Zephaniah 2.3a-Faithful, Humble Jewish Believers are Commanded to Continue to Diligently Seek After the Lord (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Sunday August 30, 2026

Zephaniah Series: Zephaniah 2:3a-Faithful, Humble Jewish Believers are Commanded to Continue to Diligently Seek After the Lord

Lesson # 31

Zephaniah 2:3 Continue making it your habit of diligently seeking after the Lord’s will each and every one of you humble people of the land who are fulfilling His law. Each and every one of you continue making it your habit of seeking after righteousness. Each and every one of continue making it your habit of seeking after humility. Perhaps every one of you will be protected during the period characterized by the Lord’s legitimate anger. (Pastor’s translation)

Zephaniah 2:3 contains three commands and all of which are directed exclusively at the faithful Jewish believer which is indicated by the fact that those who are to obey these commands are described as humble and who obey the Word of God.

The Scriptures teach that only those who are faithful believers are humble and obey the Word of God.

Nowhere do they describe the unfaithful believer or the non-believer as humble and obeying the Word of God.

Rather they are described as arrogant and proud.

Prophetically, all three commands are directed at the faithful Jewish believers living in the sixth century B.C. and those living during the seventieth week of Daniel.

That they are all directed at those Jews living in the sixth century B.C. in Zephaniah’s day is indicated by several factors.

First, the commands found in Zephaniah 2:1-3 are directly tied to the proclamation of judgment recorded in Zephaniah 1:2-18.

Also, Zephaniah 1:4-6 and 8-13 is a description of Jerusalem and its inhabitants which could have only been fulfilled in the prophet’s day.

That these commands are directed at those Jews living during the seventieth week is indicated by Zephaniah 1:2-3 and 18 which assert that this judgment will be universal or will engulf the entire world.

God’s judgment of the earth through the Babylonian invasions did not engulf the entire world but only the Mesopotamian and Mediterranean regions of the world.

However, His judgments during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week will engulf the entire world.

Also, Zephaniah 3:8-20 contain references to the restoration and regeneration of the nation of Israel and millennial reign of Jesus Christ which immediately follow the tribulation portion of Daniel’s seventieth week.

Nowhere in Judah or Israel’s history was Judah or Israel regenerated with their Messiah living in their midst rejoicing over them.

The first command issued by the prophet Zephaniah is for each and every one of these faithful Jewish believers to continue making it their habit of diligently seeking after the Lord’s will.

This would involve the diligent study of the Word of God which reveals His will.

The Word of God for faithful Jewish believers in the sixth century B.C. would be the Mosaic Law.

However, for those living during the seventieth week, it would be the gospel of Jesus Christ which appears in the Greek New Testament.

To seek after the Lord would also involve seeking the Lord’s will through prayer.

The faithful believer is a humble believer and seeking after the Lord for them would involve learning the Lord’s will through a study of His Word and making a request of Him in prayer with regards to His will.

The believer learns the will of God by a study of God’s Word.

The Spirit reveals the Father’s will through the study of the Word of God.

God will not fulfill a request which is not according to His will.

Consequently, the believer must first learn God’s will by studying God’s Word in order to present a request to the Father in prayer which He will fulfill.

Praying according to God’s will is the direct result of learning God’s will through a study of His Word.