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Zephaniah, Prophet of divine protection, Part 8

In the third chapter of Zephaniah the prophet expresses the charges against Jerusalem in the divine court and gives God’s final verdict. Zephaniah 3:1 says,

¹ Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the tyrannical city!

After issuing judgment against surrounding nations in the second chapter of Zephaniah, the prophet then turns attention to Jerusalem. The city was meant to be holy and a light to the nations, but has become rebellious, polluted, and oppressive. Amos 1 and 2 utilizes a similar tactic, condemning surrounding nations for their idolatry and oppression before condemning Judah and Jerusalem for the same reasons.

Condemning surrounding nations first gives the prophets an interested audience, which loved to hear such things. But God is impartial in His judgments, and Jerusalem thus finds itself condemned for committing the same sins that the other nations have committed. This is covenantal tragedy: chosen to display God’s justice, they mirror the nations instead.

So the prophet calls Jerusalem (literally) “the tyrannical city,” or the city of oppression, which did not live up to its given name, City of Peace. Isaiah 1:10 refers to Jerusalem as Gomorrah. Isaiah 1:21 says, “the faithful city has become a harlot.” Ezekiel 16:32, 33 agrees with Isaiah. Ezekiel 22:2 calls it “the bloody city.”

Four Charges Against Jerusalem

In Zephaniah 3:2 God charges the tyrannical city with four things:

² She heeded no voice, she accepted no instruction, she did not trust in the Lord, she did not draw near to her God.

She would listen to none of the prophets; she was not correctable, she put trust in false gods rather than in the Lord, and she refused to “draw near to God.” The fourth charge reminds us of the precedent set at Mount Sinai, when Israel was first organized as a nation. When God summoned the people to draw near to Him, they refused. Exodus 20:18 says, “they stood at a distance.” Verse 21 says, “So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.”

From a New Testament perspective, to draw near to God is to “abide in Him” (1 John 2:28). God is love, and those who abide in Him are able to love with the love of God. 1 John 4:16 says,

¹⁶ We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

No one can truly know the mind of God—or even His love—unless they are willing to draw near to Him. It appears that the problem in Moses’ day was the same as in the time of Zephaniah. The root of the problem was fear—a lack of love, because “the one who fears is not perfected in love” (1 John 4:18).

The Old Covenant was rooted in fear; the New Covenant is rooted in love. When the Israelites refused to draw near and to abide in Him, they fell short of knowing the love of God. Hence, they did not truly know His nature. They knew Him only as a God of terrifying power. Neither did they truly understand His wisdom, for Moses said in Deuteronomy 4:5, 6,

⁵ See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. ⁶ So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

When the Israelites refused to draw near to God, they sent Moses up the Mount to hear God on their behalf. Moses, then, went alone to receive the rest of the law, receiving it by revelation. The Spirit of God then wrote the law on Moses’ heart (by revelation), but the people themselves had to receive the law on (external) tablets of stone. Hence, the law was imposed upon their unwilling flesh, which resisted the Holy Spirit, leaving them in their foolishness.

Charges Against Civil and Religious Leaders

Jerusalem is then condemned for its oppressive civil and religious leaders. Zephaniah 3:3, 4 says,

³ Her princes within her are roaring lions, her judges are wolves at evening; they leave nothing for the morning. ⁴ Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.

The “princes… are roaring lions,” inspired not by the Holy Spirit but by the devil. 1 Peter 5:8 refers to this, saying,

⁸ Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Proverbs 28:15 says,

¹⁵ Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

Lions and bears are powerful creatures, against whom most men are helpless. So also are wicked rulers who rule the people without a heart of love. The judges are compared to “wolves at evening,” when they hunt their prey. They consume everything, symbolizing ruthless greed and injustice. The very ones meant to uphold justice become predators.

Prophets are fickle, treacherous men who twist God’s word, speaking for hire or popularity. Priests profane what is holy. Instead of guarding the temple, they treat the sacred as common, violating the covenant.

They violate the law. Rather than teach the law, they distort it, destroying its intent. This is usually done, not overtly, but by giving precedence to their incorrect interpretation of the law. Isaiah 29:13 says,

¹³ Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote” [repetition].

Traditional interpretations, once they gain general acceptance, are then repeated in later generations and presumed to be true and accurate. But sometimes such traditional teachings come from those who have not learned to abide in Him. They then interpret the word of God through the lens of fear, rather than love, and through Old Covenant eyes, rather than through New Covenant understanding.

Isaiah 29:13 must be viewed in the context of verse 10, which says,

¹⁰ For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, the seers.

In other words, the prophets and seers could be at a disadvantage in their understanding of the word. Even if their intent is noble, their understanding may be faulty, due to the “spirit of deep sleep” that God has imposed as a judgment upon the people. Referring to Isaiah 29:13, Jesus asked the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 15:3, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

Results of God’s Verdict

Zephaniah 3:5 says,

⁵ The Lord is righteous within her [Jerusalem]. He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the unjust knows no shame.

God is not like the leaders in Jerusalem. He stands in direct contrast with the “roaring lions” and the “wolves” who sit as judges. God’s law is righteous and just, if interpreted and applied correctly and impartially. Those who fail to study the law of God tend to disagree with portions of it. Sometimes men argue that it is devoid of love, when, in fact, the entire law hangs upon love for God and one’s neighbor. Mercy is a right given to the victims of injustice.

Rulers may destroy; judges may condemn the innocent; prophets may deceive; priests may profane; but God Himself remains true.