Zephaniah 2:4-15

CHAPTER XXI

THE JUDGMENT OF GOD IS UNIVERSAL

Zephaniah 2:4-15

RV. For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe unto the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Gherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. And the sea-coast shall be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks. And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their flocks thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening; for Jehovah their God will visit them, and bring back their captivity. I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border. Therefore as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall make prey of them, and the remnant of my nation shall inherit them. This shall they have for their pride because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts. Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the nations. Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword. And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness. And herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all -the beasts of the nations: both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals thereof; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds; for he hath laid bare the cedar-work. This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me; how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

LXX. For Gaza shall be utterly spoiled, and Ascalon shall be destroyed; and Azotus shall be cast forth at noon-day, and Accaron shall be rooted up. Woe to them that dwell on the border of the sea, neighbours of the Cretans! the word of the Lord is against you, O Chanaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you out of your dwelling-place. And Crete shall be a pasture of flocks, and a fold of sheep. And the sea coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Juda; they shall pasture upon them in the houses of Ascalon; they shall rest in the evening because of the children of Juda; for the Lord their God has visited them, and he will turn away their captivity. I have heard the revilings of Moab, and the insults of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reviled my people, and magnified themselves against my coasts. Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodoma, and the children of Ammon as Gormorha; and Damascus shall be left as a heap of the threshing-floor, and desolate for ever: and the remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the remnant of my nation shall inherit them. Thus is their punishment in return for their haughtiness, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the Lord Almighty. The Lord shall appear against them, and shall utterly destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth; and, they shall worship him every one from his place, even all the islands Of the nations. Ye Ethiopians also are the slain of my sword. And he shall stretch forth his hand against the north and destroy the Assyrian, and make Nineveh a dry wilderness, even as a deceit. And flocks, and all the wild beasts of the land, and chameleons shall feed in the midst therof: and hedgehogs shall lodge in the ceilings thereof; and wild beasts shall cry in the breaches thereof, and ravens in her porches, whereas her loftiness was as a cedar. This is the scornful city that dwells securely, that says in her heart, I am, and there is no longer any to be after me: how is she become desolate, a habitation of wild beasts? every one that passes through her shall hiss, and shake his hands.

COMMENTS

Just as God's mercies are universal, so is His wrath. Those who have not the law not only may keep the essential moral requirements of it and thus be excused by their consciences, they may likewise also violate this moral reality to their own detriment. (Romans 2:15) In fact this is precisely what the Bible claims they have done. (Romans 3:9-23)

The often heard argument made by those who do not believe in missions; that the people who have not heard are excused somehow by their ignorance will not stand up in light of either the Old Testament or the New. They have violated the light of their own consciences and so stand as objects of God's wrath along with those who have access to His written Word. Surely the love of Christ in us ought to drive us to give them the same chance to repent as ourselves.

(Zephaniah 2:4-7) In verses four through seven, Zephaniah names the areas to the south and west of Judah who are to feel God's wrath along with the Hebrews. The statements are general rather than descriptive as had been Nahum's rather delighted picture of Nineveh's downfall. Nevertheless, the names roll from the prophet's pen like the muffled drums of a funeral dirge. Gaza. forsaken, Ashkelon. desolation, Ashdod. driven out at noon, Ekron. rooted up, the Cherethites. woe, the Philistines. destroyed. The entire coast will be pasture land.

Those who are left behind of Judah will pasture their flocks in the lands and cities of the condemned peoples. The shepherds will sleep at night in their deserted homes. The remnant shall return from Babylon to inhabit their land.
Four of the cities mentioned here, Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ekron are chief cities of the Philistines. The fifth, Gath, Was wiped out earlier by the Assyrians and so is not mentioned by Zephaniah in regard to the Babylonian invasion.

These sea people, whose entrance into Canaan had been contemporary with that of Abraham and who had been a constant thorn in the Hebrews-' side, would now feel the devastating wrath of God as never before.

Verses eight through eleven pronounce judgement against the nations of trans-Jordan. For centuries they have spoken against God's people. Now Ammon and Moab will feel His wrath. (cp. Jeremiah 48:27-29, Isaiah 16:6, Ezekiel 21:28; Ezekiel 25:3; Ezekiel 25:6; Ezekiel 25:8) They had long boasted they would annex land belonging to the Hebrews. Now, lest they carry out their boast during the captivity of Judah, they will share that captivity! The desolation described here is evident today.

The gods who once were worshipped in Ammon and Moab are no more. Jehovah worship, even when He is called Allah, as in Moab and Ammon today, is a far cry from the pagan abomination called Moloch.
Zephaniah's promise is that, when all the false gods are made desolate, famished by God, every man will worship Jehovah in his own place, even all the isles and nations.

There are Messianic overtones here. Jesus said concerning His coming as Messiah that.. neither in this mountain (Samaritan Gerazim) nor in Jerusalem shall ye worship the Father. but the hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth. (John 4:23 -f) The universal worship of Jehovah in every place rather than in a particular holy land was more than an after-thought on Jesus-' part. It was the main thrust of the Old Testament.

Zephaniah, in verses twelve and following, broadens the scope of this pronouncement. Not only are Judah and her near neighbors to feel the sting of God's wrath, far way Ethiopia and Assyria and Nineveh shall feel it also.
The Hebrew Kushim, translated Ethiopians in verse twelve, included parts of Arabia and all of Nubia. It may possibly also include Egypt at this period when the Nile was ruled by Ethiopic dynasties.

Nineveh, five hundred miles to the northeast of Judah, is singled out by Nahum and her final judgement predicted in vivid detail. Here Zephaniah includes her among the other far flung Gentile peoples. Brief though it is, Zephaniah's picture of Nineveh's desolation is every bit as expressive as Nahum'S.

All those included in this sweeping indictment shall feel the sword of the Lord, just as the Philistines, Moab, and Ammon. My sword is whatever instrument of judgement God uses. (cp. Isaiah 34:5).

Ethiopia was neither an enemy nor a neighbor of Israel or Judah. It is apparently named here to indicate the universality of God's judgement. It is in this sense that the entire passage is frought with undefined but very definite Messianic and eschatological overtones.

Chapter XXIQuestions

The Judgement of God is Universal

1.

Just as God's mercies are universal, so is His _________________________.

2.

How do you answer the opinion that those who have never heard the Word of God will be saved in their ignorance?

3.

Locate, on a map, the cities and areas mentioned in chapter Zephaniah 2:4-15.

4.

Why does the prophet pronounce God's judgement against people who were neither neighbors nor enemies of Judah?

5.

Discuss the Messianic overtones of this passage. eschatological overtones.