Zephaniah 3.5c-The Unrighteous Person Never Experiences Shame
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday June 29, 2016
Zephaniah: Zephaniah 3:5c-The Unrighteous Person Never Experiences Shame
Lesson # 68
Zephaniah 3:5 The LORD is righteous within her; He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the unjust knows no shame. (NASB95)
“But the unjust knows no shame” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction w (וְ), “but” (2) negative particle lōʾ (לֹא), “no” (3) masculine singular qal active participle form of the verb yādaʿ (יָדַע), “knows” (4) masculine singular noun ʿawwāl (עַוָּל), “the unjust” (5) feminine singular noun bōšet (בֹּשֶׁת), “shame.”
The conjunction w is functioning as a marker of contrast meaning it is introducing an assertion which stands in direct contrast with the previous three assertions regarding the Lord’s immutable righteous and just character.
It introduces a statement which asserts that the unjust, i.e. unrepentant sinners in the human race know no shame.
Therefore, the contrast is between the righteous and just character of the Lord and the unjust character of unrepentant sinners in the human race.
The noun ʿawwāl means “unrighteous person” since it pertains to a particular category of persons who possess the quality of being evil or unjust with regards to their character in contrast to God’s perfect righteous and just character and conduct.
The basic idea of this word is that of deviating from a right standard or to act contrary to what is right.
Here it specifically refers to those human beings who are “unrighteous” because they conduct themselves habitually in a manner which does not conform to God’s righteousness.
For human beings, righteousness would be to fulfill one’s obligations to God and their fellow human being which is to love God with one’s entire being and strength and one’s fellow human being as oneself.
Therefore, this word speaks of a human being whose lifestyle is that of not fulfilling these obligations to both God and their fellow human being.
It expresses the idea that their character is unrighteous because they don’t conform to these standards which God requires them to meet in order to have a relationship and fellowship with Him and to avoid His judgment.
The verb yādaʿ is in the qal stem means “to experience” since it pertains to being aware of something.
Here the word’s direct object is the bōšet means “shame” since it pertains to a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming or impropriety.
The meaning of the verb yādaʿ is emphatically negated by the negative particle lōʾ which means “never” since it is employed here as a marker of emphatic negation since it is used in relation to an unrighteous person.
The participle form of this verb is functioning as a predicate adjective meaning it is making an assertion about the unrighteous person never experiences shame for their unrighteous behavior toward God or their fellow human being.
Zephaniah 3:5 The Lord is righteous within her midst. He never acts in an unjust manner. Morning after morning, He causes His justice to be manifested. For His own glory, He never fails. However, in contrast to Him, the unrighteous person never experiences shame. (My translation)
Zephaniah 3:5 contains five assertions, four of which are describing the Lord, the God of Israel and one is describing unrighteous people.
The fifth and final assertion in Zephaniah 3:5 stands in direct contrast with the previous four assertions regarding the Lord’s immutable righteous and just character.
It states that the unrighteous person never experiences shame.
A “unrighteous people” conduct themselves habitually in a manner which does not conform to God’s righteousness.
For human beings, righteousness would be to fulfill one’s obligations to God and their fellow human being which is to love God with one’s entire being and strength and one’s fellow human being as oneself.
Therefore, an “unrighteous person” speaks of a human being whose lifestyle is that of not fulfilling these obligations to both God and their fellow human being.
These people are unrighteous because they don’t conform to these standards which God requires them to meet in order to have a relationship and fellowship with Him and to avoid His judgment.
The fact that they never experience shame means that they never experience shame for their sinful behavior as a result of repentance.
Repentance for the unregenerate in Zephaniah’s day would be to change their attitude towards their Creator, who is the God of Israel by forsaking their idols and trusting in and worship the God of Israel.
Repentance for the unregenerate living during the seventieth week of Daniel would be to change one’s attitude toward Jesus Christ, the God of Israel by forsaking their idols and trusting in and worshipping Jesus Christ.
Repentance for the apostate believer in Zephaniah’s day would be the confession of their sins to God to be restored to fellowship with God followed by obedience to the various commands and prohibitions found in the Mosaic Law to maintain that fellowship.
Repentance for the apostate believer living during the seventieth week would be the confession of their sins to be restored to fellowship with God and obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ to maintain that fellowship.
Shame is a consequence of sin. Feelings of guilt and shame are subjective acknowledgments of an objective spiritual reality. Guilt is judicial in character; shame is relational. Though related to guilt, shame emphasizes sin’s effect on self-identity. Sinful human beings are traumatized before a holy God, exposed for failure to live up to God’s glorious moral purpose. The first response of Adam and Eve to their sinful condition was to hide from God, and consequently from one another (Gen. 3:7–8; cf. 2:25). Christ’s unhindered openness to the Father was both a model for life and the means of removing humanity’s shame. Christian self-identity is transformed “in him.”
Therefore, here in Zephaniah 3:5, the Holy Spirit through the prophet Zephaniah is warning the Jewish people living in Jerusalem during the seventh century B.C. and those living in her during the seventieth week of Daniel.
The Lord is telling the Jews living in this city during these two distinct time periods that He will punish them for their unrepentant unrighteous conduct towards Him and their fellow human beings and that this punishment is in accordance with His righteous character.
In other words, He is declaring that He has been faithful with regards to His covenant obligations with regards to the Jews of this city but they have not fulfilled their covenantal obligations with regards to Him and their fellow Jews.
Therefore, if the people of Jerusalem were judged by God for their unrepentant unrighteous conduct, they would be to blame for God punishing them.
God would be just in doing so.
He would be conforming to His perfect holy and righteous standards.
God is faithful to His promises, whether to bless for obedience or discipline for unrepentant disobedience.