June 10 - Zephaniah 2

June 10 – Zephaniah 2:1-15

As Zephaniah calls the people of Israel to gather in humility, he begs them to seek the Lord, to seek righteousness as these are the only things that will offer shelter from the Lord’s wrath.

Judah was surrounded on all sides by nations that were condemned by the Lord. The rest of this chapter consists of oracles or prophecies against these nations.

To the west was Philistia along the coast. (Zephaniah 1:4-7) The city names Ashkelon and Ashdod are similar in sound to words that mean ‘waste’ (Ashkelon) and ‘to expel’ (Ashdod). The oracle finishes with a promise that the remnant of the House of Judah would return to possess the land.

To the east were Moab and Ammon. These tribes were descended from Lot’s daughters and had always been enemies of Israel. Though the Lord was finished with their verbal threats, taunts and insults, their long history with God’s kingdom included battles with both Saul and David.

God promised that the remnant would also take over this land. (Zephaniah 2:8-11)

Cush lay to the south, the country we know as Ethiopia. (Zephaniah 2:12) Not much was said, just assurance that the Lord would destroy them.

To the north was Assyria (Zephaniah 2:13-15). Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and at the time of Zephaniah was known for being invincible and very cruel. For much of the last 100 years, Assyria had demanded a tribute from Judah to ensure peace.

In 609 bc, Assyria fell and Nineveh was destroyed. Due to the huge number of irrigation lines that came through the city, desolation possessed the capital of Assyria when the armies of Babylonia and the Medes allied with the Egyptian Pharoah. Her time of rule was finished and she was nothing more than a ruined pile of rubble.