Exploring the Minor Prophets -- Vol. 2 -- Part 3

 

Zephaniah

     Zephaniah is a prophet who gives us plenty of information about who he was and when he lived. Zephaniah begins his book with a short genealogy that traces his ancestry back to King Hezekiah. Zephaniah ministered during the reign of Josiah. 

     Like Nahum, Zephaniah tells us that Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire will be destroyed. Since that occurred, it is a verification of this prophet's ministry. 

     The judgment of the Day of the Lord is the primary emphasis found in this book. Because of the sinfulness of the people, a day of reckoning was coming. We know from the historical record that in 586 BC, not many years after the prophet's time of ministry, the Babylonians took the people of Judah into captivity. The walls of the city of Jerusalem were destroyed, and the Temple was destroyed as well. 

      God will only allow evil to reach a certain point. We see this throughout the Bible including the cataclysmic events that took place during the time of Noah and the ark. 

     The Bible tells us that evil and sin will get worse and worse as we approach the end of the age. Finally, the Lord Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. He will rule and reign in righteousness, and He will restore all things to the Edenic state. 

     One of the points in Zephaniah is something that I would like to focus on. In Chapter 1, the prophet deals with syncretism. The religious leaders were trying to worship the True and Living God while at the same time, they were also worshipping other gods. They were adding in false teachings and ideas into the proper worship of the Lord. 

     We see this same thing happening in our own day. I've seen churches having services where they mention the earth goddess and all other types of idolatry. It is something that God detests. He is the only God. Above Him, there is no other. We should have no other gods before Him. 

     Even though God was going to bring about judgment, He intended to preserve a remnant of the people.   Some would go into captivity. There, they would learn to forsake the worship of false gods and idols. They would worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob alone. After the people were in captivity for roughly 70 years, they came back into the land. The walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt under the leadership of Nehemiah. The people were under the guidance of Haggai, Zechariah, Ezra and Zerubbabel. 

     Even though we live in a time where there is a lot going on that is opposed to the ways of the Lord, there are still those who are faithful followers of the Lord Jesus. They are all over this world doing good and telling people about Jesus' love. 

    The Lord is preserving a people unto Himself. When Jesus comes, there will be those here  who will rise to meet Him. They will join with those from Heaven, and we will all follow Jesus as He comes to earth to stop evil and to rule and reign in righteousness. He will bring lasting peace and justice to the earth.