The opportunity for repentance knows no borders.
By the time the prophet Zephaniah arrived on the scene, the northern kingdom of Israel had been overthrown for nearly a hundred years (since the Assyrian invasion in 722 B.C.; 2 Kin. 17:6). Meanwhile, its neighbor Judah had suffered under the reigns of evil kings such as Manasseh (686–642 B.C.) and Amon (642–640 B.C.). It looked as though the southern kingdom would soon suffer the same fate as the north.
Yet for a time, the nation recovered. Zephaniah began his prophetic work sometime around the reign of Josiah, a magnanimous monarch (c. 640–609 B.C.; see Josiah’s profile at 2 Chr. 34:1 and see here for an article on his life). The prophet was likely a cousin of the young king, who instituted rigorous spiritual reforms after the rediscovery of the lost Book of the Law, found while repairs were being made to the temple at Jerusalem (2 Kin. 22:8). Throughout Judah and extending into the northern kingdom of Israel, Josiah tore down idols and pagan worship sites (2 Kin. 21:23—23:30), leading his people in spiritual renewal by bringing his predecessors’ evil practices to an end.
Although his life and prophecy may have ended before Josiah’s reforms, Zephaniah was part of the process of pushing the nation to change. He spoke against the false gods Baal and Milcom as well as the ritual prostitution and child sacrifice that accompanied their worship (Zeph. 1:3–6). He warned that God would not sit back and do nothing; the Lord is never complacent in the face of injustice (1:12). Like his contemporary Jeremiah, Zephaniah prophesied of imminent judgment, focusing on what he called “the day of the LORD.” This time of accountability would begin with wrath (1:2—3:8) but eventually give way to joy (3:9–20).
Zephaniah urged God’s people to seek the Lord and the righteousness and humility that would allow them to remain “hidden” from God’s anger (2:3). Nevertheless, after Josiah’s death, Judah rapidly returned to its idolatrous ways, and within a few decades the nation was routed and destroyed by the Babylonians (587 B.C.; 2 Kin. 25:1–21).
Key Verses in Zephaniah
• “Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; for the day of the LORD is at hand” (Zeph. 1:7).
• “That day is a day of wrath … a day of clouds and thick darkness” (Zeph. 1:15).
• “Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the LORD’s anger” (Zeph. 2:3).
• “This is the rejoicing city … that said in her heart, ‘I am it, and there is none besides me’ ” (Zeph. 2:15).
• “The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save” (Zeph. 3:17).