Zephaniah Chapter Two, Undesirable Nation

Zephaniah 2:1 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, [2] before the decree is issued, or the day passes like chaff, before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you!

God issues a command for Israel to gather together; they are the undesirable nation, the nation “not reckoning itself among the nations,” Numbers 23:9. The prophet Joel proclaimed a similar command, writing, “Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord,” Joel 1:14.

For Shame!

The Biblical concept of shame is, in my own opinion, one that is sorely needed for today’s cultural milieu. In the Pilgrim’s Progress the character Faithful encounters a peculiar man wrongly named Shame. In the discourse they share after Faithful’s conversion, Shame says this to him:

Zephaniah Chapter One, Sinning Against God

Zephaniah 1:17 “I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse.” [18] Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to save them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, for He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land.

The Day of the Lord is about the end of God’s patience with rebellious mankind. For thousands of years God has generously and copiously warned about the impending wrath to come; but He is not a puppet master. God will not decide for each of us if we will accept or reject the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we accept and believe our destiny is Heaven and reconciliation. If we reject our destiny is the Lake of Fire and eternal torment.

Zephaniah Chapter One, The Gravity Of The Day

Zephaniah 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. [16] A day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers.

God is juxtaposing the imminent exile of Judah to Babylon with the forthcoming Day of the Lord in this chapter. In verse 7 the prophet is given a large glimpse of God’s ultimate retributive culmination with the Day of the Lord, contrasting that day with what is about to fall upon Israel.

Zephaniah Chapter One, Proximity

Zephaniah 14 The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out.

The believer always refers to the return of Christ as being imminent. But what does this mean? What it means is that, as far as the Rapture of the saints is concerned, there is nothing prophetically significant that needs to occur between now and then. The Lord could catch us up this moment, or tomorrow. The believer does not know–indeed, cannot know–the time of the Lord’s coming; rather we are to always be prepared with candles burning, standing at the window for His arrival.