Zephaniah
Zephaniah announces the "day of the Lord" as judgment, but also the salvation of a humble and poor "remnant" who trust in God, and God's joy over his people.
AuthorZephaniah
DateAround 640-630 BC
AudienceJudah and Jerusalem
🎯 Learning objective
Understand the message of Zephaniah, its historical setting and its place in the history of salvation.
🏛️ Historical context
He preached early in Josiah's reign, before his reform, when idolatry and foreign customs abounded in Jerusalem.
🔙 Background
After the long idolatrous reigns of Manasseh and Amon, the prophet prepares the ground for religious reform.
🧭 Structure of the book
Chapter 1: the day of the Lord
Chapter 2: oracles against the nations
Chapter 3: judgment of Jerusalem and salvation of the remnant
⭐ Key events and teachings
- 1The day of the Lord, a day of wrath (1:14-18), source of the hymn "Dies irae"
- 2"Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land" (2:3)
- 3A remnant of the poor and humble (3:12)
- 4"Sing aloud, daughter of Zion... the Lord is in your midst" (3:14-17), echoed in the Annunciation
🏷️ Main themes
📖 Verses to memorize
- Zephaniah 1:14The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and exceeding swift: the voice of the day of the Lord is bitter, the mighty man shall there meet with tribulation.
- Zephaniah 2:3Seek the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, you that have wrought his judgment: seek the just, seek the meek: if by any means you may be hid in the day of the Lord's indignation.
- Zephaniah 3:12And I will leave in the midst of thee a poor and needy people: and they shall hope in the name of the Lord.
- Zephaniah 3:14Give praise, O daughter of Sion: shout, O Israel: be glad, and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
- Zephaniah 3:17The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save: he will rejoice over thee with gladness, he will be silent in his love, he will be joyful over thee in praise.
💭 For reflection
- What does it mean to be one of "the Lord's poor"?
- How does Zephaniah 3:14 resonate in the angel's greeting to Mary?
Zephaniah announces the day of the Lord as judgment on idolatry and pride, and promises a humble and lowly remnant. It ends by inviting Jerusalem to rejoice because God is in her midst.