Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

  In Part 01 , we learned that Zephaniah, the ‘hidden one,’ lived near the end of the kingdom of Judah, especially, after the evil reigns of kings Manasseh and Amon. He inspired king Josiah and the prophet Jeremiah, and Jesus Christ quoted him (1:3 cf Matthew 13:41; 1:15 cf Matthew 24:29). His is the most concise, comprehensive description of the key period known as the ‘day of the Lord’ (1:14-15). Just as Zephaniah was ‘hidden’ from the evil designs of Manasseh, so the meek who seek the Lord may be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger (2:3). In order to encourage serious study of Zephaniah and other books of the Bible, we offer this concise background information.   SUMMARY OF ZEPHANIAH Judah and Jerusalem in the days of good king Josiah are the immediate objects of Zephaniah’s prophecy. By this time, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had already been deported a century earlier in 722 BC . Zephaniah’s ministry may have spawned king Josiah’s reformation, where he destroyed...

    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...