Interestingly, it was during the reign of this good king that God again raised up a prophet to pronounce doom on Judah. Zephaniah prophesied somewhere between 630 and 621 B.C. We reach these dates from the reference to Baal worship, and the identity of the listed sins with the practices later abolished by Josiah in 621 B.C. (2 Kings 23:4-25)

We know Zephaniah as the Prophet of the Day of the LORD. While hope is contained for the righteous, judgment and wrath are the wellspring of the book.

This Zephaniah is not otherwise referenced in Scripture. He apparently was of royal birth, being the great-great grandson of Hezekiah, a third cousin of King Josiah.

Interestingly, his prophesy may have corresponded to the time young Jeremiah began to prophesy, in the 13th year of Josiah (627 B.C.). Yet, neither of these prophets may have been the strongest prophetic voice in the land, for Huldah the prophetess is the one who was sought out when Josiah, in 622 B.C., sought a word from the LORD (2 Kings 22:13-20).

In understanding the "Day of the LORD," it appears that the day had both an immediate and a far context. In the immediate context, it was a reference to the coming destruction brought by Babylon on the land. But the New Testament writers pick up the phrase in 1 Corinthians 1:8; 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:14; Philippians 1:6, 10; 2:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Peter 3:10, 12; and Rev. 16:14. It is introduced in Scripture as a time of judgment (Isaiah 13:6, 9; Joel 1:15; 2:1-2, 11, 31; 3:14; Amos 5:18, 20; Obadiah 15; Zephaniah 1:7, 14). Thus, when the New Testament writers use the phrase, it should be understood as a time of judgment and wrath. Nonetheless, there is hope (2:3; Luke 21:36; Isaiah 26:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 3:10).

Date:  630-621 B.C.

The book is divided into three chapters. We may outline it as follows:

I.  The Coming Destruction of the Day of the LORD  1:1-18

1. reversal of creation  2-3
2. punishment of foreign gods  4-5
3. punishment of those who have not sought the LORD  6
4. Be silent for the sacrifice  7-8
5. those punished  8-12
1. the officials and king's sons  8
2. the violent  9
3. the merchants  11
4. the complacent  12
6. the day of the LORD
1. bitter 14
2. mighty men shall cry out 14
3. wrath 15
4. trouble 15
5. distress 15
6. devastation 15
7. desolation 15
8. darkness 15
9. gloominess 15
10. clouds 15
11. thick darkness 15
12. warning trumpet (like our civil defense sirens) 16
13. alarm 16
14. like blindness 17
15. blood poured out like dust 17
16. flesh like dung 17
17. devoured 18
18. fire 18
19. speedy riddance 18

II. Interlude of Hope  2:1-3

1. Gather yourselves  1 (see 3:9)
2. Do it before the Day of the LORD  2
3. Seek the LORD, you may be hidden in that day  3

III. Destruction on the Nations  2:4-15

1. on Philistia  4-7
2. on Moab and Ammon  8-11
3. on Ethiopia  12
4. on Asssyria  13-15

IV. Destruction on Jerusalem  3:1-7

1. sins of Jerusalem
1. rebellion (woe!)  1
2. pollution  1
3. oppressive  1
4. disobedience  2
5. unbelief  2
6. distance  2
7. pride  2
8. devourers  3
9. rude  4
10. treachery  4
11. violent  4
12. no shame  5
13. no appreciation  7
14. no fear  7
2. God's devastation  6

V. Return of Hope  3:8-20

1. Promises of Hope
1. a pure lip  9
2. serve the LORD with one accord  9
3. from afar  10
4. removal of pride  11
5. meekness  12
6. humility  12
7. trust  12
8. righteousness  13
9. truth  13
10. faithfulness  13
11. no fear  13
12. judgments taken away  15
13. enemy cast out  15
14. The King is in the midst  15
15. no more disaster  15
16. Your God is in the midst  17
17. The Mighty One will save  17
18. He will rejoice over you with gladness  17
19. He will quiet you in His love  17
20. He will rejoice over you with cries of joy  17
21. Lift up the sorrowful  18
22. Save the lame  19
23. Gather those who are driven out  20
24. Appoint them for praise and fame  20

2. Um, shucks, there's got to be a "B" but I can't think of one!


Key Idea:
The Day of the LORD is a Day of Wrath (1:15)

Key Passage:  2:3

Key Lesson:
God's Wrath will bring great destruction, but always His mercy remains to the meek.

Do you know Him?