Zephaniah 2.7a-The Remnant of Judah Will Occupy the Mediterranean Coast and the Philistine City Ashkelon (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)
Doctrinal Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday September 27, 2026
Zephaniah Series: Zephaniah 2:7a-The Remnant of Judah Will Occupy the Mediterranean Coast and the Philistine City Ashkelon
Lesson # 39
Zephaniah 2:7 Indeed, the coast will, as a certainty be for the remnant belonging to the kingdom of Judah. They will be shepherds by the sea. In the houses of Ashkelon, they will recline during the evening because the Lord, their God will care for them. In fact, He will surely restore their prosperity. (Pastor’s translation)
Zephaniah 2:7 contains five more prophetic declarations.
The first asserts that the Mediterranean seacoast will, as a certainty be for the remnant belonging to the kingdom of Judah.
This assertion is advancing upon and intensifying the previous prophetic declaration recorded in Zephaniah 2:6 which asserted that the Mediterranean coastal plains will, as a certainty be pasture lands, dwelling places as well as sheep pens for shepherds.
The advancement and intensification is that the Mediterranean seacoast will not only be inhabited by shepherds but by those who belong to the remnant of the kingdom of Judah.
In other words, the advancement and intensification is that verse 7 identifies the nationality of these shepherds who will pasture their flocks and herds on the Mediterranean seacoast as being Jewish.
“Judah” refers to the southern kingdom.
After the death of Solomon, the nation of Israel had a civil war and was divided into a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom.
The former contained ten tribes whereas the latter contained the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and yet was called Judah.
“The remnant” refers to those Jews in the kingdom of Judah who would survive the day of the Lord in Zephaniah’s day.
Historically, it refers to those Jews who returned to the land occupied by Judah before the Babylonian invasions in 605, 597 and 586 B.C. as a result of returning from the Babylonian exile.
The second prophetic statement recorded in Zephaniah 2:7 is that this remnant of the kingdom of Judah will shepherd their flocks and herds by the Mediterranean seacoast.
The third prophetic declaration asserts that this remnant will recline during the evening in the houses of Ashkelon.
“Ashkelon” was located geographically on the Philistine plain, 32 miles south of Joppa and it was one of the five cities of the Philistines (Josh. 13:3; 1 Sam. 6:17) and stood on the shore of the Mediterranean and was located 12 miles north/northeast of Gaza.
Like Gaza, the city of Ashkelon was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 603 B.C.
Its kings were killed and prisoners were taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.
Ashkelon’s destruction was not only predicted by Zephaniah but also by Jeremiah (47:5-7).
The city recovered and became a famous Hellenistic city.
So this promise of a remnant surviving the Babylonian invasions in the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. is not only promised here in Zephaniah 2:7 but it is also promised elsewhere by the prophets of Israel (Isa. 37:31; Jer. 29:1-14; 32:36-44; 50:20; Ezek. 6:8).
The books of Nehemiah and Ezra record the Lord fulfilling this promise of restoring a remnant from the kingdom of Judah to the land they once occupied before the Babylonian exile.
Zephaniah 2:3 describes the remnant of Judah when Zephaniah published this prophecy.
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)
Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum writes “The doctrine of the remnant means that, within the Jewish nation as a whole, there are always some who believe and all those who believe among Israel comprise the Remnant of Israel. The remnant at any point of history may be large or small but there is never a time when it is non-existent. Only believers comprise the remnant, but not all believers are part of the remnant for the remnant is a Jewish remnant and is, therefore, comprised of Jewish believers. Furthermore, the remnant is always part of the nation as a whole and not detached from the nation as a separate entity. The remnant is distinct, but distinct within the nation.”
In the Old Testament, in relation to the nation of Israel, a “remnant” referred to a small percentage of the population of the nation of Israel who survived divine judgment in the form of the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions and deportations.
The concept has its roots in Deuteronomy 4:27-31; 28:62-68; 30:1-10.
In these passages, Moses warns Israel that they would be dispersed throughout the nations for their disobedience but would be brought back to the land based upon God’s grace and covenantal faithfulness.
The prophets subsequent to Moses continued this doctrine when teaching the nation of Israel during the time each lived.
The Septuagint uses the noun leimma of a remnant in Israel during the days of King Hezekiah when Sennacherib invaded Israel and threatened to destroy Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:13-2 Kings 19:37).
The prophet Jeremiah uses the word often of the remnant in his day (Jeremiah 40:11, 15; 41:10, 16; 42:2, 15, 19; 43:5; 44:7, 12, 14, 28; 44:28; 47:4, 5; 50:20).
In Jeremiah 42:2 and 50:20 the remnant refers to those Israelites returning from the Babylonian captivity.
Jeremiah uses the remnant of those Israelites who will experience the millennial reign of Christ (Jeremiah 23:3; 31:7).
Zechariah also speaks of a remnant of Israelites during the millennial reign of Christ (Zechariah 8:6, 11, 12).
The prophet Micah also speaks of a future remnant of Israelites during the millennium (Micah 2:12; 4:7; 5:7-8; 7:18) and so does Zephaniah (2:7, 9, 3:13).
The remnant doctrine appears in the writings of Isaiah (Isaiah 10:20-22; 11:11, 16; 15:9; 16:14; 17:3; 28:5; 37:4, 31, 32; 46:3).
It is used in Nehemiah (1:3) and in the writings of Ezra of the returning Israelites from Babylon (Ezra 9:8, 13, 14, 15).
Haggai speaks of this remnant that returned from Babylon (1:12, 14; 2:2).
Paul mentions this remnant doctrine in Romans 9:6 and then develops it further in Romans 9:27-29.
In Romans 9:6, he taught that the nation of Israel’s rejection of Jesus of Nazareth does not imply that God promises to the nation have been nullified because those who descended in a racial sense from Israel, aka Jacob are never considered by God to be spiritual Israel.
In Romans 9:27-33, Paul instructs his readers that the prophets of Israel had foretold this rebellion against the Lord and that only a remnant would be delivered from eternal condemnation in the lake of fire.
That a remnant has always been preserved by God in Israel is demonstrated during the church age where only a small percentage of Jews have trusted in Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah.
There will only be a remnant that will be saved during Daniel’s Seventieth Week and at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, in Romans 9:27-33, Paul continues to demonstrate his premise in Romans 9:6.
Romans 9:27-33 reconciles the promises of God to Israel with the small number of Jewish Christians and serves to substantiate the premise found in Romans 9:6.
So the doctrine of the remnant taught by Paul in Romans 9:27-29 serves to support his premise in Romans 9:6.
By doing this Paul is actually defending his gospel since its failure to attract the majority of Jews in his day to trust in Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah was undoubtedly used to discredit it.
Just as Israel was at fault in the past for rejecting her prophets sent to her by God, so during Paul’s day Israel was at fault for rejecting the greatest of her prophets, Jesus of Nazareth as well as Paul’s gospel.
Paul alludes to this remnant doctrine in Romans 10:16.
The concept of the remnant appears in Romans 11:5, where it refers to the “remnant” of believers in Israel in Paul’s day, in the first century.
