholly given over to idolatry (2 Kings 21:3-7). Here God announced judgment against the idol worshippers in Israel. Apparently both the leadership and the people heeded this announcement of judgment, because in the days of Josiah this kind of gross idolatry was put away (2 Kings 23:4-15).
i. In light of the complete uprooting of idolatry described in 2 Kings 23, we can see that God's promise to cut off every trace of Baal and destroy the rest of the expressions of idolatry was fulfilled. We also see that this prophecy was an invitation, as if God said: "Baal and the idols are going to go. You can get rid of them in righteousness or I will get rid of them in judgment, but rest assured that they are going to go." King Josiah directed the war on idolatry and the nation was blessed.
4. (1: 7-9) Judgment is promised to royalty.
7 Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near, Because the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests. 8 "Then it will come about on the day of the Lord's sacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king's sons, And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments. 9 And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit.
a.Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD: God addresses the royalty of Judah in a way they aren't used to hearing. He tells them to "shut up" and listen to His pronouncement of judgment - a sacrifice of judgment made against a wicked nation.
i. Boice tells the story of two gangsters, one named "Two-Gun Crowley" who cruelly murdered many including a policeman. He was captured in a shoot-out with police and wrote this note during the shoot-out, fearing he would die: "Under my coat is a weary heart, but a kind one - one that would do nobody any harm." The other gangster is Al Capone, who said: "I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man." Our ability to proclaim our innocence when we are deep in sin is pretty amazing, but through it all God tells us be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD.
b. I will punish the princes and the king's children: This warning came to a godly king during a time of reform. God warns Josiah and the whole royal community what will happen if they don't follow through on their turning to God.
c. All such as are clothed with foreign apparel: The priests and leaders of Judah were ashamed of their national identity, so they loved to dress in foreign apparel. They wanted to be as much like the worldly nations around them as they could possibly be.
d. All those who leap over the threshold: This probably refers to bringing pagan customs and superstitions into the house of God, in the same way that the worshippers of Dagon honored silly and offensive superstitions (1 Samuel 5:5).
5. (1:10-11) Judgment is promised to merchants.
10 And on that day," declares the LORD, "There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, Wailing from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills. 11 Wail, you inhabitants of the Mortar, Because all the people of Canaan will be destroyed; All who weigh out silver will be eliminated.
a. All the merchant people are cut down: Merchants and those with money trusted in their riches, and now God promises to cut down those steeped in that kind of idolatry. Colossians 3:5-6 shows this isn't just an Old Testament concept: Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth . . . covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.
Zeph. 1:1-11 - T. Constable Commentary
HEADING (1:1): What follows is the word that Yahweh gave to Zephaniah during the reign of King Josiah of Judah (640-609 B.C.). This "word" includes all that the Lord told the prophet that He also led him to record for posterity (cf. Hosea 1:1; Joel 1:1; Micah 1:1). This was a divine revelation that God gave through one of His servants the prophets.
Zephaniah recorded his genealogy, the longest genealogy of a writing prophet in any prophetical book. It goes back four generations to Zephaniah's great-great-grandfather, or possibly more distant relative, Hezekiah. As noted in the "Writer" section of the Introduction above, it is impossible to prove or to disprove that this Hezekiah was the king of Judah with that name. Chronologically he could have been since people married quite young during Israel's monarchy. I think this Hezekiah probably was the king since the name was not common and since it would make sense to trace the prophet's lineage back so far if Hezekiah was an important person (cf. Zechariah 1:1). [Note: See ibid., p. 898; Smith, pp. 182-83; G. A. Smith, The Book of the Twelve Prophets, Commonly Called the Minor, p. 46; and Baker, p. 91.] Normally the writing prophets who recorded their ancestors named only their fathers (cf. Jonah 1:1; Joel 1:1). We have no complete genealogy of King Hezekiah's descendants in the Old Testament.
v. 2: Yahweh revealed that He would completely remove everything from the face of the earth (cf. 2 Peter 3:10-12). This is one of the most explicit announcements of the total devastation of planet Earth in the Old Testament (cf. Isaiah 24:1-6; Isaiah 24:19-23). While it may involve some hyperbole, it seems clearly to foretell a worldwide judgment.
▪ "Its imminent reference, some think, was to the fact that the barbaric Scythians, who had left their homeland north of the Black Sea, were sweeping over western Asia and might be expected to attack Judah at any moment. The ruthless Scythians employed the scorched earth policy with fury and vengeance."
A. The judgment on the world (1:2-3): Zephaniah presented three graphic pictures of the day of the LORD. [Note: Warren W. Wiersbe, "Zephaniah," in The Bible Exposition Commentary/Prophets, pp. 426-27.] The first is that of a devastating universal flood.
NOTE--vv 2-8: Zephaniah's prophecies are all about "the day of the LORD." He revealed two things about this "day." First, it would involve judgment (Zephaniah 1:2 to Zephaniah 3:8) and, second, it would eventuate in blessing (Zephaniah 3:9-20). The judgment portion is the larger of the two sections of revelation. This judgment followed by blessing motif is common throughout the Prophets. Zephaniah revealed that judgment would come from Yahweh on the whole earth, Judah, Israel's neighbors, Jerusalem, and all nations. The arrangement of this judgment section of the book is chiastic.
A Judgment on the world Zephaniah 1:2-3
B Judgment on Judah Zephaniah 1:4 to Zephaniah 2:3
C Judgment on Israel's neighbors Zephaniah 2:4-15
B' Judgment on Jerusalem Zephaniah 3:1-7
A' Judgment on the all nations Zephaniah 3:8
v. 3: This verse particularizes the general statement in Zephaniah 1:2 (cf. Genesis 1:1-31). The Lord will remove animal life, not that plants will survive-if animals die, plants will undoubtedly die too-, but animal life was His focus of interest. This includes human beings, beasts of all types, birds, and fish, in other words, animal life on the land, in the air, and in the water. Ruins still standing from previous destructions, or perhaps false religious practices that have caused people to stumble, would perish, as would the wicked. The Lord repeated that He would cut off man to make that fact indisputable. This would be a reversal of Creation (cf. Genesis 1:20-26) and a judgment similar to the Flood in its scope (Genesis 6:17; Genesis 7:21-23).
▪ Does this prophecy refer to the judgments that will come during the Tribulation (Rev. 6-18) or at the end of the Millennium (2 Pet 3:10; Rev. 20:11-15)? In view of what follows in this section describing judgment, especially Zeph. 3:8, the parallel passage to Zeph. 1:2-3, I think it refers to the Tribulation judgments.
B. The judgment on Judah 1:4-2:3: Zephaniah gave more particulars concerning the fate of Judah (Zephaniah 1:4 to Zephaniah 2:3) and Jerusalem (Zephaniah 3:1-7) than about the fate of the rest of humanity (Zephaniah 1:2-3; Zephaniah 2:4-15; Zephaniah 3:8). He did this both in the section of the book dealing with coming judgment and in the section about blessing. In the section on blessing he gave only one verse to the purification of the nations (Zephaniah 3:9) but 11 to the transformation of Israel (Zephaniah 3:10-20).
v. 4: Yahweh announced that He would stretch out His hand in judgment against Judah and the people of Jerusalem. Stretching out the hand is a figure of speech that implies a special work of punishment (cf. Exodus 6:6; Deut. 4:34; 2 Kings 17:36; Isaiah 14:26-27; Jeremiah 27:5; Jeremiah 32:17; et al.). He promised to cut off the remnant of Baal worshippers who remained in Judah, or perhaps the temple (cf. Deuteronomy 12:5; Deuteronomy 12:11; 1 Kings 8:29-30; Ezekiel 42:13), as well as the priests of Baal and the unfaithful priests of Yahweh. He would also terminate their reputations and the memory of them (cf. 2 Kings 23:5; Hosea 10:5).
▪ This reference has suggested to some interpreters that Zephaniah wrote after Josiah began his reforms since Josiah revived the worship of Yahweh and tried unsuccessfully to eliminate idolatry (2 Chronicles 34:4). However, this verse may simply mean that the Lord would judge the idolaters in Judah, "Baal" being a figure (synecdoche) for all idolatry.
▪ "Wherever excitement in religion becomes an end in itself and wherever the cult of 'what helps' replaces joy in 'what's true,' Baal is worshiped." [Note: Motyer, p. 912.]
1. The cause for Judah's judgment 1:4-6
v. 5: The Lord would also judge those who worshipped the sun, moon, stars, and planets, which the idolatrous Israelites did on their flat housetops (cf. Deuteronomy 4:19; 2 Kings 21:3; 2 Kings 21:5; 2 Kings 23:4-5; Jeremiah 19:13). He would also punish the Judeans who worshipped both Yahweh and the pagan gods of the nations (cf. 2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 21:6; Jeremiah 32:35). "Milcom," (Molech, the god of Ammon; 1 Kings 11:33), probably represents all foreign gods. Swearing to and by a deity meant pronouncing an oath that called on that god to punish the oath-taker if he or she failed to do what he or she promised. Swearing by another god involved acknowledging its authority, which God forbade in Israel.
v. 6: Judgment would come, too, on all God's people who had apostatized, namely, departed from loving and following Yahweh, and had stopped praying to Him. They might not have participated in pagan idolatry, but if their love had grown cold, they were still guilty (cf. Revelation 2:1-7). The Lord commanded His people to love Him wholeheartedly (cf. Deuteronomy 6:5). They may have forgotten Him, but He had not forgotten them.
▪ "Sometimes it is the apathetic and indifferent who are more responsible for a nation's moral collapse than those who are actively engaged in evil, or those who have failed in the responsibilities of leadership." [Note: Peter C. Craigie, Twelve Prophets, 2:114.]
▪ In this pericope the prophet identified three types of idolatry: "the overtly pagan, the syncretistic, and the religiously indifferent." [Note: Hannah, p. 1526.] Practitioners of all three would draw punishment from Yahweh.
▪ How does this promise to judge the Israelites harmonize with the earlier prophecy that God would destroy the whole earth (Zephaniah 1:2-3)? This is an example of a prophet's foreshortened view of the future in which he could not see the difference in time between some events that he predicted (cf. Isaiah 61:1-3; Daniel 11:35-36; et al.). God judged Israel when the Babylonians overran Judah and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C. He will also judge the Israelites in the Tribulation (cf. Jeremiah 30:7; Revelation 6-18; et al.). Zephaniah described God's judgment of the people of Judah without specifying exactly when He would judge them. Most of what Zephaniah prophesied in this pericope found fulfillment, at least initially, in 586 B.C.
v. 7: In view of the inevitability of coming judgment for idolatry, it was appropriate for the Judeans to be quiet before sovereign Yahweh (cf. Habakkuk 2:20).
▪ "This is a call to the people of Judah to cease every manner of opposition to God's word and will, to bow down in submissive obedience, in unconditional surrender, in loving service, to their Covenant God." [Note: T. Laetsch, The Minor Prophets, p. 358.]
▪ This is Zephaniah's first reference to the day of the Lord, to which he referred 24 times in this book. [Note: For a brief excursus on the day of the Lord, see Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "A Theology of the Minor Prophets," in A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, pp. 417-18.]
References to the day of the LORD as a time of judgment
The day of the LORD Zephaniah 1:7; Zephaniah 1:14 (2)
The day of the LORD's sacrifice Zephaniah 1:8
That day Zephaniah 1:9-10; Zephaniah 1:15
That time Zephaniah 1:12
A day of the LORD's wrath Zephaniah 1:18
The day Zephaniah 2:2; Zephaniah 3:8
The day of the LORD's anger Zephaniah 2:2-3
A day Zephaniah 1:15 (5), Zephaniah 1:16
References to the day of the LORD as a time of blessing
That day Zephaniah 3:11; Zephaniah 3:16
That time Zephaniah 3:19-20
The time Zephaniah 3:20
▪ The day of the Lord was a time when God works, in contrast to man's day in which he works.
"As employed by the prophets, the Day of the Lord is that time when for His glory and in accordance with His purposes God intervenes in human affairs in judgment against sin or for the deliverance of His own."
▪ Here the prophet announced that the Lord's day was near; He was about to intervene in human history (e.g., the Flood). The Lord had prepared a sacrifice, namely, Judah (cf. Isaiah 34:6; Jeremiah 46:10), and He had set apart "guests" to eat it, namely, the Babylonians (cf. Jeremiah 10:25; Habakkuk 1:6). Another view is that the invited guests were the Judeans who, ironically, would also serve as the sacrifice. [Note: Baker, p. 95.]
2. The course of Judah's judgment 1:7-13: Zephaniah's second picture of the day of the LORD is that of a great sacrifice.
v. 8: When the Lord slew Judah like a sacrifice, He would punish the king's sons and those who wore foreign clothing. The king's sons, the future rulers of the nation, bore special responsibility for conditions in the land. Josiah's sons did indeed suffer Yahweh's punishment. Jehoahaz was taken captive to Egypt (2 Kings 23:34). Jehoiakim was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar and died in Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:1-6). Josiah's grandson, Jehoiachin, was taken captive to Babylon (2 Kings 24:8-16). The last son of Josiah to rule over Judah, Zedekiah, was blinded and also taken captive to Babylon (2 Kings 24:18 to 2 Kings 25:7). Wearing foreign garments evidently expressed love and support for non-Israelite values and so incurred God's wrath (cf. Numbers 15:38; Deuteronomy 22:11-12).
v. 9: The Lord would also punish those who leaped over the thresholds of their neighbors in their zeal to plunder them and who filled the temple with gifts taken through violence and deceit. Another view of leaping over the threshold is that this expression describes a superstition that anyone who walked on a building's threshold would have bad luck (cf. 1 Samuel 5:5). In this case the temple in view might be the temple of Baal. "Their lord" is literally "Their Baal" (cf. Zephaniah 1:4).
v. 10: When the Lord brought judgment on Judah, there would be crying out from various parts of Jerusalem representing the total destruction of the city. The Fish Gate was the gate through which the fishermen normally entered the city with their catches. It was a gate that pierced Jerusalem's north wall close to the fish market (cf. 2 Chronicles 33:14; Nehemiah 3:3; Nehemiah 12:39). It was probably through this gate that Nebuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem since he invaded it from the north. The Second (or New) Quarter was a district of Jerusalem northwest of the temple area (cf. 2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 34:22). The hills may refer to the hills on which Jerusalem stood or the hills surrounding the city or both. In any case, the Babylonian army doubtless caused loud crashing on all the hills in and around Jerusalem as the soldiers destroyed the whole city and its environs.
v. 11: Zephaniah called the inhabitants of the Mortar, the market or business district of Jerusalem, to wail because judgment was coming. This section of Jerusalem may have received the name "mortar" (bowl) because it lay in the somewhat geographically depressed Tyropoeon Valley. The Canaanites who did business there would fall silent because business would cease. Those who weighed silver as they conducted commercial transactions would also perish from the city.
Zeph. 1:1-11 - Extra Commentary
The prophet Zephaniah, who penned this book, was believed to be a direct descendant from Hezekiah. He prophesied in the urban area. His prophecy was during the reign of Josiah. Perhaps, his prophecy had something to do with the revival in the time of Josiah. Zephaniah was believed to be associated with Huldah, the prophetess, and with Jeremiah. This book is filled with prophecies of Judgment.
Zephaniah 1:1 "The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah."
"Hezekiah ... Josiah": Zephaniah traced his royal lineage back to his great-great-grandfather Hezekiah (ca 715-686 B.C.), and placed his ministry contemporaneous with Josiah (ca 640-609 B.C.).
The prophet's genealogy shows his royal relationship to "Hizkiah" (Hezekiah), the godly "king of Judah" (who had died in 686 B.C.).
"Josiah" was Judah's last godly king, during whose reign the Law was rediscovered (in 621 B.C.).
This verse pinpoints the time of these prophecies as in the time of King Josiah. This judgement is spoken specifically on Judah, but it is, also, for all the world, God sends warning to those who are not faithful to Him.
Verses 2-6: Six groups are singled out for judgment:
"Baal" was the Canaanite storm god often worshiped by idolatrous Israelites (Jeremiah 7:9).
"Chemarim" was an honorable Canaanite term for their priests but may translate "idolatrous priest" in Hebrew, and is used here to designate non-Levitical priests (2 Kings 18:4-6; 23:4-15).
"Worship" of the stars of heaven "upon the housetops" refers to Sabaism here identified with "Malcham". This practice was introduced by the ungodly king Manasseh (2 Kings 21:3-5), and was associated with the worship of the "queen of heaven" (Jer. 7:18; 44:17).
Verses 2-3: The prophet began by noting the far fulfillment of the Day of the Lord, when even animal and physical creation will be affected by His judgment of the earth (Gen. 3:17-19; Exodus 12:29; Joshua 7:24-25; Rom. 8:22).
Zephaniah 1:2 "I will utterly consume all [things] from off the land, saith the LORD."
"From off the land": Generally translated "ground," the term is used in reference to the whole earth (1:18). The phraseology is reminiscent of the Noahic Flood (Gen. 6:7, 17; 7:21-23).
This is spoken to all the world, as well as to Judah.
Isaiah 6:11 "Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,"
God is very angry with the unfaithful. This is speaking of a time when desolation is everywhere.
Zephaniah 1:3 "I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD."
Comparisons with the Genesis Flood continue with "man and beast" and fowls of the heaven": (Gen. 6:7; 7:23). The prophet also alluded to the creation, pairing man and beast (sixth day of creation), and birds with fish (fifth day of creation).
"Stumbling blocks": An alternate translation is "ruins". Whatever alienates man from God will be removed.
This wrath of God is spoken against man, and all of creation that God had provided for man, as well. God has been very patient with mankind, but this speaks of a time when His patience has run out. Once during the time of Noah, God was sorry that He had ever made man.
Verses 4-9: The Lord narrowed His words of judgment to specifically focus on Judah, specifying the causes of judgment as apostasy and idolatry (verses 4-6), as always coupled with moral and ethical corruption (verses 7-9).
Zephaniah 1:4 "I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, [and] the name of the Chemarims with the priests;"
"Cut off the remnant of Baal": The worship of Baal, the Canaanite god of fertility, was a constant source of temptation to Israel (Num. 25:1-5; Judges 2:13), as people tried worshiping him alongside the worship of the Lord (Jer. 7:9; 23:25-29).
This mix became a primary cause for judgment (2 Kings 17:16-20; Jer. 11:13-17; Hos. 2:8), which would forever excise the worship of Baal from Israel.
"Chemarims" is an idolatrous priest. The "stretching of God's hand" is showing that His judgement is about to be carried out. The hand symbolizes work. The judgement is against Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Judgement of a sinful world always begins at the house of God. "Baal" is a false god they had been worshiping.
Even the priests were involved in this. The temple of God was located in Jerusalem. They also, had the law of God to go by, that the heathen world around them did not. Their sins were with full knowledge. They were like an unfaithful wife. They had committed spiritual adultery.
Zephaniah 1:5 "And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship [and] that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;"
"Worship ... the host of heaven": Astrology was also a prominent part of Israel's idolatrous practices. They worshiped the host of heaven from as early as the Exodus, but they rebelled (2 Kings 23:5-6; Jer. 7:17-18; 8:2; 44:17-25). Altars were often erected on housetop roofs to provide a clear view of the sky (Jer. 8:2; 19:13; 32:29).
"Swear by Malcham": Judah's syncretistic worship was reflected in swearing by the Lord and, at the same time, by Milcom, who may be either the Ammonite deity (of 1 Kings 11:5, 33), or Molech, the worship of whom included child sacrifice, astrology, and sacred prostitution (Lev. 18:21; 2 Kings 17:16-17; Ezek. 23:37; Amos 5:25-26; Acts 7:40-43).
This is speaking of consulting the stars for answers. We call this horoscope reading today. They worshiped the sun, moon, and stars, rather than God who created the sun, moon, and stars. "Malcham" was the national idol of the Ammonites. This Malcham was the same as Molech.
God's people had stopped looking to God and started worshiping the false gods of the people around them. The sad thing is that some of them still went through the formality of worshiping God. They included God, as if there were many gods. God will not be God to anyone who has other gods. He will be the only One, or He will not be your God.
Zephaniah 1:6 "And them that are turned back from the LORD; and [those] that have not sought the LORD, nor inquired for him."
Zephaniah lastly mentioned those who had at first heeded calls to repentance but later had willfully turned away.
This is speaking of back-sliders, when it says that are turned back from God. The last part of this verse, also speaks of those who have never sought God at all. They are not interested in hearing about God. I guess they would be atheists, who do not believe God exists. In very plain language, they are the lost.
Verses 7-8: In Zephaniah "the Day of the Lord" refers to the impending Babylonian invasion of Judah and to the destruction of Jerusalem. He pictures the victims of this conquest as the "princes" (nobles), the "king's" sons (royalty), and the wealthy who wear imported garments.
Zephaniah's prophecy was fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem (in 586 B.C.), slew the sons of Zedekiah (Josiah's youngest son), blinded Zedekiah, and led him captive to Babylon (2 Kings 25:7).
Zephaniah 1:7 "Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD [is] at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests."
"Hold thy peace": In view of the just judgment, there was no defense to be spoken. And in view of the devastation; only shocked and mute wonder (Hab. 2:20; Zech. 2:13).
"Day of the Lord" (see notes on Joel 1:15).
"Prepared a sacrifice ... bid his guests": God's judgment on Israel was viewed as His sacrifice. The guests were the dreaded Babylonians, who as "priest" were invited to slay the sacrifice, i.e. Judah (Isa. 13:3; 34:6; Jer. 46:10; Ezek. 39:17; Hab. 1:6; Rev. 19:17-18).
Romans 9:20 "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus?"
The sacrifice that God prepared for all of us was Jesus who was the perfect Lamb sacrifice. He provided
salvation to all who would believe. God invited the Jews to come to the feast, but they did not. Then God sent
to the Gentiles, and offered the gift of salvation to them.
Matthew 22:10 "So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests."
God would have His house full.
Zephaniah 1:8 "And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel."
"The princes ... Kings children": Judgment began with the royal house. Lacking commitment to God's covenant, they had adopted the customs and idolatrous practices of the heathen.
Since Josiah was only 8 years old when he assumed rulership (ca 640 B.C.), the reference would not be to his sons but to the prices of the royal house or to the children of the king who would be ruling when the prophecy was fulfilled (2 Kings 25:7; Jer. 39:6).
We see in the following Scripture, that those who try to get to heaven by ways other than those God has chosen, have a very hard time. Jesus is the way. To Go before God with any garment, other than the robe of righteousness Jesus provides all believers, is dangerous.
Matthew 22:11-14 "And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:" "And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless." "Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast [him] into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." "For many are called, but few [are] chosen."
Verses 9-13: "Those that leap on the threshold" probably are the priests of Dagan who would not step on the place where he had fallen (1 Sam. 5:5). They may also be creditors who crossed over the threshold of their debtors (Deut. 24:10-11).
"The merchant people (Hebrew "Kenaan", also a word for "Canaanite"), indicates they transacted their business like Canaanites or Phoenicians.
Zephaniah 1:9 "In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit."
"Leap on the threshold": This describes the eagerness with which the rich hurried from the temple to plunder the poor.
This "leaping on the threshhold" could be when they went into homes as a burglar.
Verses 10-11: The merchants, made wealthy from dishonest gain (verse 9), were singled out to depict the anguish of the coming judgment.
The Fish Gate, known today as the Damascus Gate, is located on the north side. The Second Quarter was a district within the city walls. "Maktesh" was a name applied to the Valley of Siloam from its shape; it was a district where merchants carried on business.
Zephaniah 1:10 "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, [that there shall be] the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills."
"And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord": In the day of the Lord's sacrifice, when He shall punish the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. Which, as well as what follows, shall surely come to pass, because the Lord has said it. For not one word of His shall pass away, but all be fulfilled.
"That there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate": A gate of the city of Jerusalem so called, which suffered as the rest in the destruction of the city by the Babylonians. And, after the captivity, was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah (Nehemiah 3:3).
According to Jerom, it was on the west side of the city, and led to Diospolis and Joppa. And was the nearest road to the Mediterranean sea, or any of the roads to Jerusalem, from whence fish were brought, and brought in by this gate. And very probably the fish market was near it, from whence it had its name.
Though Cocceius places it in the north corner of the east side of the city. And so was nearer Jordan, the sea of Tiberias, and the city of Tyre, from whence fish might be brought there, and sold (Nehemiah 13:16).
However, be it where it will, the enemy it seems would attack it, and enter in by it. Upon which a hideous cry would be made, either by the assailants, the Chaldeans, at their attack upon it, and entrance through it. Or by the inhabitants of it, or that were nearest to it, upon their approach, or both.
"And a howling from the second": Either from the second gate; and if the fish gate is the same with the first gate (Zechariah 14:10), then this may be pertinently called the second. Jarchi calls it the bird gate, which was the second to the fish gate. So the Targum, "from the bird, or the bird gate"; though some copies of it read, from the tower or high fortress.
Or else this designs the second wall, and the gate in that which answered to the fish gate. For Jerusalem was encompassed with three walls. The fish gate was in the outermost, and this was in the second, to which the Chaldeans came next. And occasioned a dreadful howling and lamentation in the people that dwelt near it.
Kimchi interprets it of the school or university that was in Jerusalem. The same word is rendered the cottage in which Huldah the prophetess lived (2 Kings 22:14). And there, by the Targum, "the house of doctrine or instruction".
So then the sense is, a grievous outcry would be heard from the university or school of the prophets. The enemy having entered it, and were slaying the students, or seizing them in order to carry them captive.
"And a great crashing from the hills": Either that were in Jerusalem, as Mount Zion and Moriah, on which the temple stood.
Or those that were round about it, as Gareb, and Goath, and others. Though some interpret this of the houses of nobles that stood in the higher parts of the city, where there would be a shivering. A breaking to pieces, as the word signifies, of doors and windows without, and of furniture within.
The fish gate was in the northern wall, and was a gate where the fishermen brought their fish to the market. There was usually a fish market just inside the gate. The army, that came to attack them, would have an easier chance to get in at this gate.
We know in some of the other prophetic books, the enemy was supposed to come from the North. This would be the logical gate for them to enter. The enemy will come crashing into Jerusalem.
Zephaniah 1:11 "Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off."
"Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh": The name of a street in Jerusalem, as Aben Ezra. Perhaps it lay low in the hollow of the city, and in the form of a mortar, from whence it might have its name, as the word signifies. Which is used both for a hollow place and a mortar (Judges 15:19).
Unless it might be so called from such persons dwelling in it that used mortars for spice, and other things. The Targum is, "howl, all ye that dwell in the valley of Kidron"; and Jerom thinks the valley of Siloah is intended, which is the same. Which, Adrichomius says, was broad, deep, and dark, and surrounded the temple in manner of a foss, or ditch.
And was disposed in the form of a mortar, called in Hebrew "machtes"; in Latin, "pila"; in which merchants and tradesmen of all kinds dwelt. It is thought by others to be the same which Josephus calls "the valley of the cheese mongers", which lay between two hills Zion and Acra.
"For all the merchant people are cut down": Either cut to pieces by the sword of the enemy, and become silent, as the word sometimes signifies. And the Vulgate Latin version here renders it; become so by death, and laid in the silent grave, and no more concerned in merchandise.
Or else stripped of all their wealth and goods by the enemy, and so cut down, broke, and become bankrupt, and could trade no more. The word for merchant signifies a Canaanite. And the Targum paraphrases it thus, "for all the people are broken, whose works are like the works of the people of the land of Canaan".
"All they that bear silver are cut off": That have large quantities of it, and carry it to market to buy goods with it as merchants. These shall be cut off, and so a great loss to trade, and a cause of howling and lamentation.
Or such that wear it in their garments, embroidered with it. Or rather in their purses, who are loaded with this thick clay, abound with it. The Targum is, "all that are rich in substance shall be destroyed."
"Maktesh" means "her that is broken down". This was, probably, a valley that the enemy entered by. This was, possibly, the route the merchant people from the North used to enter the city. They would be the first cut off. Those that bear silver are the wealthier of the merchant tradesmen.
