ZEPHANIAH LESSON 2


     We will begin this lesson in Zephaniah 2:1 "Gather yourselves
together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;"

     This is, probably, calling those together to repent of their
sins. It is a time of great shame. They are not desired because of
their sins.

     Zephaniah 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."

     This is like John the Baptist said; "Repent for the LORD is
coming".  This is just warning over and over, that there is still time
to repent, but they must do it quickly, before the anger of the LORD
is upon them. The three different mentions of the happenings of the
day is to show them this judgement of God is to come very soon. The
chaff is there today, but will be gone when the thresher comes. In
fact, this chaff will be burned.

     Zephaniah 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 is speaking to the people who have not strayed away from
God, but are still living the believer's life. This is saying to them,
that even more than they have done in the past, they must make a stand
for righteousness. Matthew 5:5 "Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall
inherit the earth." Even in the flood which covered the earth, God
saved Noah and His family, because of the righteousness of Noah.
Genesis 7:1 "And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house
into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this
generation." Whatever generation of people it is, God will protect the
meek and righteous, even in the midst of great judgement on the
sinners. It is a great comfort to know that God will protect them, if
they do remain righteous.

     Zephaniah 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."

     Gaza will be forsaken and depopulated, but in the time of
Alexander the great, it will be settled again. Jeremiah 25:20 "And all
the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the
kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and
Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,"  These were mentions of those who
will be destroyed by the oncoming army. Ashdod's destruction happens
at noon, which is a strange time to have a battle. Ashdod's
inhabitants are driven out and a remnant is left. Ekron is totally
rooted up.

     Zephaniah 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 sea coast area is between Gaza and Ekron. "Cherethites"
means cutters off, and is another name for the Philistines. Philistia
is in a sense, like Canaan, because they will be totally annihilated.
There will not be a remnant left of them.

     Zephaniah 2:6 "And the sea coast shall be dwellings [and]
cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks."

     The seacoast area was used for sheep and their shepherds, but the
caves were unsafe part of the year, because the sea backed up over the
land.

     Zephaniah 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."

     Ashkelon was destroyed, but later became a place of refuge for
the remnant of Judah. This area will be for the families of Judah who
will return to the land. God will restore Judah, and bring them back
from their captivity. God always has a remnant of Judah.

     Zephaniah 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 had always been opposed to Judah. Perhaps, it was because of
jealousy. The Moabites and the Ammonites were both descendents of lot.
Lot had children by his own daughters. Their children were the
beginning of the Moabites and the Ammonites. The Moabites and
Ammonites were not in very good standing with God. Jeremiah 12:14
"Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the
inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I
will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah
from among them."  They were, many times, grouped with wicked Edom.
Jeremiah 25:21 "Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,"

     Zephaniah 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."

     They had evil beginnings, and they had never changed. God speaks
of the absolute truth of this happening. He uses the expression "as I
live". He is eternal, so we know this is an unchangeable statement He
makes here. God, Himself, is LORD of hosts here, and God of Israel.
God rained fire and brimstone down on Gomorrah for their sins.
Gomorrah was totally destroyed. Their ancestor, Lot, and their mothers
were the only ones spared at Gomorrah. All living were killed. This is
what God is speaking of here, their total annihilation. This very
thing does happen, and brings desolation to Moab and Ammon. The people
of Judah will somewhat inhabit this desolate land at a later date. We
do know that the Lord Jesus {their Messiah} did offer salvation to
them, when He came to the earth. In a sense, they are inhabited by the
remnant. Even today, the place where they lived is a barren land.

     Zephaniah 2:10 "This shall they have for their pride, because
they have reproached and magnified [themselves] against the people of
the LORD of hosts."

     In a sense, they are relatives, because Lot was the nephew of
Abraham, and Ammon and Moab are descended from him. They have never
been friendly with the Israelites, however, and especially Judah. God
has warned, from the beginning, that those who are opposed to His
people are opposed to Him. God blesses those who bless His people, and
curses those who curse His people.

     Zephaniah 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."

     God is a jealous God. He will not tolerate the worship of false
gods. He has waited for His people to do away with their own false
gods, and the false gods of their neighbors, and they have not. Now,
God will do this Himself. He will come and destroy the false gods they
have been worshipping. He defamed the false gods in Egypt with His 10
plagues. He has given these people ample time to come to Him. Now, He
will destroy them, along with their false gods. This statement reaches
far beyond Ammon and Moab. God will not allow anyone, anywhere in the
earth, to worship false gods. God will not share His creation with
false gods. He will destroy the false gods, so all will turn to Him.
The very first commandment is Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other
gods before me."

     Zephaniah 2:12  "Ye Ethiopians also, ye [shall be] slain by my
sword."

     "Ethiopians" are the same as the Cushites. They, too, are an
idolatrous nation. These represent all the evil people from the south.
This was fulfilled, when the Assyrians conquered Egypt. The Sword of
Jesus Christ is the Word of God. They will be won to Christ someday by
that Word. Then the spiritual side of this fulfillment will take
place.

     Zephaniah 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."

     Assyria first is a conqueror, and then becomes the conquered. God
is opposed to Assyrians for the very same reason. They are idolaters.
They represent Israel's enemies to the North. "Nineveh" means house of
fish. They worshipped fish. We discussed the stretching of God's hand
shows action against these people. Nineveh was totally destroyed.
Nineveh became a deserted wasteland.

     Zephaniah 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."

     This speaks of the absence of habitation. A "cormorant" is a
pelican. A "bittern" is a wild bird. These two birds show the
desolation of this area. The wild beasts and wild birds have taken up
homestead here. The lintels are speaking of places where the birds
nest on top of posts that are left from the destruction. It appears,
the destroyed buildings still had windows, and they perched in there
and sang. The palaces had cedar paneling, as we read in another of the
prophetic books. Some of this cedar paneling seems to have not been
destroyed, when the destruction came. Now, the only ones enjoying all
this broken down splendor, are the wild birds and animals.

     Zephaniah 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."

     These had been a very proud people. They thought they were above
everyone else. They had no fear of others, because they thought they
were the greatest. Nineveh made a bad mistake, when she elevated
herself up to say "I am and there is none beside me". She was really
defying God. In more recent years, a shipmaker put a statement on his
ship that not even God could sink her. The ship was the Titanic, and
it sunk on its maiden voyage. It is a dangerous thing for a city, or a
ship, to proclaim power over God. That is what Nineveh had done. There
will be no pleasant memory of Nineveh. The city will be ridiculed
forever. Wag his hand is an expression of disgust.




















                       Zephaniah 2 Questions


1.  What is verse 1 calling them together for?
2.  What things were mentioned that they should repent of,before this
    happened?
3.  Who, in the New Testament, cried, "Repent for the Lord is coming"?
4.  Who is verse 3 directed to?
5.  What is it telling them to do?
6.  Quote Matthew chapter 5 verse 5.
7.  Why did God save Noah and his family in the flood?
8.  What great comfort is there for all of us who live for Jesus in
    verse 3?
9.  When will Gaza be populated again?
10. Quote Jeremiah chapter 25 verse 20.
]1. What unusual time does Ashdod's destruction come?
12. "Cherethites" means ___________ _____.
13. Philistia is, in a sense, like ___________.
14. Quote Zephaniah chapter 2 verse 6.
15. What happens to Ashkelon later?
16. God always has a remnant of __________.
17. The ____________ and ___________ were descendent of Lot and his
    two daughters.
18. Quote Jeremiah chapter 12 verse 14.
19. Moab shall be as ___________.
20. The children of Ammon as _____________.
21. What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah?
22. What happens to Moab and Ammon?
23. Why will God do this to them?
24. Those, who oppose God's people, are opposed to ______.
25. God is a __________ God.
26. Quote Exodus chapter 20 verse 3.
27. "Ethiopians" are the same as the ____________.
28. What is the Sword of Jesus?
29. What happens to Nineveh?
30. What will inhabit Nineveh?
31. What is a "cormorant"?
32. What is a "bittern"?
33. Why was Nineveh destroyed?