Zephaniah in Focus

One of the most common things that come up when I discuss the Bible (or Christianity at all) with my unbelieving friends is the somewhat extreme difference between God in the Old and New Testaments.  I mean, let’s not beat around the bush here, if you read the Old Testament the first time, the message tends to be that the Lord has a hate boner for uh…everything.  And that everything is punishable by fire.  And that the Lord will gladly punish everything by fire whenever he feels like it.  The OT isn’t really the most feel-good part of the “Good Book” is what I’m saying.

Zephaniah is absolutely one of those fire and brimstone Old Testament books.  In it we read about God leveling accusations against the unholy and a preview to all the destruction he’ll bring upon them.  So as a Jesus-era Christian, what am I supposed to do with any of this?  That’s what I asked the Holy Spirit while diving into Zephaniah and of course he delivered.  My desire is that what is presented here helps you to wade through the (unsurprisingly) dark prophecies of Zephaniah and maybe through them find hope in the Lord- be it in this waking life or maybe in the life to come.  Hopefully we can find some balance with the New Testament too while we’re at it.

But know this: the end is coming.  Let’s look to the end by turning back to Zephaniah’s words and find out what is in store for this world.

Zephaniah and the Destruction of Mankind (Zephaniah 1:1-6)

Like Puzzle Pieces (Zephaniah 1:7-11)

What’s the Hold Up? (Zephaniah 1:12-16)

Real Talk (Zephaniah 1:17-2:3)

The Punishment of Philistia (Zephaniah 2:4-7)

God Responds to Religious Bullies (Zephaniah 2:8-12)

Spiritual Arrogance (Zephaniah 2:13-3:2)

Holy Disappointment (Zephaniah 3:3-7)

Post-Apocalyptic Jerusalem (Zephaniah 3:8-12)

Happily Ever After (Zephaniah 3:13-17)

Zephaniah’s Epilogue: Israel (Zephaniah 3:18-20)