Zephaniah 2:4-15

Introduction

We continuing in our study of Zephaniah today

PRAY

Text for Today

Zephaniah 2:4–15 ESV

4 For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation; Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted. 5 Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left. 6 And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures, with meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks. 7 The seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah, on which they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the Lord their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes. 8 “I have heard the taunts of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my people and made boasts against their territory. 9 Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.” 10 This shall be their lot in return for their pride, because they taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of hosts. 11 The Lord will be awesome against them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations. 12 You also, O Cushites, shall be slain by my sword. 13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert. 14 Herds shall lie down in her midst, all kinds of beasts; even the owl and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals; a voice shall hoot in the window; devastation will be on the threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare. 15 This is the exultant city that lived securely, that said in her heart, “I am, and there is no one else.” What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild beasts! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.

Why is this passage here?

Like the other prophets, Zephaniah records the Oracles of God against the surrounding nations. His indictment of them, and their end judgement. These rarely, as we see here, include some information about why they are being judged, but show us that in his Sovereignty judges the nations and carrys out those judgements.

But why are they here? I am sure the nations that surround Judah and Israel won’t read them as this book was intended for Israel?

The connective “for” in the beginning of this passage serves to clue us in to why ultimately this passage is here.

Before I continue this discussion, I’d like to go back and read vv 1-3 of this Chapter.

Zephaniah 2:1–3 ESV

1 Gather together, yes, gather, O shameless nation, 2 before the decree takes effect —before the day passes away like chaff— before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord. 3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.

In this passage, Zephaniah is calling the Judahites, part of the covenant people of God, to repent and into obedience to the covenant God of Israel.

To hearken to his word.

And he is telling them to do it now, before God’s anger is unleashed on them.

There might be a way to prevent the destruction that is coming.

He gives them 4 commands in this (Gather together, seek the LORD, seek Righteousness, seek humility), that perhaps just perhaps there might be a way to avoid the judgement that is coming.

The major reason the “for” is here is that the passage today is an incentive for repentance in God’s proclamation of the judgements on the nations.

First we have the fact that God’s judgement of these other nations, ought to make the Judahites realize that if they are doing the same things as the other nations that they won’t escape God’s judgement anymore than the nations will.

Second, the blessings outlined in this passage (vv 7, 9, and in judgement of Assyria) that they obtain as a result of the judgement ought to make them want to walk in uprightness before God.

Third, the participation of the nations in the blessings of the Lord should move them to jealousy that would lead them back to the only true God. (see v11).

Zephaniah points to the judgement of 4 nations surrounding Israel: The Philistines, Ammon and Moab, Cush (ethiopia/egypt), and finally Assyria; west, east, south and north.

Philistines

In this prophecy God’s starts out at the farthest city Gaza, and moves the judgements closer to Judah, bringing the immediacy of that judgement closer and closer to them.

He does not tell us in this prophecy why the Philistines are being judged, he is just telling us and the Israelites that they will be.

He says that these cities will be abandoned, left in ruins, and up-rooted.

He says that Ashdod will be emptied at mid-day.

There is no need for surprise in the destruction of Ashdod, it all happens in a morning, with ease. No late night attacks and no early morning attacks. All done and home by lunch.

The Philistine cities were well fortified and had not been conquered, and some of the walls are still standing today, and Israel’s difficulty in conquering them over the 500 years they had been in the land speaks to this.

This speaks to the power and sovereignty of God that the power of a people is no match for him in the carrying out of his sovereign will. No nation is too tough, nothing is so set that God cannot change, move, uproot, or handle.

vv 5-7 are one unit.

Zephaniah 2:5–7 ESV

5 Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left. 6 And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures, with meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks. 7 The seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah, on which they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the Lord their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes.

God proclaims a woe, against the Philistine cities, their sin had reached the tipping point and God was going to do something about it. A woe is a cry or wail that paints the picture of misfortune/lament and is designed to get the people who hear it’s attention.

And here is the woe:

“The word of the Lord is against you”. And the result is their destruction.

This is a terrible sentence. A cause for deep concern. They lived in sin, loved sin, and would not give up their sin. They thought they were safe and had no knowledge of their coming judgement living and holding onto their disobedience. This is a warning to the Israelites to abandon their rejection of God, to humble themselves & repent, turn back to him, and be healed.

For us today, even those of us who know him, persistence in willing sin; refusal to give it up sets us in this position of the word being against us.

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

The word of God isn’t something that can be bribed or manipulated or changed to suit ones need, but is something that needs to be agreed with and conformed to, otherwise it is against us.

Because the word of the Lord was against them, there was no healing in the word.

But we also see in this passage that the “Word of the Lord is for the remnant”.

This word for the remnant, for those who sought God, sought his kingdom and his righteousness, and sought humility is blessing.

They will inherit the land (for the Jews) and for us (will inherit the earth) when God’s purposes in the day of the Lord are complete and the destruction of sin is accomplished.

This judgement is a call to those who refuse to acknowledge God’s word to turn to him and seek salvation while it can still be found; destruction comes upon them and us like a thief in the night. To turn from their idols to the living and true God and be saved by his Grace.

Ammon and Moab

The judgements of Ammon and Moab take an interesting turn.

Moab and Ammon were children of Lot, the nephew of Abraham, by Lot’s daughters.

They had constantly sought to humiliate the Israelites and had designs on their lands.

Interestingly they had a front seat view of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah being on the rim above the plain of their destruction.

And a front seat view on the events that brought the Israelites into Canaan.

Even there they sought to destroy the Israelites (Balaam and Balak) and that persisted through their history with one another all the way to the present day of Zephaniah when the Ammonites sought to wipe out the Israelites by killing the pregnant women of Israel.

God himself has heard the reviling of his people, and their designs on Israel’s land.

Despite their sin, the people of God were still his covenant people.

The reproaches heaped on him are his reproaches.

God identifies with his people such that to reproach and hurt one of his it to reproach and hurt him.

Moab and Ammon, had failed to understand this.

God’s people, though, have well founded security:

Note: The oath-taker is their God => The God of Israel, and they are his elect ‘My people’, and the oath rests on the surest foundation his being “As I live” and his Omnipotence (LORD of hosts).

Judgement of Moab and Ammon would be an in-kind judgement.

They sought the land of the Israelites, and their land would be taken.

The remnant would dispossess Moab and Ammon of their Land and what Abraham had given Lot would become his descendents.

This destruction of Ammon and Moab held out hope for Israel, despite the fierceness of his message about the day of the Lord and the destruction, here is hope for God’s people, but it is only for those who are repentant, who survived the fires of God’s judgement - The remnant.

Zephaniah 2:9b ESV

9 Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”

Zephaniah 2:11 ESV

11 The Lord will be awesome against them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations.

The mention here of idolatry, ties this back and parallel’s Judah’s idolatry. God’s call for their repentance b/c if they were going to be judged, then certainly the Judahites would be judged.

The sin of her neighbors is linked, one and the same.

But theres a promise here, a fortelling, of a coming blessing at this point.

That is, destruction of the Idol’s would be complete for all nations “all the god’s of the earth”, and God would be known for who he is.

And that all nations, not just Israel would worship God where they live, that’s us gentiles.

John 4:21–24 ESV

21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Cush

Assyria

Assyria, at the time of this prophecy, was a powerful nation, dominating the region and forcing small nations to offer tribute to them.

Approximately 100 years before, they had conquered Samaria, and had the other 10 tribes of Israel deported and brought many peoples into the Samarian region.

However, Just like Moab, Ammon, and Ashkelon of the Philistines, Zephaniah described Nineveh’s fall as their becoming a wilderness area with no inhabitants.

Instead of all the commerce and travel and activity that flowed through the river city of Nineveh, it would become the scene of a pasture, a wilderness area for the grazing of animals.

Even wild animals would roost in what were the magnificent and ornate ( buildings of Nineveh. Cedar frames, a sign of wealth, exposed to the environment for rotting away.

This city became a dry waste like the desert (Look up Nineveh Iraq on google maps.)

All of this would not come by some random chance but, rather as God “stretched out his hand against the north”.

God takes an active hand in the fall of Nineveh, exercising his power and strength in the accomplishment of it.

I can imagine when this prophecy was given that nobody would think that in just a few short years (maybe 9 as Assyria fell in 612BC), that a powerhouse like Assyria, would be vanquished so quickly, in the span of just a few short years.

Seemingly secure in her position.

They thought of themselves as unstoppable, un-attackable, secure in their position in the world; needing nothing as wealth that flowed through there city was massive. Self-Sufficient.

Nothing could touch them.

They were militarily strong and able to both defend themselves, as well as suppress and plunder many other smaller nations.

They mistreated people of other nations for their own gain.

They nearly went wherever they wanted; Triumphant and self-exalting in its security, militarily, as well as economically.

They plundered foreign nations and had no need of anything.

This nation was proud in their security in not needing anyone or anything, so much that they said

I exist and there is no one else => I am, and nothing can take me out.

I AM -> They asserted their own deity.

They thought there future was so secure, their wealth and military power such that they didn’t have anything to worry about.

All would continue forever with them being at the top.

In their pride, of their position; they will be brought so low that all will scoff at her pretension.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

15 This is the exultant city

that lived securely,

that said in her heart,

“I am, and there is no one else.”

What a desolation she has become,

a lair for wild beasts!

Everyone who passes by her

hisses and shakes his fist.

Note the tenses of the verbs in these statements:

lived , has become, passes.

“prophetic perfect” What a desolation she has become => as if it is already here, already accomplished, done. This is a forgone conclusion that this will happen.

God will stretch out his hand and cause this to come to pass. The proud will be humbled.

English Standard Version Chapter 10

12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

Conclusion

The Lord is Sovereign over the land of Israel, and over all nations of the world. No one and no nation can stand against him.

This oracle against the nations surrounding Judah, is a call for repentance for Judah and for that matter all God’s people.

If foreign nations suffer for their pride and arrogance, will not God’s people?

If they suffer for their idolatry, will not God’s people.

For the Philistines the “Word of the Lord was against them” in their sinful pride; but for those who

3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,

who do his just commands;

seek righteousness; seek humility; “

His word restores us to life and leads us to quiet pastures

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

In conclusion,I’ll pull a quote from a quote:

Who are the foreign nations against whom God’s hand is stretched out today? We need again to hear the message of Zephaniah’s preaching against foreign nations as succinctly summarized by Achtemeier: “The Word—the word here of Zephaniah, and the word in the rest of the Scriptures—the word made flesh in Jesus Christ—stands against us and our sinful pride. It will now and always so stand if we ignore it or reject it or think it a word intended only for someone else. And what a terrible pit that would be! For the word of the Lord throughout the Bible is a word intended to be for us and not against us—a word intended to restore our life and to lead us into quiet pastures and to allow us to lie down at evening time in peace and security. Therefore, ‘seek the Lord … seek righteousness, seek humility.’ 

Barker, K. L. (1999). Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (Vol. 20, p. 469). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.