Study From the Book of Zephaniah,1

                                          Study From the Book of Zephaniah,1

     The book of Zephaniah tells us that the Lord has never delighted with  sin. He hates sin but He loves the sinners wanting them to repent. He declares judgment on Judah and the neighbouring nations but also He remembers His mercy and His promises towards His convenant   people.

     Zephaniah prophesied about “the Day of the Lord.” We studied that Day before, in other books of the Bible like that of Joel. To summarise, that day will happen after the rupture of the church. It will begin with “night,” the seven years of great tribulation especially in the second half of the three and half years that precede “the morning of that day,” when the Lord Jesus will reign for 1000 years, then comes the end ,the heaven and earth will disappear with a new earth and a new heaven and ,as believers, we will dwell with the Lord forever.  

Author: Zephaniah means “Yahweh hides.” God hides His face and not helping those who live in sin. Zephaniah was born during the later time of the wicked king of Manasseh of Judah. So his name means he hides from Manasseh’s atrocities.  Then he witnessed the revival led by the king Josiah. But unfortunately that did not last long. He was a descendant of the royal family as in the first verse, we read  that King Hezekiah of Judah was his great grandfather.

Time: Zephaniah began his ministry as a prophet in the early days of the reign of King Josiah (640-609 B.C).

Structure: The first two chapters of Zephaniah  paint a grim picture of God’s judgment- on the nations of the world and on Judah herself. – But the final chapter focuses on the need for salvation and God’s promises of restoration and salvation for His people.