Zephaniah 2:
1 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation,
The Lord appeals to His people to gather for a solemn demonstration of mourning and repentance. “Undesirable nation” in the Hebrew literally means "a nation that knows no shame." Does America today know any shame?
2 Before the decree is issued, Or the day passes like chaff, Before the LORD's fierce anger comes upon you, Before the day of the LORD's anger comes upon you!
The announcement of judgment in the previous chapter is a warning, the Lord pleads with His people to repent. This shows us the urgent need of repentance before the coming of the Day of the Lord. This message is meant for us today as much as it was for Israel back then.
3 Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the LORD's anger.
Please notice: “all you meek of the earth,” not just Israel (or Judah). We must take heed of this warning; we need to continue to pursue righteous behavior by listening to and obeying God. If we do this the Lord will hide us (with Him in heaven) when He pours out His anger on the unrepentant world. This is especially relevant to before the Rapture and during the Great Tribulation, The meek bow themselves to God's will under His chastisements, but the ungodly only become more hardened.
4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, And Ashkelon desolate; They shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, And Ekron shall be uprooted.
This is a dual fulfillment prophecy like all of Zephaniah; it covers very well the Babylonian invasion, but it also reaches out to the return of Christ our Lord. Looking to the end of the chapter, all four points of the compass are included in the sweeping condemnations.
This prophecy had clear meaning for the people of Zephaniah's day and it has clear meaning to us about the final destruction of all the nations of the earth in the final judgment. These were four cities of the Philistines and they still exist today; being driven out at noon implies an unexpected time because the people normally rest during the hottest part of the day.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: "I will destroy you; So there shall be no inhabitant."
The Cherethites (a reference to their early links with Crete) are the same as the Philistines who inhabited the Mediterranean seacoast. Canaan is used here in a general sense for the apostate and reprobate nations of the world.
6 The seacoast shall be pastures, With shelters for shepherds and folds for flocks.
The land along the coast (which is now populated) will be a pasture filled with cisterns and sheepfolds.
7 The coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; They shall feed their flocks there; In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the LORD their God will intervene for them, And return their captives.
This prophecy has been partially fulfilled during our lifetime, for over a thousand years the land was pasture used by the Bedouins for grazing. When Israel became a nation again, they rebuilt the Philistine cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon into Jewish communities.
8 "I have heard the reproach of Moab, And the insults of the people of Ammon, With which they have reproached My people, And made arrogant threats against their borders.
Moab is present day Jordan and Ammon is its capital city. Jordan took the West Bank from Israel when Israel became a nation in 1948.
9 Therefore, as I live," Says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Surely Moab shall be like Sodom, And the people of Ammon like Gomorrah— Overrun with weeds and saltpits, And a perpetual desolation. The residue of My people shall plunder them, And the remnant of My people shall possess them."
The remnant of Israel after coming to Christ at the end of the great Tribulation will fight alongside Christ and plunder and possess the land of Jordan that will be devastated by God’s judgments during the Tribulation.
10 This they shall have for their pride, Because they have reproached and made arrogant threats Against the people of the LORD of hosts.
God will bring this fate upon all nations because of their pride and arrogant ridicule of His people. Moab and Ammon in this prophecy represent the worldly opposition to the Word of God throughout history. God will eventually judge His enemies in the most appropriate manner.
11 The LORD will be awesome to them, For He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth; People shall worship Him, Each one from his place, Indeed all the shores of the nations.
When Christ our Lord returns He will remove all unbelievers from the earth (sheep and goat judgment), all the nations will see His awesome Glory and will worship God.
12 "You Ethiopians also, You shall be slain by My sword."
Biblical Ethiopia occupied the territory which is now southern Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, and northern Ethiopia.
13 And He will stretch out His hand against the north, Destroy Assyria, And make Nineveh a desolation, As dry as the wilderness.
God completes the circle of judgment against Israel’s neighbors by judging Assyria. This is not the place to explain how Assyria and Nineveh fit into the end times, that is a giant wall of text for another time.
14 The herds shall lie down in her midst, Every beast of the nation. Both the pelican and the bittern Shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars; Their voice shall sing in the windows; Desolation shall be at the threshold; For He will lay bare the cedar work.
Wild creatures will take over this once proud city.
15 This is the rejoicing city That dwelt securely, That said in her heart, "I am it, and there is none besides me." How has she become a desolation, A place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her Shall hiss and shake his fist.
Nineveh claimed for herself the attributes of Almighty God (and she will once again in the end days). Nineveh represents the powers of this world which deify themselves and defy the Lord. Assyria, the second head of the beast of Rev. 13, was for centuries a focal point of the world's rebellion against God. In her judgment and destruction there is contained the prophecy of the ultimate overthrow of all successive kingdoms of human opposition to the will of God.
Submitted March 25, 2016 at 02:12PM by Unknown
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