Zephaniah 2

Gather together, gather yourselves together, you shameful nation, before the decree takes effect and that day passes like windblown chaff, before the LORD’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the LORD’s wrath comes upon you. Zephaniah 2:1-2

The doubling of the same verb here (gather) emphasizes the writer’s thought. This is an urgent call for the gathering of a national religious assembly. This meeting would entreat the favor of the Lord by prayer and supplication, that he might turn away his fierce judgment. [1] Israel is here called a shameful nation or a nation not desired. Her many sins had burdened her with shame. Utley says, “The root is used of gathering dried chaff or stubble (cf. Exod. 5:7,12; Num. 15:32,33; 1 Kgs. 17:10).” [2] Israel’s many sins had made her worthless, she would pass away like windblown chaff on the day of judgment (cf. Psa. 1:4; Hos. 13:3).

This is an urgent call to repentance before the dreadful day of God’s judgment would fall upon the nation. Similarly, God’s call to repentance is surely going out to many of the earth’s peoples and nations today.

“Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger” (2:3). Guzik comments: “In more than one place, God promises to hide his righteous people in the day of great judgment. This is especially relevant to the time of the Great Tribulation when the Bible warns us to watch and pray always that we may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen and stand triumphantly before the Son of Man. (Lk. 21:36).” [3] Too often we do not realize the great strength of our Lord and we fail to humble ourselves before his mighty power.

In Detroit in the 1930s, three young men boarded a bus and attempted to pick a fight with a passenger sitting alone in the back. They threw one insult after another, but the man said nothing in response. Eventually, the bus came to the man’s stop. He stood, pulled a business card from his pocket, and handed it to one of the men before stepping off the bus and going on his way. It read: Joe Louis. Boxer. The three young men had tried to pick a fight with the future heavyweight boxing champion of the world, a title Joe Louis held from 1937 to 1949. [4]

God’s Wrath Against The Philistines

Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted. Zephaniah 2:4

Here the prophet begins to deal with nations on all the points of the compass. He first looks to the west and to Gaza as well as the other Philistine cities. There were five Philistine cities in all, Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron. It is true that Gaza was abandoned. In 332 BC Alexander the Great conquered the city. Alexander was lightly wounded in the siege, and he exacted vengeance by killing all the men and selling the women and children into slavery.

Today, Gaza is the largest city in the Gaza Strip, which is occupied by Palestinians who falsely claim to be Philistines, and it is ruled by the terrorist organization Hamas. Since October 7, 2023, the whole of the Gaza Strip has been at war with Israel. Since these Philistine cities were on a narrow coastal passageway, they were often attacked by the various empires nestled in the Fertile Crescent.

The coastal city of Ashkelon was conquered and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army in 604 BC. After 1948, the abandoned city was rebuilt by the Israelis. The population now exceeds 130,000.

The prophet continues, “At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted.” Phillips reports that Ashdod was in fact attacked and defeated at midday. [5] That is usually the time in the Middle East when people eat and take a nap. There is a play on words for the next city. Ekron means “deeply rooted,” so the deeply rooted will be uprooted. [6]

It is interesting that the city of Gath is not mentioned. Judah’s Kings Uzziah and Hezekiah had kept Gath in subjection (2 Ki. 18:8 and 2 Chr. 26:6).” [7] Today the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat is named for ancient Gath, although it is not in the ancient location. Kiryat Gat has a population of over 65, 000 people, including many new Russian immigrants.

“Woe to you who live by the sea, you Kerethite people; the word of the LORD is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines. He says, ‘I will destroy you, and none will be left. The land by the sea will become pastures having wells for shepherds and pens for flocks’” (2:5-6). The Kerethite people or Cherethites is a name indicating the Philistines. This name probably had a reference to the Island of Crete, from which the people came. These people were warriors who dealt Israel much harm in her early days. It is interesting that King David’s bodyguard was made up of the Cherethites and Pelethites (2 Sa. 8:18; 1 Ki. 1:38, 44). [8]

“That land will belong to the remnant of the people of Judah; there they will find pasture. In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon. The LORD their God will care for them; he will restore their fortunes” (2:7). Because of the foreign invasions, most of the permanent buildings would have been destroyed. Shepherds could easily construct themselves shelters from the ruins. [9] Both Ashkelon and Ashdod are now prosperous Israeli cities. Ashdod has a population approaching 230,000 and is Israel’s fifth-largest city. Ashdod is known for its bustling seaport and its industry.

Moab And Ammon To The East

I have heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammonites, who insulted my people and made threats against their land. Zephaniah 2:8

Strangely, Moab and Ammon were Israel’s kinfolks, since they sprang from the incestuous relationship of Lot’s daughters (cf. Gen 19:36-38). Yet, they became bitter enemies. Because of it, they were destined for permanent desolation (cf., Isa. 16:6; Jer. 48:25-27; Ezek. 25:3, 6, 8). [10]

“‘Therefore, as surely as I live,’ declares the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, ‘surely Moab will become like Sodom, the Ammonites like Gomorrah – a place of weeds and salt pits, a wasteland forever. The remnant of my people will plunder them; the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.’ This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the LORD Almighty” (2:9-10). Their judgment was so great that they were compared to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. They ridiculed Judah at the news of her destruction (Jer. 48:27), but that same enemy returned to destroy them some five years later.

Their lands would become places of weeds and salt pits, pictures of desolation. Homer Hailey reports how the famous archaeologist Nelson Glueck located hundreds of ruins of ancient Moabite and Ammonite villages, all bearing testimony to the prophet’s accuracy. [11] Sadly, their ancient hatred continued much later. Phillips remarks: “…When the Jews came back from their exile in Babylon, two men united in opposing the rebuilding of Jerusalem, Tobiah, (an Ammonite) and Sanballat (a Horonite – that is, a Moabite).” [12]

The ruins of their cities are located today in the country of Jordan. While scattered Moabites and Ammonites may remain, their countries are gone forever.

Cush To The South

The LORD will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the earth. Distant nations will bow down to him, all of them in their own lands. “You Cushites, too, will be slain by my sword.” Zephaniah 2:11-12

God is at war with the gods of this earth, including all the modern and postmodern gods we have today. The Lord mentions the Cushites, whom he will slay. The Cushites are Ethiopians, whose land is located south of the First Cataract of the Nile. They ruled over Egypt from about 720 to 654 BC (cf. Isa. 11:11; 18:1). This prophecy was fulfilled in Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Egypt, since the two countries were bound closely together (cf. Jer. 46:9). [13]

It is interesting how the Lord describes his war with the false gods. The Hebrew raza means to make thin. God is going to starve them to death since they will no longer be receiving offerings and sacrifices. [14]

Old enemies somehow tend to hang around, or at least their remnants hang around. In Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, we learn that Russia will have Ethiopia as an ally when it invades Israel in the last days. [15]

Assyria In The North

He will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert. Zephaniah 2:13

The country of Assyria was to the northeast of Israel. Still, due to the vast desert areas, both Assyria and Babylon had to invade Israel from the north. Assyria was by far the most cruel of all Israel’s enemies. Obviously, the nation was still in existence when Zephaniah made his prophecy. Historians tell us that Assyria fell to the Babylonians and Medes and was destroyed from 612-609 BC. Bible scholars, Charles Pfeiffer and Everett Harrison say of its capital, “Nineveh was so completely destroyed that its location was lost to the memory of man until rediscovered by archaeologists during the nineteenth century.” [16] Actually, the Greek military leader Xenophon went through the area in 401 BC without realizing that a great city had once occupied the spot. [17]

“Flocks and herds will lie down there, creatures of every kind. The desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns. Their hooting will echo through the windows, rubble will fill the doorways, the beams of cedar will be exposed” (2:14). Utley says, “This animal terminology is often used of total destruction, total deportation, cursed ground with elements of the demonic present.” [18]

The description of the animals (or birds) listed has almost driven commentators mad. Clearly, herds of animals are lying down there. Also, the pelican ( Heb. ka-at) and the porcupine (ki-ppod) will be there. Translators have also listed them as cormorants, hedgehogs, tawny owls, bitterns, and a number of other guesses. In any case, there will be much hooting, squawking or chirping from the tops of her pillars (cf. Isa. 34:11).

“This is the city of revelry that lived in safety. She said to herself, ‘I am the one! And there is none besides me.’ What a ruin she has become, a lair for wild beasts! All who pass by her scoff and shake their fists” (2:15). Mighty Nineveh said, “‘I am, and there is none besides me’ Thus, in effect, Nineveh claimed for herself the attributes of Almighty God.” [19]

Truly, in the natural sense Nineveh was something to behold. Jamieson says, “Nothing then seemed more improbable than that the capital of so vast an empire, a city sixty miles in compass, with walls one hundred feet high, and so thick that three chariots could go abreast on them, and with fifteen hundred towers, should be so destroyed that its site is with difficulty discovered. Yet so it is, as the prophet foretold.” [20] We note how it took the prophet Jonah three days walking just to cross a portion of the city. Yet, God brought the great city to the dust. Truly, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).

Footnotes

1. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 226.

2. Utley, Free Bible Study, Zephaniah, v. 2:1.

3. Guzik, The Enduring Word Bible Commentary, v. 2:3.

4. David Jeremiah, A Life beyond Amazing (Nashville: W. Publishing Group, 2017), p. 153.

5. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 227.

6. Utley, Free Bible Study, Zephaniah, v. 2:4.

7. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 227.

8. Ibid.

9. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 886.

10. D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer, A.M. Stibbs, D. J. Wiseman, The New Bible Commentary: Revised (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970), p. 778.

11. Quoted in Coffman, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Zephaniah, v. 2:9.

12. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 235.

13. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 229.

14. Adam Clarke, The Adam Clarke Commentary, Commentary on Zephaniah, 1832, v. 2:11. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/acc/zephaniah-1.html.

15. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 236.

16. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 886.

17. Coffman, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Zephaniah, v. 2:13.

18. Utley, Free Bible Study, Zephaniah, v. 2:14.

19. Coffman, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Zephaniah, v. 2:15.

20. Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Zephaniah, v. 2:15.