The Day of the Lord
The End According to Zephaiah
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

INTRODUCTION

     Men have lived with the heaviness of threats looming over them, for as long as
can be remembered. Little brothers or sisters threatening to tell mom, or mom claiming
that the child will have to wait until their father comes home from work until they
receive their punishment. No threat of a future punishment, carried the weight of the one
delivered by the prophet Zephaniah. “I will sweep away everything from the face of the
earth, I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and
the fish of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from
the face of the earth.” These words may seem a little stern to begin a paper with, but this
is how the book of Zephaniah starts. The warning of the impending punishment is stern
and clear.
 
    The prophet Zephaniah claims repeatedly in his prophesy, of the coming of the
“day of the lord..” The writer of this paper has undertaken the task of examining this text
under four aspects, 1)the authorship, 2) the times, 3)the book, and finally 4)the
applications. This paper will focus as its main point Zephaniah’s claim of “the great day
of the lord.” Has this “day” come and gone for the people that Zephaniah was
addressing? Or, is this “day” still yet to come? Was Zephaniah speaking about a literal
day, or was he speaking metaphorically? Often children have heard threats from their
mother, that if they did not stop mis-behaving, they would be in trouble when their dad
got home. Is this an acceptable analogy for the Hebrew children? Had they corrected
their ways by the time the dead line was given, or is it yet to expire? These are a few of
the areas discussed, and investigated as this paper looks into “the day of the Lord.

     Zephaniah served as a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah. His apparent
claim to being of the royal family in the superscription, has some support in the fact that
there was no other man in recorded history with the name of Hezekiah, other than the
King, the grandfather to Zephaniah’s grandfather. The unusual heading to the book,
listing back four generations, also adds support to this claim. This lengthy superscription
could be to emphasize two main points, (1) to show his lengthy genealogy in Jerusalem,
and therefore knowledge about the history of Judah’s sin, and (2) to authenticate his
claim to Jewish ancestry, defusing any confusion because of his father’s Ethiopian name
Cushi. Further support can be seen in his familiarity of the capital city and that of the
royal family. His knowledge of the “religious and social conditions with in the city and
the fact that he identifies it as his own standing place in 1:4,” also gives evidence that he
lived in Jerusalem. In addition to the previously mentioned evidence of Zephaniah’s
royal ancestry, is his bold and blatant denunciation of the upper class and “yet he does
not pose as a spokesman of the poor and there is lacking in his utterances that note of
sympathy with their suffering which is so evident in Amos and Micah, a lack easily
explained if he himself were a member of the aristocracy and had never felt the pinch of
poverty.” Raymond Dillard and Temper Longman III described the genealogy of
Zephaniah when they wrote, “His membership in the royal family probably also gave him
access to the royal court, a position from which he could observe and then decry the sins
of Judah’s leaders.” All of the scholars listed above agreed that while the linage of
Zephaniah cannot be proven, there is no reason to doubt the fact that he is the great-
great-grandson of King Hezekiah.

     Nothing is known about Zephaniah’s life, outside of that revealed in his short
writing. Undoubtably, growing up in Jerusalem during the same time as Josiah,
“Zephaniah may have been trained by the same teachers who influenced Josiah, and in
fact may have been Josiah’s close contemporary.” Lacking any personal information
about Zephaniah, one can only speculate to those who influenced him, or trained him.
Although, “a cousin of Josiah could have learned his lessons out of the recorded words of
Amos and Isaiah, as (Zephaniah’s) preaching indicates he did.”
 

     The exact date of Zephaniah’s ministry is one of debate, but what is generally
accepted is that is was during the reign of King Josiah, as he stated in his superscription.
The more controversial issue is if Zephaniah had begun his ministry prior to King
Josiah’s reform in 621 B.C. It is the opinion of this writer that he had in fact begun his
public ministry before the reform of King Josiah, and that his prophesies were
instrumental in setting up the king’s reform policies. J.M.M. Roberts  wrote,
“Zephaniah’s portrayal of the rampant syncretism and rapacious behavior among the
royal and religious officials in Jerusalem...suggest that these oracles come from early in
Josiah’s reign, well before his famous reform began in 622 B.C..” Not all scholars agree
in this area though. Many contend that Zephaniah’s ministry could not have been before
the king’s reform due to certain statements about the condition of Nineveh, and the
“remnant of Baal” that will be mentioned later in this paper. Although the date of
Zephaniah’s ministry could be argued from both sides of the reform issue, “ it seems
improbable that such irregularities of cults could have been so openly practiced and
tolerated in the period immediately following the reform, the main outcome of which
was the purification of the cults.” Did Zephaniah prophesy prior to the finding of the
scroll of the law? The answer to this question cannot be answered definitely, but there is
substantial evidence to claim that he did.
     Prior to Josiah becoming king, Judah had been in a period of continuous
transition. While under Manasseh, Judah continued to pay vassalage to Assyria that was
begun by Ahaz. The prophesies of the prophets like Isaiah and Micah had once again
fallen on deaf ears. The situation that Zephaniah was to preach in was a difficult one.
“Since the accession of Manasseh, Judah had been passing through a period of reaction.
The ideals exalted by prophets like Isaiah and Micah had suffered eclipse...The Baalim
and Asherah, so generally worshiped throughout Syria, were restored with favour in
Judah.” Therefore, it is obvious that Zephaniah had to deal with a people that were not
only paying vassalage to foreign governments, but participating in foreign rituals and
religious practices.
     While Josiah was setting up his own reign in Judah, the world around him was
changing also. “New forces and strange faces began to appear in the larger arena of
western Asia. The Scythians, breaking loose from their mountain fastnesses in the north,
came pouring down upon Assyria territory, sweeping everything before them.” Taylor
would argue that if the Scythians and Assyrians were both fighting against the Medes,
Zephaniah would not have considered them to be strong enough to cause the type of
calamity he called for? Taylor dates this turmoil around 626 B.C. which would be shortly
before the book of the law was found in the temple. Zephaniah’s ministry appears to be
over in a very short time though, for reasons that aren’t clear. He seems to slip out of
history as quietly as he slid in. John Calvin wrote in the introduction to his commentary
on Zephaniah:

       Zephaniah is placed the last of the Minor Prophets who performed their office
before the Babylonian Captivity; and the inscription shows that he exercised his
office of teaching at the same time with Jeremiah, about thirty years before the
city was destroyed, the Temple pulled down, and the people led into exile.
Jeremiah, it is true, followed his vocation even after the death of Josiah, while
Zephaniah prophesied only during his reign.
 
         So where did this prophet come from, and to where did he go? Unfortunately, these are
     two questions that cannot be answered with any certainty. What the reader is left with is
     the profound judgement that Zephaniah proclaimed to be upon the entire earth, and every
     living creature on it.
 
        One thing that is obvious during the period of Zephaniah’s ministry was the
     unrest of the Asian world. With the death of Ashurbanipal around 626 B.C., the political
     situation of the region became very unstable. Assyria, already weakend by overexpansion
     and internal strife, had few resources to battle anyone else. Taking advantage of the
     situation, the Babylonians began to move against the failing Assyrians. First defeated, the
     Babylonians found victory with the apparent assistance of a new ally in the Medes.
     Nineveh would soon fall, as would other cities to the new Babylonian empire.  Babylonia
     would become the dominant power in the region from 612 to the middle of the sixth
     century.

          In all of this turmoil, developed the situation in Judah. Multiple cultures had
     influenced the trade, and morals of the Hebrew people. Numerous deities were being
     worshiped openly, and on a daily basis. The religious practices were more than just a
     wayward people. “Something more than mere religious indifference, easy-going
     toleration or even diplomatic acceptance of the cults of the neighboring peoples allied
     with Judah in the common desire and purpose to obtain freedom from Assyria, is evident
     from the fact that Manasseh is said to have offered one of his own sons as a burnt
     offering.” Zephaniah had a hard road in front of him, and it would take more than he
     could give to correct the moral decay of Judah. Growing up perhaps in the royal court,
     Zephaniah turns his proclamations to his own people, and then outwardly to the other
     nations, and ultimately against the entire earth. Calvin described how Zephaniah
     “denounces utter destruction on a people who were so perverse, that there was no hope of
     their repentance; — he then moderates his threatening, by denouncing God’s judgments
     on their enemies, the Assyrians, as well as others, who had treated with cruelty the
     Church of God;”

          Having established Zephaniah’s ancestry, and Judah’s background leading up to
     the reign of Josiah, it is best to now look at the book itself for its teachings to the people
     of Jerusalem during their own time, and perhaps the people of today in ours.
      Following an outline that has become familiar to Old Testament prophets,
     Zephaniah set out to proclaim the woe to God’s own people, the judgements to other
     nations, and the restoration of God’s chosen people through a faithful remnant. It is with
     a variation of this outline the writer of this paper has chosen to show the meaning behind
     the “day of the Lord. This writer has taken the three short chapters in the book of
     Zephaniah and has broken them down into three categories: (1) the Day of the Lord, (2)
     universalism, (3) the hope in the remnant.
 

          The book of Zephaniah, divided into three chapters, only contains fifty-three
     verses. The book itself though, does not carry two or three prophesies, but one clear and
     pure address. The prophet announces the pending judgement, a call for repentance and
     the promise of a restoration to the faithful. With all of the discussion of Zephaniah’s
     ancestry, the reader of his book needs to see that he makes a clear pronunciation in the
     authority he stands in, the word of the Lord. The word used here in the introductory of
     Zephaniah is Yehôvâh. The Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Of the Bible defines the
     word as, “3068  Yehovah (yeh-ho-vaw'); from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal;
     Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:.” Zephaniah, then waist no time in pronouncing
     the judgement of God on his creation. The word of destruction that Zephaniah brought
     from the Lord was one of completeness, and swiftness. No man nor animal would survive
     the total annihilation. “I will sweep away both men and Animals;..” The language used
     here is strong and precise, the American Commentary says, “the Hebrew mode of
     expressing intensity by the union of the infinitive absolute with the finite verb is here
     modified by the union of the two different verbs, a very unusual construction.” The use
     of strong language is common among Hebrew poetry. This proclamation of devastation is
     frequently said to be a use of hyperbole, and not to be taken in a literal sense. Using this
     form of speech “Zephaniah betrays no sympathy, compassion or emotion of any kind
     over the impending fate of his people.” To Zephaniah, the message was of the utmost
     importance. There was no time for softening the proclamation of the judgement that was
     coming. His message had to be stern, and it needed to be direct.
 
         In order to distant himself from the sins of the Hebrew people, and the One
     passing the judgement, Zephaniah “speaks almost as a disinterested spectator.”In the
     first part of the book, the author denounced the apathy and complacency of the Hebrew
     nation, Zeph.1:2-11, while proclaiming the judgement that will come at the same time.
     Types of peoples are named specifically, such as the idolatrous priest along with the
     pagan priest, also the Hebrew people as a whole. The nation of Judah is named along
     with the inhabitants of Jerusalem. To whom, specifically does this judgement come
     upon? And how or who will execute it? These are two questions that this paper has
     sought to answer. First, the intended recipient must be determined.
 
         The list of those named to be in contempt with Yahweh is long. It includes, man,
     beast, Judah, Jerusalem, idolatrous priest, pagan priest, princes, sons of the king, those in
     foreign garments, those who jump over the thresholds, the inhabitants of Mortar, and all
     of the people of Canaan, just in the first eleven verses of the first chapter. In short it was
     summed up back in the second verse, “all things”, and then again in the eighteenth verse
     when it says “all who live in the earth.” Narrowing the list down, an apparent target of
     Zephaniah’s oracle was the affluent in Judah. Evidence of this is given in naming those
     in foreign attire, and the residents of the second quarter. Those in foreign attire would not
     only have to do with those practicing in Baal worship, but also those who were
     influenced and involved in foreign trade and commerce with other nations. The reference
     to the second quarter refers to those living in a residential section of Jerusalem believed
     to be inhabited by the upper class. Those having an association with the royal court, and
     the religious order were also spoken of critically as mentioned in the background of
     Zephaniah. As mentioned previously, many scholars believe that the language used was
     purely hyperbole, but this writer does not agree with that assumption. It is not necessary
     to interpret that the “‘day’ be a short term event, covering a day or a week; it might just
     as well refer to a longer period without clear boundaries.” Therefore, after close
     examination of the text, and various commentaries, one is not left any closer to
     discerning if the recipients of the judgement are a close group of Hebrew people, or the
     entire population of the earth, both are mentioned.
 
         Turning the focus onto the force that will carry out the judgement has not proved
     to be one of great revelation. Zephaniah does not name a force, or foe that will come and
     enact the judgement of God upon His people. There is little in the text to discern from
     which direction the power will come, or to where it will go. As a matter of fact, due to
     the enormous devastation it does not seem likely that an earthly power could carry out
     such a sentence. The “consecrated guest” are left unnamed. “Some would identify them
     with the Chaldeans, others prefer the Scythians; while Gressmann declares that guest and
     victim are the same, Judah.” It is in the context of the universal judgement of the world
     that Zephaniah does not name the force that will bring this destruction. Keil wrote that
     “it is in this comprehensive character of his prophesy that we find the reason why
     Zephaniah neither names, nor minutely describes, the executors of the judgement upon
     Judah...”  Little could prepare the people for the judgement that Zephaniah proclaimed.
 

          The terminology using “the day of the Lord” is first found in the book of Amos,
     but some believe that its use and origination dates back before the literary prophets, to
     the pre-historic ages. As mentioned above, “the day of the Lord” does not have to be
     limited to a single daylight period, or a twenty-four hour day. The word ‘yom” is used in
     the Ugaritic, extra biblical Hebrew, and Akkadian languages, as well as others during the
     time period with a variety of meanings. These meanings could extend anywhere from,
     part of a day, as in one of three watches, to an extended undisclosed amount of time.
     Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines “day” as possibly meaning ,“The ‘day of the Lord’
     is used to denote both the end of the age (eschatologically) or some occurrence during
     the present age (non-eschatologically). It may be a day of either judgment or blessing, or
     both.”
 
         Dr. D. Thomas wrote in his homily on Zephaniah that in the day of the Lord “the
     prophet could hear the bitter cry of the mighty man who saw himself confronted by its
     terrors; and is true of that other and greater day of the Lord, the day of judgement, which
     the Christian is directed always to consider as at hand.” J.M.M. Roberts stated that
     those who will “cry out” could be a warrior who has “worked himself up into a killing
     rage.” He does state though, that the word in the Hebrew text is somewhat ambiguous.
     It could also mean that the cry is what “the Judean warrior will resort to when he sees the
     hopelessness of Judah’s situation.” One wonders what hope there is for those living
     under the curse of this judgement. Is there any hope? Seeing the wrath of God’s fury in
     Zephaniah’s prophesy the people are instructed to gather themselves together, as loose
     wheat is gathered in the field after the harvesters have finished. It is not worth the
     husbandman’s time to go back through the fields for what is left, and it is in this context
     they are instructed to “gather themselves.” The devastation declared by Zephaniah is
     catastrophic. The day of the Lord is coming and it is coming fast. No one, or thing, will
     be able to escape its cleansing power. The prophet declared that the day “will be a day of
     wrath, bringing destruction and distress untold.”Through the prophet God stated that He
     would correct the city, but they would not change their ways. God then states again in the
     third chapter of Zephaniah that because the city had not changed from their corruptive
     ways He said He would “assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out
     my wrath on them-- all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of
     my jealous anger.” God had created all of the heavens and the earth. Through
     Zephaniah, he was claiming that He was going to “destroy his creation, which had in
     essence, been destroyed already by the perversion of the cult; and that God will destroy
     the replicas of creation that represent a false cult.” So what is to be made from this
     prophesy? The fact that man and beast both still exist today would give evidence that this
     prophesy has not come to pass, in the literal sense. How is it to affect the fellowship of
     God’s people today? What is the lesson in the book of Zephaniah?

          “Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name
     of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder.” It is only after the purification that
     the redemption of God will come. The text does not state that the curse will be lifted
     from the city, nor that God will not pour out His wrath as suggested but that after the
     judgement had been carried out, “the meek and humble, who trust in the name of the
     Lord” will be left to restore the kingdom. It will not be without a cost to Jerusalem
     though. Smith wrote how Jerusalem herself will suffer great pain and loss, and that the
     cleansing would have to include her own people. Zephaniah, and the prophets before
     Him had addressed the sins that their forefathers had committed, the sins they were
     committing, and the pending judgement and restoration of God upon those sins. These
     prophets had received special revelations from God. Being faithful to their call, they then
     shared them with God’s people in various ways. It was Zephaniah’s style to speak
     directly and plainly about God’s purpose and plan. In doing so he “served to explain the
     past, to elucidate the present, and to disclose the future” to the people of Judah.
     Without hesitation, Zephaniah stated the judgement of God against an ungodly people.
     Clearly and distinctly, he spelled out the degree of the punishment, and the need for
     repentance. Following the tradition of Old Testament prophets though, Zephaniah did not
     stop there. Zephaniah’s claim of God’s chosen remnant is as clear and  as powerful as his
     condemnation, but it is not without conditions.

          “Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all
     your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!” The reassembled daughter of Israel, Jerusalem is
     to exalt the Lord their God with all of their heart. The greater the salvation, the greater  is
     the praise for Yahweh.  Peace and security will be the reward of the remnant that
     remained faithful to Yahweh, and hid themselves from the evil of the day. The text
     speaks of a remnant that will return to a place where there is no hostility, nor want, a
     place of complete assurance in God, and the total obedience of His people. “The remnant
     of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their
     mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid.” One has to
     wonder if this too has been carried out by the exiles that were to return later to Jerusalem
     from other lands. Have they refrained from speaking lies and doing wrong, or is this a
     prophesy of the final gathering that God will bring under His kingdom in the end of all
     time. The promise found in Leviticus says, “Your threshing will continue until grape
     harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food
     you want and live in safety in your land. I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie
     down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and
     the sword will not pass through your country.” Clearly today the sword continues in the
     streets of Jerusalem, and fear is on the hearts of many. How was this prophesy carried out
     in the time of Zephaniah? Roberts wrote that this new Jerusalem of a humble remnant
     would find the security that their rebellious kinfolk had missed. They would be able to
     live “securely protected from all predators, the inhabitants of this purified Jerusalem will
     enjoy an abundant, peaceful existence free from the nagging fear or sudden terror.” As
     of the time of this writing in mid-1999, the streets of Jerusalem are patrolled with armed
     soldiers constantly fighting the aggression of many enemies both known and unknown.
     Surely the peace prophesied in Zephaniah has not come to pass in the Jerusalem of today.
      Could the lack of this promised peace have something to do with Jesus, and the
     new covenant that He spoke about? Is the chosen nation of God once again out of His
     fellowship because of disobedience and pride?  One of the consistent teachings
     throughout the Old Testament was that the Church of God, the Jewish church was one
     church. Jesus came, claiming to be the Son of God, and that he brought with him a new
     covenant. Most of the Jewish society rejected His claims. If in fact Jesus is the One He
     says He is, what would that mean to God’s relationship with the nation of Israel? Smith
     like Roberts, spoke of a coming day, without committing to what the definition of that
     day is when he wrote, “In the coming age, such incentives to vice will be lacking, for all
     will enjoy abundance and none will be left who could or would do injury to any.”

          As it has been shown throughout this paper, the ideal situation for Jerusalem has
     never been attained. Zephaniah came onto the scene shortly after the rule of Manasseh,
     where numerous deities were incorporated into the daily lives of the inhabitants of Judea.
     Enemy nations were always near by, waiting for the leading aggressor to slip, so they
     could implement their own rule on this weak and defenseless nation. The exchange of
     foreign gods and religious practices became as much a part of the Hebrew’s lifestyle as
     were the items they bought and sold in their shops. Yahweh was set aside for gods that
     had a better market value, ones that could enhance the tradesman’s profit margins. After
     years of apathy, and continued corruption God spoke out against His people through the
     prophet Zephaniah.

          Coming from a royal family, and understanding their ways, Zephaniah
     pronounced the judgement of God from the top of the kingdom, save the King, to the
     very merchant who dealt in and wore the foreign attire. Zephaniah’s oracle was short,
     blunt, precise, and shocking. He delivered it with authority and sparing no one. Standing
     on his authority of receiving a word from the Lord, Zephaniah laid out for the Hebrew
     people what God would require of them, in the sacrifice for their sins, and for their
     restoration as a nation. Never faltering in his word, Zephaniah stayed true to the Old
     Testament prophet’s form of a remnant. He promised that God would save His people
     through a remnant He would preserve through the trials of the rest of the nations.
      This paper has dealt with the various views of the remaining remnant, and their
     place with God. It has examined the areas of the authorship of the book, and the time of
     its message. This paper has examined the book in its three parts of the day of the Lord,
     the universalism of its punishment and the promise of God’s remnant. It was the desire of
     this author to draw out the relevancy of this scripture in today’s society. Unfortunately,
     the best this author could do was to raise questions that only God can answer with any
     certainty. Clearly, God has Judged, intervened, saved, and preserved His people.
     Christians claim to be part of that remnant that God has preserved. They look forward
     mostly with great joy to the coming of Jesus Christ, and yet with some sorrow for the
     eternal destruction it will mean to millions of people. Has the cross of Christ altered the
     meaning of the “day of the lord,” or has God’s people once again fallen into an apathy
     that will provoke Him to pronounce, I will “‘remove man and beast; I will remove the
     birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and the ruins along with the wicked; and I will cut
     off man from the face of the earth,’ declares the Lord.” It is the opinion of this writer,
     that the later is true. God will one day destroy every living creature on the face of the
     earth after He has hidden away His faithful followers, not because of their righteousness,
     but because of the repulsive disregard for God by His creation.