II Kings 22; Zephaniah 1-3
I noted yesterday that Josiah was regarded as a good king. We see that today, right off the bat:
And [Josiah] did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
II Kings 22:2
Today we see Josiah concerned about the restoration of the Temple, an item that had been both ignored and blasphemed by his father and grandfather. We’ll read more about Josiah over the next few days. For now, Zephaniah…
Zephaniah is known as a “minor prophet”, one of twelve so named in the Old Testament. They are “minor” in length, not in importance and are less well known because they are shorter and are less often quoted. By contrast, we are more well acquainted with the major prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
The book of Zephaniah is mostly about condemnation. That’s all we see in the first two and one-half chapters, condemnation on Judah (Jerusalem), Moab, Philistia, Ammon, Cush (Ethiopia) and Assyria, then finally Jerusalem again. However, prior to those nations being named, Zephaniah speaks condemnation on the whole earth in the first chapter. He speaks of “the day of the LORD”:
Be silent before the Lord GOD!
Zephaniah 1:7-9
For the day of the LORD is near;
the LORD has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
And on the day of the LORD’s sacrifice—
“I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
On that day I will punish
everyone who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master’s house
with violence and fraud.
… ”
Zephaniah is not quoted explicitly anywhere in the Bible, but the “day of the LORD” is widely cited. One Internet reference listed 86 occurrences of that phrase in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, Micah, Malachi, Daniel, Hosea, and Zechariah, in addition to a number of New Testament references. (https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Day-Of-The-Lord)
Zephaniah closes his book with hope. He sees the restoration of Israel’s remnant in Zeph. 3:9-20, a very different tone from the rest of the book. One verse in particular is known in music to many of us:
The LORD your God is in your midst,
Zephaniah 3:17
a mighty One who will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness;
He will quiet you by His love;
He will exult over you with loud singing.
Here are the lyrics:
The Lord your God is in your midst,
Ernie Rettino – Listen to an instrumental version on YouTube
The Lord of lords Who saves;
He will exult over you with joy,
He will renew you in His love,
He will rejoice over you
With shouts of joy! With shouts of joy!
With shouts of joy! With shouts of joy!
With shouts of joy!
Warning: You’ll have “shouts of joy” in your head the rest of the morning!!
So, a happy ending for Zephaniah!
One more thing…
As church Treasurer I had to chuckle over II Kings 22:7, But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly. The workmen for the Temple restoration had been given the money, but no receipts were required of them. How different that is for us today, where church audits require that every dollar be accounted for!