Zephaniah 1:1-18
Zephaniah prophesied in the reign of the faithful Josiah. Why then does his book speak so severely? It is because only under constraint had the people followed the good example of their king (2 Chronicles 34:33). Condemnation of similar severity falls on:1. the idolaters;2. those who are double-minded, trying to serve at the same time both the LORD and Malcham (or Moloch);3. those who turn away deliberately;4. finally, the great majority who are indifferent, who do not seek the LORD, and do not inquire of Him (vv. 4-6).These same classes of people are still with us today, and are hastening on to the same judgment. For if these prophecies have had a partial fulfilment in the past, let us not forget that the terrible "great day of the LORD" is still to come. It has been proclaimed for more than 2,500 years by the prophets, confirmed by the Lord Jesus in the gospels and finally by the apostles in the epistles. Already near in the time of Zephaniah, it is even much more so now (v. 14). Let us remember then these words "spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of the apostles of the Lord and Saviour". And let us be careful not to forget "the promise of his coming" (2 Peter 3:2-4).