In this message we will consider the book of Zephaniah. The revelation in this book is very simple and concerns two matters—Jehovah’s judgment and His salvation.
Zephaniah 1:1 is the introductory word.
The name Zephaniah in Hebrew means “Jah hides” or “Jah treasures,” probably signifying to be hidden by Jehovah as His treasure in the day of His anger (2:3). In the day of God’s anger, we need to be the treasure hidden in Him.
In 1:1 we are told that Zephaniah was “the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah.” As a descendant of Hezekiah, a good king, Zephaniah was a royal descendant. One of his ancestors was another good king, Josiah.
The time of Zephaniah’s ministry was about 630 B.C., at the time of Habakkuk and Jeremiah, not long before the beginning of the Babylonian captivity.
The place of Zephaniah’s ministry was Judah.
The object of his ministry was the territory of Judah and Jerusalem, the capital of Judah.
The subject of Zephaniah’s prophecy is Jehovah’s judgment on Israel and on the nations and His salvation to the Gentiles and to Israel. Jehovah judges Israel as well as the nations, and He saves the nations as well as Israel. His judgment and His salvation are universal.
Jehovah’s judgment on Israel and on the nations and His salvation to the Gentiles and to Israel have a particular order. His judgment is first on Israel and then on the nations, but His salvation is first to the Gentiles and then to Israel. Today thousands of Gentiles have been saved, but very few among the millions of Jews have been saved. In God’s economy, this is the age for His salvation to go to the Gentiles.
The central thought of Zephaniah is that Jehovah is the judging and saving God both to Israel and to the nations, issuing in His reigning among Israel (3:15b) and in Israel’s singing and rejoicing in their restoration (3:14).
In this book the revelation concerning Christ is in His being the King of Israel in the midst of her in the restoration (3:15).
The book of Zephaniah has three sections: the introductory word (1:1); Jehovah’s judgment (1:2—3:8), including His judgment on Israel (1:2—2:3; 3:1-7) and on the nations (2:4-15; 3:8); and Jehovah’s salvation (3:9-20) to the Gentiles (v. 9) and to Israel (vv. 10-20).