Zephaniah 3.13a-The Remnant of Israel
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday August 30, 2016
Zephaniah: Zephaniah 3:13a-The Remnant of Israel
Lesson # 82
Zephaniah 3:13 “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong and tell no lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths; For they will feed and lie down with no one to make them tremble.” (NASB95)
“The remnant of Israel” is composed of the following: (1) feminine singular construct form of the noun šĕʾērît (שְׁאֵרִית), “the remnant of” (2) masculine singular noun proper noun yiśrāʾēl (יִשְׂרָאֵל), “Israel.”
The writer is employing the figure of asyndeton in order to emphasize the first prophetic declaration in this verse which predicts that the remnant of Israel will do no wrong and tell no lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth.
Thus, this figure is highlighting the impeccable character of the remnant of Israel.
The noun šĕʾērît means “remnant” since it pertains to that which is left over from a whole or that which is a part of a whole.
This word speaks of that which has survived after a previous elimination process or catastrophe.
The construct state of the noun šĕʾērît means it is governing the word which follows it.
It is also expressing a genitive relation with this word which is the masculine singular noun proper noun yiśrāʾēl, which means “Israel” which refers of course to the nation of Israel as a corporate who are the biological descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob whose name, God changed to “Israel.”
Here the construct state of šĕʾērît means that it is governing the noun yiśrāʾēl and the genitive function can be interpreted as a genitive of source expressing the idea that this remnant “originates from” or “descended from” the patriarch, Israel.
It can also be interpreted as a partitive genitive meaning that the genitive yiśrāʾēl denotes the whole of which the construct noun šĕʾērît is a part.
Therefore, the idea with this genitive is that this remnant is “a part of” or a “selected portion of” the nation of Israel.
Both ideas fit the context and appear to be in view.
Zephaniah 3:13 “The remnant descending from the patriarch, Israel and a part of the nation of Israel will never act in an unjust manner because they will never speak lies. Indeed, a deceitful tongue will never be found in their mouth while they graze like sheep and lie down because absolutely no one will cause them to fear.” (My translation)
Zephaniah 3:13 contains five assertions which describe the impeccable character of the remnant of Israel which will exist in the future during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
Commenting on this remnant living during the millennial reign of Christ, Fruchtenbaum writes “Since all Israel throughout the Messianic Kingdom will remain a saved nation, all Israel will remain the Remnant of Israel throughout that period. Everything said in the preceding section about Israel and the kingdom will be true of the Remnant of Israel. However, certain verses do emphasize the remnant motif in the Messianic Kingdom and so, for the sake of completeness, these will be brought out in this section. Concerning the regathering of Israel, Isaiah 11:11 and 16 picture it as the gathering of the remnant. The same is true in Zechariah 8:6–7. Micah 4:7 emphasizes the salvation of the remnant. This means that the sins of the remnant will be forgiven according to Micah 7:18–20. This will also mean that the remnant will spread the Word of God among the Gentile nations according to Micah 5:7–8. The remnant will also be in possession of the land according to Zephaniah 2:7 and 9. The same point is made by Zechariah 8:12. They will be sinless in the land and live in security according to Zephaniah 3:13.
The remnant of Israel described in Zephaniah 3:13 will survive three elimination processes.
First, they survive the judgments of the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel.
Secondly, they have survived the judgment of the nation by the Lord Jesus Christ immediately following His Second Advent.
Consequently, they are admitted into the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
Thirdly, these regenerate Jews no longer possess a sin nature because they will be in their resurrection bodies which manifests itself in their impeccable character.
This interpretation that the remnant in Zephaniah 3:13 is a reference to the remnant which exist during the millennial reign of Christ is supported by the fact that never in Israel’s past or present has there been a remnant in the nation which did no wrong and told no lies and was not deceitful.
This was not true among the Babylonian exiles.
However, it will be true of Old Testament Jewish believers, tribulational martyrs in resurrection bodies who are perfected in their resurrection bodies.
It will also be true of regenerate Jews who survive the tribulation and remained faithful despite being persecuted severely by Antichrist and Satan.
Never in Israel’s history has there been a remnant possessing impeccable character as described here in Zephaniah 3:13.
However, regenerate Jews in resurrection bodies who no longer possess a sin nature will no longer sin and will thus manifest impeccable character which reflects the character of the Trinity.
Furthermore, at no time in Israel’s history has a remnant ever been at peace and not surrounded by enemies as Zephaniah 3:13 asserts.
This interpretation of the remnant of Israel in Zephaniah 3:13 is also supported by the fact that Zephaniah 3:13 is connected to Zephaniah 3:11-12, which are describing the same Jews mentioned here in Zephaniah 3:13 and are describing the remnant living during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
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. The concept of the Remnant of Israel was true from the very beginning of Israel’s history as they began to multiply. As a doctrine, the theology of the remnant begins with the prophets and the development of the doctrine continues through the New Testament.”
Pentecost writes “Even a casual survey of Israel’s recorded history will establish the principle that God dealt with a believing remnant within the nation. Caleb and Joshua (Num. 13–14), Deborah and Barak (Judges 4), Gideon (Judges 7), Samson (Judges 13–17), Samuel (1 Sam. 2), the Levites in Jeroboam’s day (2 Chron. 11:14–16), Asa (2 Chron. 15:9), the seven thousand faithful ones in the days of Elijah (1 Kings 19:18) all illustrate this point.… God preserved for Himself a faithful, believing, witnessing remnant in times of apostasy, persecution, and indifference.
The concept of the remnant has appeared two times already in the book of Zephaniah (2:3, 7, 9).
In these verses, “the remnant” refers to those Jews in the kingdom of Judah who would survive the day of the Lord in Zephaniah’s day.
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.
All the prophetic declarations in Zephaniah 2:7, 9 and 3:13 throughout the Scriptures demonstrate that God is faithful to His unconditional promises which are related to the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic and New Covenant.
The existence of remnant of Jewish believers in the church throughout her history and up to the present moment, the existence of a believing remnant during the tribulation and during the millennial kingdom of Christ demonstrate that God is faithful to His unconditional promises which are related to the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic and New Covenant.
Taken together, they promise that the biological descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (aka Israel) who are declared justified by faith in the Lord God would be a nation that would occupy the land promised to them in these covenants with their Messiah King ruling over them and the entire earth.
If these unconditional promises of these covenants were to be fulfilled, then God must always set aside a remnant of believers justified by faith in every generation.
Thus, the prophecies of Zephaniah 3:13 regarding the remnant of Israel demonstrates God’s intention to fulfill these unconditional promises in these covenants.