THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH
LESSON 2: CHAPTERS 1-2:3
ORACLES OF UNIVERSAL JUDGEMENT
But let them hear how the prophet Zephaniah holds out over them the power of divine
rebuke, saying, "Behold, the Day of the Lord comes, great and horrible, the day
of wrath, that day; a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of cloud and
whirlwind, a day of trumpet and clamor, upon all fenced cities, and upon all
lofty corners." [ ...] Therefore, the Day of the Lord comes full of vengeance and
rebuke ...
Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pastoral Care 11
Zephaniah 1:1 ~ The Heading or Title
1:1 The word of Yahweh which was addressed 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.
Four of Zephaniah's ancestors are named in the title or heading in verse 1, which is highly unusual for a prophet. Usually, the prophetic books name the prophet's father and the ruling king during his prophetic ministry. The reason four ancestors are listed may be to demonstrate Zephaniah's royal lineage as the great-great-grandson of King Hezekiah, making him a distant relative of King Josiah, who became the king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 640 BC when he was only eight years old.
Zephaniah 1:2-3 ~ Prelude: Judgment on all Creation
2 I shall sweep away everything off the face of the earth, declares Yahweh. 3 I
shall sweep away humans and animals, the birds of the air and the fish of the
sea. I shall topple the wicked and wipe all people off the face of the
earth "declares Yahweh.
Zechariah's oracles, in poetry form in 1:2-2:3, move back and forth between judgment against the people of the Southern Kingdom of Judah and its capital city of Jerusalem and a universal vision encompassing all nations. Before announcing judgment against Judah (1:4-4:3), Zephaniah denounced wickedness in the world (1:2-3). It is a pattern that appears in the rest of the book.
Question #1: Zephaniah announced God's plan to destroy all of His Creation. When was the other time God took such drastic measures to cleanse the earth, and what was the reason? See Genesis 6:5-7. The answers to the questions are at the end of the lesson.
Zephaniah 1:4-18 ~ Judgment Against the Worshippers of Alien Gods, Princes and Courtiers,
Merchants, and Unbelievers
4 I shall raise my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem, and
from this place I will wipe out Baal's remnant, the very name of his priests, 5
and those who prostrate themselves on the roofs before the array of heaven, and
those who prostrate themselves before Yahweh but swear by Milcom, 6 and those
who have turned their back on Yahweh, who do not seek Yahweh and do not consult
him. 7 Silence before Lord Yahweh, for the Day of Yahweh is near! Yahweh has
prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests. 8 On the Day of Yahweh's
sacrifice, I shall punish the courtiers, the royal princes and all who dress in
outlandish clothes. 9 On that day, I shall punish all who go up the Step and
fill the Temple of their lords, with violence and deceit. 10 On that
Day "declares Yahweh "uproar will be heard from the Fish Gate, wailing from the
New Quarter, and a great crash from the hills. 11 Wail, you who live in the
Hollow [Maktesh],
for it is all over with the merchants, all the money-bags have been wiped out! 12
When that time comes, I shall search Jerusalem by lamplight and punish the men
stagnating over the remains of their wine, who say in their hearts, "Yahweh can
do nothing either good or bad." 13 For this, their wealth will be looted and
their houses laid in ruins; they will build houses but not live in them, they
will plant vineyards but not drink their wine.
Zephaniah's oracles threaten universal destruction because it is what humanity's unrestrained sins deserve. The first part of the book is about the "wrath of Yahweh" that is deserved for those unrepented wrongs committed by humankind. After a warning to all creation, the prophet denounces the many sins of Judah:
Verses 4-6 condemn those who still hold pagan beliefs. Baal, in verse 4, refers to the chief Canaanite god. Although the Canaanites were, for the most part, driven out of the Promised Land, a remnant remained that continued to worship Baal.1 It was for the heinous practice of child sacrifice that God condemned the Canaanite Baal worshiper's expulsion from the land. Verse 5 may refer to Assyrian star worship or to those who worship pagan gods in secret. Verse 5b refers to those who profess belief in Yahweh in the liturgy of Temple worship but secretly pledge allegiance to Milcom.2
7 Silence before Lord Yahweh, for the Day of Yahweh is near! Yahweh has prepared
a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests.
Zephaniah represents the Day of Yahweh as a sacrificial banquet (Isaiah 34:6,
Jeremiah 46:10;
Ezekiel 39:17), at which the people of Judah are the sacrificial victims
consecrated for slaughter. The command for "silence" is connected to the
prepared sacrifice, suggesting that the sacrifice on the Day of Yahweh's
judgment is a liturgical event. In Temple worship, after the priests placed the
sacrifice on the Altar of Sacrifice and the smoke rose from the incense placed
on the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place of the Sanctuary, the people knelt or
prostrated themselves in silence before the Lord. Catholics do the same after
all the faithful have received the Eucharistic sacrifice of Christ in the Mass.
The Book of Revelation records a period of silence in the heavenly Sanctuary in
Revelation 8:1-5 associated with heavenly liturgy, the offering of incense, and
Divine Judgment.3
In verses 7, 8, and 10, the prophet reminds those he condemns that the "Day of Yahweh" is coming. He describes it as a day of wrath, destruction, ruin, and desolation.
Question #2: The judgment for sins that amount to rebellion against God recalls humanity's first rebellion. Where did that rebellion take place, and what was the consequence of God's judgment? See Genesis 2:8, 15-17 and 2:17-19, 23-24.
Question #3: To willingly and knowingly sin contrary to God's Law amounts to rebellion against God. What event resulted in humankind's first rebellion against Almighty God? Where did it take place, and what was the result?
Question #4: What are the consequences of sin? What is God's remedy for the consequences of sin?
9 On that day, I shall punish all who go up the Step and fill the Temple of their
lords, with violence and deceit. 10 On that Day "declares Yahweh "uproar will be
heard from the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter, and a great crash from
the hills. 11 Wail, you who live in the Hollow [Maktesh], for it is all over
with the merchants, all the money-bags have been wiped out!
Zephaniah names several sections of Jerusalem (cf. 2 Kings 22:14). The Step may refer to
the steps that led to the entrance of the Jerusalem Temple at the height of
Mount Moriah in Jerusalem or the steps to the threshold of the Temple's
Sanctuary, or the steps of a pagan ritual site.
Jerusalem's Fish Gate was located in the north wall of the city. It was the closest gate to the Jerusalem Fish Market and was reconstructed by Nehemiah in the 5th century BC when he rebuilt the walls and gates of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3:3-4). The New Quarter [Second Quarter] in Zephaniah's time was the affluent Jewish neighborhood rebuilt during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (2 Kings 22:14). The location of "the Hallow" or Maktesh is uncertain. Maktesh is the Hebrew word for a mortar grinder. It is a geological landform similar to a grinding bowl and typical for the Negev desert of Israel and the Sinai peninsula. A maktesh has steep walls of rock surrounding a deep, closed valley, usually drained by a single wadi (stream), which may describe the Kidron Valley east of Jerusalem.
12 When that time comes, I shall search Jerusalem by lamplight and punish the men
stagnating over the remains of their wine, who say in their hearts, "Yahweh can
do nothing either good or bad."
Those residents of Judah and Jerusalem were overconfident in their unchallenged sins,
like sediment that settles to the bottom of a bottle of wine. They have
remained at peace and undisturbed for a long time because they did not believe
in Yahweh or His power over them. But that condition will come to an abrupt end
when God's patience with them and their time to repent their sins ends! The Day
of Judgment will expose the futility of the evil pursuit of wealth and
frivolous desires at the cost of righteousness (verse 13).
Cardinal John Henry Newman taught, "Good works follow us, bad works follow us, but everything else is worth nothing: everything else is but chaff. [...]. When we come into God's presence, we shall be asked two things: whether we were in the Church, and whether we worked in the Church. Everything else is worthless" (Sermon, Septuagesima Sunday).
Zephaniah 1:14-18 ~ The Day of Yahweh
14 The great Day of Yahweh is near, near, and coming with great speed. How bitter
the sound of the Day of Yahweh, the Day when the warrior shouts his cry of war.
15 That day is a day of retribution, a day of distress and tribulation, a day
of ruin and of devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and
thick fog, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against fortified town and
high corner-tower. 17 I shall bring such distress on humanity that they will
grope their way like the blind for having sinned against Yahweh. 18 Their blood
will be poured out like mud, yes, their corpses like dung, nor will their
silver or gold be able to save them. On the Day of Yahweh's anger, by the fire
of his jealousy, the whole earth will be consumed. For he will destroy, yes,
annihilate everyone living on earth.
These verses paint a vividly horrid apocalyptic picture. The coming Day of Yahweh will be marked by bitterness, anguished cries of war, ruin, darkness and gloom, cloud and fog, trumpet blasts, and battle cries against towns and their watchtowers (verses 14-16). These disasters will fall upon all humanity for having sinned against God. The word "day" is repeated seven times in the Hebrerw text in connection with a calamity. Seven is one of the "perfect numbers" in Scripture and a number representing divine action (as in the seven days of Creature), as though the prophet wanted to send the message that this destruction is sent by God in a way that is the opposite of His great work of Creation (Genesis 1:3-2:3). In Genesis 1:31-2:3 it is repeated that God saw that what He made was good and He blessed it seven times. But now Zephaniah writes in his poem that God will, in one day, "he will destroy, yes annihilate everyone living on earth."
Zephaniah 2:1-3 ~ Conclusion: A Call to Conversion
1 Gather together, gather together, nations without shame, 2 before you are dispersed
like chaff which disappears in a day; before Yahweh's burning anger overtakes
you (before the Day of Yahweh's anger overtakes you). 3 Seek Yahweh, all you
humble of the earth, who obey his commands. Seek uprightness, seek humility:
you may perhaps find shelter on the Day of Yahweh's anger.
This oracle is a classic description of the Day of Yahweh as an overwhelming disaster. However, it concludes in verse 3 with a call for repentance and a return to obedience to Yahweh's commands in Mosaic Law, the guide to life in the Sinai Covenant (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). Although it sounds like Zephaniah is a prophet of doom, he is not. His message was intended to bring about repentance and conversion. He wanted those to whom he addressed his oracles, rulers, priests, and commoners to reject sin, practice justice, be humble and obedient to His commands, all actions that would protect them from God's righteous anger (2:3).
Answers to the Questions:
Answer #1: When God saw the
tremendous wickedness on the Earth in the days of Noah, He cleansed the world
of sin in the universal Great Flood Judgment.
Answer #2: Humankind's first act of rebellion against God's commands took place in the Garden Sanctuary of Eden when Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the forbidden Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:15-17). Their sin ruptured their covenant relationship with Yahweh, and His judgment was to cast them out of the Sanctuary of Eden, creating a rupture in the relationship between God and man (Genesis 2:17-19, 23-24).
Answer #3: Humankind's first rebellion against God took place in Eden in Genesis Chapter 3. Adam and Eve's sin of rebellion in eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil resulted in their expulsion from the Sanctuary of Eden and ruptured their fellowship with God.
Answer #4: Sin destroyed the communion of humankind with God and among themselves. God's remedy was the gathering together of the people of God in the Church in the Old Covenant to combat the infection of sin and provide a plan to restore fellowship, and in the New Covenant in Christ Jesus as a remedy to forgive sins and give a path to eternal salvation (see CCC #761-776).
Endnotes:
1. In Hebrew, Ba'al means "lord" in
the sense of owner or master, i.e., of a wife, a slave, a piece of property,
and a divine appellative. Baal is not a personal name as such; it is a
component in many local names in Baal worship, as in Baal-Peor (Numbers 25:1ff)
and Baal Perazim (2 Samuel 5:20; 1 Chronicles 14:110).
2. Milcom was the god of the Ammonites, who occupied the territory on the east side of the Jordan River. Solomon built a "high place" for worshiping Milcom in Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:5, 33). It remained until King Josiah demolished it (2 Kings 23:13).
3. See Michal E. Hunt, Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice, pages 165-66, 180, and A. Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, page 128.
>Catechism References (* indicates Scripture is quoted or
referenced in the citation):
Zephaniah 2:3 (CCC 64*, 711*, 716*)
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