The Day of the Lord - Amplified: Why Study the Book of Zephaniah Part 01

INTRODUCTION TO ZEPHANIAH

King Hezekiah was one of Judah’s great and righteous kings. Unfortunately, the next two kings, Manasseh and Amon, with a combined reign of 57 years, did great wickedness in the sight of the Lord. Manasseh, in particular, specialised in evil and tradition says he executed the prophet Isaiah. With his demise there was no prophetic utterances for around 70 years. Judgement was becoming riper by the day.

Amon’s untimely death brought an eight year old Josiah to the throne (640-609 BC). Would he be like his immediate predecessors or harken back to the time of Hezekiah? It was in this period that God raised of Zephaniah to influence Josiah. He outlined the nature of judgement, the Day of the Lord, and the promised restoration of the remnant. Though only three chapters long, Zephaniah teaches us much about the last days.

HEBREW NAME OF ZEPHANIAH

‘Tsephan-yah’ means ‘Yahweh Hides’ or ‘Yahweh Has Hidden’

AUTHOR OF ZEPHANIAH

The great grandson of Hezekiah, of royal seed, familiar with the court, and a Judean aristocrat, Zephaniah lived with great danger. King Manasseh was prepared to sacrifice royalty to the hideous false god Moloch. It could be that Zephaniah was ‘hidden’ during this period, thus experiencing the mercy and preserving power of God.

It is highly possible that Zephaniah was the catalyst for revival in the days of Josiah, who in his 12th year commenced his great work of reform. His works were not enough to stave off ultimate judgement on Judah, which happened by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. Zephaniah warned that judgement would come but would be tempered by the remnant and restoration.

PORTRAIT OF CHRIST IN ZEPHANIAH

(3:17) Mighty in our midst to save and rejoice.

Jesus Christ tied Zephaniah 1:3 to Matthew 13:41 and 1:15 with Matthew 24:29; these are references to the second coming. Though Messiah is not directly mentioned, it should be obvious that He, and He alone, is the one who brings the great judgement and restoration.

THEME OF THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH

Zephaniah, of royal seed, sought to address Jerusalem and Judah after the torrid reigns of Manasseh and Amon. He spoke of judgement as the ‘Day of the Lord,’ which punishes the wicked. For those who repent and are part of the faithful remnant, they will not be judged at all. They will be restored and rewarded.

The most concise description of the Day of the Lord is given in Chapter 1: a day of wrath, trouble, distress, wasteness, desolation, darkness, gloominess, clouds and thick darkness; that’s the bad news. But for the faithful remnant, it will be a time of purifying, worship, righteousness, singing, vindication, fearlessness, God will be in the midst and rejoice over them with joy. Sorrow will be removed and it will be a time of gathering, honour and praise, and restoration.

Josiah and Jeremiah were both influenced by the ministry of Zephaniah.

KEY VERSES OF ZEPHANIAH

1:14-15 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD's anger.

TO BE CONTINUED

The Twelve-Day War of June 2025: Israel and Iran Have We Turned A Corner?

After years of debate, negotiations, threats and risks, the inevitable finally came: military action. Israel pre-emptively attacked Iran’s nuclear program while neutralising its nuclear scientists and top military men. There was the Six-Day War of June 1967; now we have the Twelve-Day War of June 2025. The combatants: Israel, Iran, and briefly, the United States. Despite all this, have we turned a corner? The state of war started in 1979 after the successful installation of a theocratic, fundamentalist, puritanical regime called the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Islamic Republic overthrew the Shah of Iran, the last sovereign of a monarchy which lasted 2,500 years since the days of Cyrus the Persian, who is prominently mentioned in the Bible. The Shah was replaced by a Shia Muslim cleric, called the Supreme Leader, who possesses broad executive powers, more than the elected Iranian President. The Supreme Leader is the most powerful person in the country. From Day One, Iran announced its...

‘Liberation Day:’ What The Trump Tariffs Are About?

April 2, 2025, another day, another flurry of activity coming from the Oval Office. Yet, it wasn’t like any other day. After signing yet another Executive Order, US President Donald Trump declared it ‘Liberation Day.’ On paper, he had ordered ten per cent tariffs across the board on countries worldwide, friend and foe alike. In reality, he is shaking up the world's economic and political order, deliberately. Initially, there was great consternation around the world. The stock market and, more worryingly, the bond market dived. Dozens of nations queued up to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement with the American administration. Then, Trump announced a 90-day freeze on tariffs for those countries that had reached out to the Americans. Both stock and bond markets recovered; a correction came to what was overvalued, and life calmed down for the moment. While critics derisively called the ‘tariff freeze’ a ‘backflip,’ it was actually part of the plan all along. Liberation Day spawned...

Leaving the Wilderness Behind: Why Study the Book of Numbers

Introduction Some of your favourite Bible stories and characters are found in this book. Yet it also serves as a solemn warning about the perils of disobeying God. In all cases, it is folly and madness to say ‘No’ to Him. Welcome to the Book of Numbers, the fourth of the five books of Moses, known as the Pentateuch or Torah (the Law). The stories are great, and the lessons even greater. The name in the original Hebrew is wayyedabber or ‘ and he said.’ The reason for the name ‘Numbers’ is that it has to do with two censuses. The first is of the ‘generation of the exodus’ (Chapter 1), namely the children of Israel who miraculously departed from Egypt. The second census or numbering was of the ‘generation of the wilderness,’ the generation of Israelites born in the wilderness (chapter 26), to the ‘generation of the exodus.’ Though the exodus generation was headed towards the promised land of Canaan, they never reached it. Numbers will explain the dire reasons why. Key Characters Mos...

Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

Search This Blog