ZEPHANIAH 2
A
Bible Study - Commentary by Jim Melough
Copyright
2002 James Melough
2:1. “Gather yourselves together, yea, gather
together, O nation not desired; “
The nation, of course, is still Judah, and God is calling the people to come
together in repentant confession of their many sins, those sins having made
her “not desired,” which is also translated without discipline: detested:
shameless; unabashed: unconscious of sin.
In spite of what she had made herself, God still loved her, and desired to
save her, but sadly, apart from a very few individuals who did repent, the
nation as a whole rejected every overture made by God, and thus sealed her
doom.
2:2. “Before the decree bring forth, before the
day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you,
before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you.”
“Before the decree bring forth” might be paraphrased, “Before the decree of
doom is executed against you.” In other words, Repent while you have the
opportunity.
“... before the day pass as the chaff” is understood by some to refer to the
brevity of the period of grace and the speed with which it is passing; while
others apply it to the scattering, i.e., the blowing away of the people like
chaff. There is a measure of truth in both.
The second half of the sentence emphasizes both the fierceness of the coming
angry or burning judgment, and the terrible character of the day or time when
it would burst upon the guilty nation. The discrimination between the two,
rests in the fact that the judgment itself would be different, depending on
whether the victim was a believer or an unbeliever. In the case of the former
it would affect only his body, while transporting his soul to paradise; but
for the latter it would consign his soul to continued torment in hell until
the resurrection of death when the individual (body, soul, and spirit), will
be delivered into eternal torment in the lake of fire.
Relative to the time of the judgment: for the believer of that day its
occurrence would end the toil and trouble of earthly life, and begin an
eternity of bliss, first in paradise, and finally in heaven. (Since Christ’s
resurrection the soul’s of believers go immediately to heaven). For the
unbeliever it would end for ever the day of grace and the possibility of
salvation, and would begin an eternity of torment, first in hell, and then in
the lake of fire.
2:3. “Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the
earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it
may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.”
This was addressed to the few, the meek or humble, foreknown by God as is
every believer, that foreknowledge not to be confused with God’s
predestination. Salvation or damnation is each the result of a free will
choice on the part of the individual to accept or reject the Lord Jesus Christ
as Savior. God’s foreknowledge of what the choice will be in no way affects
the free will of the individual to make it.
“... which have wrought his judgment” is also translated “have kept His
ordinances,” or “who obey His commands.” This is not to be understood as
teaching salvation by works. Their obedient lives were simply the outward
evidence of their inward faith; but as with believers in every age, there can
be no genuine obedience apart from faith.
The command to seek righteousness, and meekness (humility) was addressed to
the unconverted: the period preceding judgment was a time in which salvation
was available to any who would repent and cast themselves on God’s mercy. As
that short time preceding judgment was a period of grace for Judah, so is this
present time a period of grace for today’s world. For Judah, the destruction
was to be that executed by the Babylonians; for those of today, the coming
destruction is that of the impending terrible Tribulation judgments.
There are two possible views of the words, “... it may be ye shall be hid in
the day of the Lord’s anger.” One is that the believer of that day might be
preserved physically through the destruction that would bring wholesale
slaughter to the people in general, those thus preserved being types of those
who will be physically preserved through the Tribulation judgments. The
other, and equally valid view, is that the preservation would apply to his
soul. He might die physically, but he would still be preserved, for the only
part that matters - his soul - would be instantly transported to paradise.
This will be true also of the Tribulation age saints.
2:4. “For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a
desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be
rooted up.”
This verse begins a new section in which the prophet announces the coming of
judgment upon the surrounding Gentile nations similar to that which had
destroyed Israel, and was about to destroy Judah also. The wider scope of
this prophecy seems to confirm that the judgments of those earlier times were
foreshadowings of the coming Tribulation judgments that will ravish the whole
earth.
Gath, the fifth Philistine city frequently mentioned with these other four, is
omitted here, the usual explanation being that it was under Israelite control,
having been conquered by David, and having remained under Jewish dominion
since his day.
It is instructive to note that the Philistines, meaning wallowing,
represent apostasy (see 2 Pe 2:22 where wallowing is also used in
connection with the apostle’s description of apostates). It is to be further
noted that as the Philistines had given their name to the land into which
they had originally come as intruders, so has the great false church intruded
into and taken control of the sphere that properly belongs only to the true
Church; and as the Philistines were the inveterate enemies of God and His
people, so is that great apostate church also the enemy of both; but in the
destruction of the literal Philistines God bids us see the destruction of the
great false church in the coming Tribulation.
2:5. “Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast,
the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the Lord is against you; O Canaan,
the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no
inhabitant.”
This continues the pronouncement of woe upon Philistia, for the Cherethites,
originally from Crete, and meaning cutters off, were a people who dwelt
in the coastal region south of the territory occupied by the Philistines and
were themselves generally regarded as Philistines. The destruction, which was
to be utter, began with Egypt’s invasion of the area in the period between
609-594 BC.
2:6. “And the sea coast shall be dwellings and
cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.”
The inhabitants of the whole coastal plain were to be wiped out, leaving the
land as pasture for sheep, with “dwellings” being understood by some to be
caves, the lowly dwelling places of shepherds while tending their flocks; but
the word cottage appears to signify rather shepherds’ cisterns
or wells. The general picture is of the poverty that would replace the
existing prosperity, and of the fact that what had been the possession of the
Philistines would become the possession of God’s people. There is little
doubt that God would have us see in this a glimpse of what will be in the
Millennium. All that has been in the possession of the unconverted will, in
that soon coming day, be given to the repentant remnant of Israel and of the
nations.
2:7. “And the coast shall be for the remnant of
the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall
they lie down in the evening: for the Lord their God shall visit them, and
turn away their captivity.”
While this may certainly refer to the fact that the remnant of Judah spared by
the Babylonians, would inherit the Philistines’ land, it seems that the
ultimate application is to what will be
in the Millennium, when the believing remnant of Israel emerging from the
Tribulation, will inherit that which will have been left behind by the
unbelievers banished into hell at the Lord’s return in glory to establish His
millennial kingdom.
Since eating is synonymous with satisfaction, its being said that “they shall
feed” is the symbolic announcement of the complete satisfaction and
happiness of the remnant entering the Millennium. Their lying down in the
evening in the dwellings of the former destroyed occupants, speaks also of
millennial rest, and safety, and satisfaction, as do also God’s visiting them,
and turning away or bringing them back from exile.
Ashkelon incidentally means the fire of infamy: I shall be weighed, but
in the present context it seems that the Philistine city is being used as a
synonym for the devastated world which will be all that will remain following
the terrible Tribulation judgments.
2:8. “I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the
revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people,
and magnified themselves against their border.”
Moab, meaning from father: what father? from (her [the mother’s]) father,
and Ammon meaning tribal: peoplish, were the two incestuously begotten
sons of Lot, the people descended from them being the inveterate foes of
Israel, a state consistent with what they represent typologically, for a
careful study of Moab indicates that he represents mere empty profession
linked with the lusts of the flesh; while Ammon also represents similar empty
profession, but associated with intellectualism or rationalism.
“... reproach” here means disgrace: contumely: shame (associated with
exposure of the female genital organs), this latter meaning being what might
be expected from one whose name is linked with the lusts of the flesh.
“... revilings” mean vilification: taunt, both meanings being related
to the expression of thought rather than actual deeds, and again this is what
might be expected from one who represents intellectualism or rationalism in
opposition to what is of God.
Their having “magnified themselves against their border” means that they had
encroached upon Israel’s borders, that encroachment being but a type of what
has happened in Christendom: the professing, but apostate harlot church has
encroached upon the realm of faith to the point where that incubus is accepted
by many as the true church.
But as the Lord heard then, so does He also hear today, and as then He was
about to pour out judgment on the offenders, so is He again about to unleash
judgment upon the guilty in the quickly approaching Tribulation.
2:9. “Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of
hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of
Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual
desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my
people shall possess them.”
The certainty of the judgment to come upon Moab and Ammon is declared in that
the Lord, than Whom there is none greater, swore by Himself to accomplish it;
and that He has the power to execute that judgment is announced in that He is
the Lord of hosts (armies), nor are they earthly armies: they are the
countless armies of His mighty angels. And that same God is the God of
Israel, His promise to her being that she is destined to rule over all the
nations of the millennial earth. Her long years of self-induced affliction
are coming to an end. The day of her deliverance and glorification is not far
off.
In her experience, however, God bids us see a foreshadowing of our own. The
weary pilgrimage of the Church is also drawing to a close, and surely we must
confess that much of our affliction, like Israel’s, has been also
self-induced. We have failed to walk obediently; but God, in transcendent
grace, has transmuted our rebellion into blessing, He having used His
chastisement to refine our faith and equip us for that soon coming day when we
will enter into a higher experience than millennial Israel: we will reign with
Christ not only over Israel and the nations, but over the universe itself, as
it is written, “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall
also live with him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with him,” 1 Tim
2:11-12, see also Re 5:10; 11:15; 20:6; 22:5.
It is very different, however, with unbelief, which is represented by Moab and
Ammon. As they were to become like Sodom and Gomorrah, so also will every
unbeliever pass into an eternal state pictured in the desolation which the
area of those wicked cities has become. Nor is it easy to imagine more utter
desolation: the only vegetation would be clumps of stinging nettles
interspersed with salt pits where nothing could grow, and the condition would
be permanent.
The “residue” refers here to that part of the nation that will pass out of the
Tribulation into the Millennium; and their being described as a remnant
emphasizes the truth that they are believers who even at the risk of their
lives, would not worship the beast. As already noted, that godly remnant will
be the new millennial Israel that will be given dominion over the whole earth.
The spoiling and possessing refer to the fact that everything that had
formerly belonged to the banished unbelieving nations will then be left for
the enjoyment of the believing remnant of Israel and of the nations.
2:10. “This shall they have for their pride,
because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of
the Lord of hosts.”
Their judgment was to be because of their pride, relative to which it is to be
noted that it is first on the list of seven things which God hates, see Pr
6:16-17, “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination
unto him: a proud look, etc.”
This will also be God’s requittal, not only of the great harlot church, but of
all who will have disparaged and mocked those who belong to Him. In every
generation there have been those who look with disdainful pride on simple
believers who have little of this world’s wealth, but who are rich in the
things that have eternal worth. What these arrogant unbelievers fail to
realize is that in reproaching believers, and in exalting themselves against
God’s saints, they are doing it against God Himself, and are making themselves
heirs of his terrible wrath.
2:11. “The Lord 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 heathen.”
The Lord’s being terrible unto them means that His judgments would strike
terror into their hearts; but beyond the judgment that was then to fall upon
Moab and Ammon, we are being pointed forward to Christ’s judgment of the
nations at the end of the Tribulation. That judgment will fill the hearts of
every rebel with horror as they are arraigned before the Lord Jesus Christ and
are banished bodily into hell with its never ending torment, to await their
ultimate consignment to continued torment in the unquenchable flame of the
lake of fire.
“... he will famish all the gods of the earth” is a metaphorical way of saying
that He will cut off the worship formerly offered to idols, by showing their
deluded votaries that what they had worshiped as gods were powerless things
unable to see, speak, or hear, or respond in any way. They are of earth, not
heaven. That enlightenment will come too late for the unbelievers arraigned
before Christ at the end of the Tribulation. The universal worship of Jehovah
spoken of here will be that of the believing nations in the Millennium, “from
his place” reminding us that in addition to the worship that will be offered
in Jerusalem, every man will worship the Lord continually in his own home,
even as true believers do today.
2:12. “Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by
my sword.”
Because the Ethiopians were allied with Egypt and had apparently joined with
her in oppressing Israel, they too were to be destroyed, Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon being the instrument used by God to do that work.
2:13. “And he will stretch out his hand against
the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry
like a wilderness.”
While God has chosen to use nations such as Assyria to be His instruments of
chastisement against Israel (it was Assyria that led Israel, the ten northern
tribes, captive in 722 BC) it doesn’t necessarily follow that He looks upon
them with favor. The very opposite is true. He in His own time will punish
them, not only for their own wickedness, but also for having delighted in
being cruel to Israel. This threatened destruction of Assyria was carried out
by the Babylonians and Medes in the period between 612-609 BC, as recorded in
the book of Nahum.
The reference to Nineveh’s becoming “a desolation, and dry like a
wilderness,” is generally understood as referring to the destruction of the
numerous irrigation canals and ditches which contributed much to the fertility
of the region.
2:14. “And flocks shall lie down in the midst of
her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall
lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows;
desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.”
All of this was literally fulfilled. After its fall in 612 BC Nineveh lay a
ruin that was never rebuilt. As it decayed its ruins became the homes of the
creatures mentioned here, and in process of time even the ruins crumbled away,
and eventually the whole area became overgrown so that three hundred years
later it is reported that Alexander and his army marched over it without being
aware that the great city Nineveh had once occupied the site. Surely this is
a testimony to the impermanence of everything earthly, and a warning of the
need to have our citizenship in heaven.
It became pasture for sheep only after time had removed all trace of the
ruined buildings, and changed the site to grass covered mounds; and “beasts of
the nations” is simply another way of saying “many varieties of wild
creatures.”
2:15. “This is the rejoicing city that dwelt
carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside 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.”
Proud defiant Nineveh had imagined herself impregnable and peerless, and would
have laughed to scorn anyone who might have told her what she would become,
but none laughed that night when the river rose and swept away the foundation
of the king’s palace and a huge section of the city wall, thus enabling the
invaders to enter and destroy great Nineveh in a night. So will it be with
every man who dies unrepentant. The expulsion of his last breath will project
his soul from time into eternity, where in darkness that will never be
penetrated by a ray of light he will suffer eternal torment bewailing his
misspent life on earth when God had offered him eternal life in heaven, but he
had refused to accept that priceless gift.
In the days of her glory many undoubtedly had viewed great Nineveh with awe
and wonder, some perhaps in fear, but now those who beheld her hissed and
waved their hands either in derision, or in even greater wonder at the
destruction that had come in one night to the once great city. It will be
with similar awe that the survivors will view the desolation of this earth
devastated and brought to ruin by the Tribulation judgments.
[Zephaniah
3]