Zephaniah Chapter Three, The Polluted City

Zephaniah 3:1 Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, to the oppressing city! [2] She has not obeyed His voice, she has not received correction; she has not trusted in the Lord, she has not drawn near to her God.

From Nineveh to Jerusalem, God refers to the people of His name as the oppressing city. The people within are given two descriptors: rebellious and polluted. The spectacle of the city was a whitewash: a shining, glimmering shell of nobility that included the king’s palace and the temple of Solomon. But within its shining exterior and luster lay wickedness.

Molehills: The Tradition Of Lent

One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. Romans 14:5

With this simple verse we contemplate the reality and necessity of the tradition that is Lent. Following is a truncated history of Lent. Sparse historical context places early preparations to celebrate what would become Easter as far back as the second or third century, but not for forty days. In fact it was believed to be drastically shorter; merely a handful of days

Zephaniah Chapter Two, Desolation At The Door

Zephaniah 2:14 The herds shall lie down in her midst, every beast of the nation. Both the pelican and the bittern shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be at the threshold; for He will lay bare the cedar work. [15] This is the rejoicing city that dwelt securely, that said in her heart, “I am it, and there is none besides me.” How has she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her shall hiss and shake the fist.

The description of Nineveh continues in this passage. Nineveh was a great city in Assyria, and a city that no less than two Biblical writers focused upon in the OT: Jonah and Nahum. Jonah was sent to Nineveh to preach repentance in the face of impending destruction. Nahum, however, preached against the city as a cesspool of corruption that valued trade more than human life; in fact it bartered human life for material gain.

Zephaniah Chapter Two, Nineveh

Zephaniah 2:12 “You Ethiopians also, you shall be slain by My sword. [13] And He will stretch out His hand against the north, destroy Assyria, and make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as the wilderness.

In the Old Testament the reference to Ethiopia is not what we modernly refer to in regards to geography. The OT Hebrew and contemporaneous Egyptian referred to this land as Cush, but the Septuagint–a Greek translation of the Old Testament–rendered the term “Aithiopia.” Modern English translations tend to follow the Septuagint, hence the term Ethiopia.

Zephaniah Chapter Two, Restoring The Nations

Zephaniah 2:11 The Lord will be awesome to them, for He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth; people shall worship Him, each from his place, indeed all the shores of the nations.

Following the verses contextually, “them,” would refer to Ammon and Moab, who we have been learning about since verse 8. God will be awesome to them, in the sense that He will render all opposing deific contenders moot. Molech, Chemosh, et al., will be revealed as imposters and demonic fronts to mislead the nations.