ZEPHANIAH 1, 2 AND 3 - THE DAY OF THE LORD
ZEPHANIAH 1, 2 AND [p. 68] 3 - THE DAY OF THE LORD
Zephaniah 1; Zephaniah 2; Zephaniah 3
We have noticed in the prophets already considered many references to the day of Jehovah. As Zephaniah gives particular prominence to the day of Jehovah it would be well to consider it a little. A consideration of the different ways in which that coming day is presented in the New Testament would help us greatly in the understanding of the structure and teaching of the prophecy of Zephaniah; we want to come to Zephaniah in the light of what is brought out in the New Testament.
The expression “the day of the Lord” is the same as “the day of Jehovah”. Zephaniah, Isaiah and most of the prophets refer to it. In 1 Thessalonians 5 the apostle says to those young converts through his teaching, “Ye know perfectly well ... that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief by night”. Well, do we? I believe it is always presented in Scripture as a time of dreadful affliction.
Zephaniah means “Whom the Lord hides” or “treasures”. We need to have that day before us, as soon the day of the Lord is actually coming on the earth and will affect men, women and children in a very short time. God is very shortly going to deal with everything on the earth that is displeasing to Himself in a way of most terrible judgment. “But ye brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief”, 1 Thessalonians 5: 4. “So then do not let us sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be sober”, 1 Thessalonians 5: 6. So it has a most important bearing on all saints, calculated to lead to watchfulness and sobriety and separation from the world of the ungodly. These people thought that Jehovah was asleep. “Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil”, Zephaniah 1: 12. The day of the Lord is suspended in the longsuffering of the Lord to allow of repentance in sinner and saint. If I am going on with anything that will not bear the day of the Lord, which is just about to come, I had better repent. We are apt to put off not only the coming of the Lord but also the day of wrath, so that it would affect our testimony. God has in mind the formation of a people with features that please Him and that are suitable to the day. We are “sons of the day”, that is, carrying something of the dignity of the day. So here a remnant comes to light, persons that are characterised by meekness.
“[p. 69] Seek Jehovah, all ye meek of the land, who have performed his ordinance; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of Jehovah’s anger”. Zephaniah 2: 3.
There are other thoughts in 1 Corinthians 1: 7; “so that ye come short in no gift, awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall also confirm you to the end, unimpeachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ”. It is good to know that our Lord Jesus Christ is going to have His day. His revelation is going to take place — He is hidden in the heavens at the moment — He is coming forth. All the saints will come with Him, and they will be unimpeachable; no charge can be brought against them. The saints are made suitable to be the associates of the Lord Jesus Christ in His day. It shows that the matter is viewed here entirely of grace; on no other ground could these Corinthian believers be spoken of as unimpeachable in His day; Paul was about to charge them with a good many offences. There was a beautiful touch about this, because it shows that the saints will be made not only ready for heaven (1 Thessalonians 4) and for the Father’s house (John 14), but for the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, for public display. These thoughts have to be taken up in our minds in connection with the day of Jehovah.
There is a very touching reference in 1 Corinthians 5: 5, “To deliver him ... to Satan for destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus”. It is the spirit in contrast to the flesh in view of some terrible discipline coming on the man’s body, but then it is in view of the spirit being saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. It shows the ability of the Lord Jesus in His own day to save the spirit of a believer who has behaved shamefully and disgracefully in his practical life and has been delivered to Satan for severe discipline. It gives a beautiful touch to the day of the Lord Jesus. The apostle does not speak of the man being restored to the communion of God’s people; he goes beyond to the day of the Lord. Even with the Corinthians he looks to the ultimate triumph of the day of the Lord Jesus when everything would be accomplished in the power and grace that is in Him.
The Lord said of Abraham that he “rejoiced to see my day”. It was in Isaac that he saw it. Man after the flesh could not bear to see it, for all that shines forth then will be connected with the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing would be more intolerable to men naturally than to think of His absolute supremacy. It was detestable to Ishmael ... . But there will be those who love His [p. 70] appearing. That brings us to Philippians 1: 6, where we have “Jesus Christ’s day”, which gives a very precious touch to the thought of the day, and might be spoken of as the moral character of the day. “He who has begun in you a good work will complete it unto Jesus Christ’s day”. Jesus Christ is the lowly Man who walked this earth in lowliness in that beautiful path down here, and He is going to have a day, and saints down here are going to be formed after Christ, suitable to come out in correspondence with Christ morally, subjects of the work of God. Paul was sure He would complete it, not only by God’s work directly, but by ministry, that is, by Paul’s labour; so he says, “Do all things without murmurings and reasonings, that ye may be harmless and simple, irreproachable children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation; among whom ye appear as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life, so as to be a boast for me in Christ’s day, that I have not run in vain, nor laboured in vain”, Philippians 2: 14, 15. They come out like that as the result of Paul’s ministry; every saint is a bright star in the sky. All this brings us back to Zephaniah, to the beautiful thought in chapter 2 “Seek Jehovah, all ye meek of the land, who have performed his ordinance; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of Jehovah’s anger”. We take that up in the light of all we have been considering in the New Testament. The Lord could say, “I am meek and lowly in heart”, and Paul, “I beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ”. It is remarkable that in Hebrew the word for meekness and affliction is the same. By affliction God brings in this quality of meekness, it breaks down the pride and haughtiness of the flesh and brings in meekness.
Now all these things have to be brought together in their practical power in connection with the day of the Lord. Everything that man prides himself in is coming down. We anticipate the judgment seat, I suppose, personally. Whatever God’s wrath is coming upon, everything of man’s boast, everything brought about by the fall of man, is coming down; Isaiah shows that; the testimony of Scripture is very definite about it. So God is working to have a people that have come under the influence of “the day of the Lord”, and “the day of the Lord Jesus”, and “the day of Christ”. What a wonderful privilege of the apostles it was to walk about with Him! They never heard a word from His lips that savoured of the world or in approbation of what was going on in the world. He spoke of “the days of the Son of man”.
[p. 71] What days they were! What features marked them! We are no good in the testimony if we are not after Christ. God wants a people after Christ, so these people (chapter 2:3) are secured; we find that God makes room for them. The Philistines are destroyed that there may be room for the house of Judah, and he says, “Jehovah their God shall visit them, and turn again their captivity”. They are sure to be in captivity here in the world, but Jehovah is going to turn their captivity, so that He will visit them. What could be more blessed than to be in that state of separation and character that the Lord could visit us! He does visit certain people in this world yet.
There is an added reason found in verses 8 and 9 for the judgment. It is wonderful that God can own them as His people in verse 9, calling them, “the remnant of my people”. It means that God will dispossess those that have seized the land of Canaan, and His people will possess it. There are powers now, religious powers, that will keep God’s people out of their inheritance; God would put all that aside and bring His people to rest in their inheritance. They have to be formed morally to be in suitability to the day of Jehovah. All this has to be taken in and we have to come into harmony with it. That is why we have to stand apart from the world politically, religiously and socially — because judgment is coming on it. The Lord loves to gather His own together in the enjoyment of these things, and His love and His principles of acting do not change with the dispensations. Everything that is an idol will be annihilated in that day (verse 11): “Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day”. Psalm 82: 8 says, “Thou shalt inherit all the nations”. What a comfort it is that God is coming into His own! What is all the power of the earth worth, viewed at from the standpoint of heaven’s view! It is all going to be dispossessed soon. It is better to have what is given by God and that no power of evil can take away; and if God makes His people happy nothing can disturb their happiness. This is all preparatory to chapter 3, so that there is to be that which is morally suitable to come into it. God wants everyone of us in a state of heart that yields Him perpetual pleasure; He wants us all in that state.
The Philistines, the Moabites, the Ethiopians and the Assyrians are all dealt with in chapter 2; nothing escapes Jehovah’s notice. In chapter 3 He turns to Jerusalem, His own city, and finds that all is intensely displeasing to Him there. All that He wanted was that she would receive correction (verses 2 and 7). Correction [p. 72] has an important place with God if His people are wrong. We find that five assemblies out of seven are spoken to in reproof in Revelation. Correction is God’s putting His people right. What a mercy it is that God is always ready to correct His people when it is necessary! “Only fear me, receive correction”, He says, then everything can be put right. If there is no disposition for correction, there is a very sad state indeed; there was none on Jerusalem’s part: “they rose early, they corrupted all their doings”. It is the condition of the mass of Christians today. So we see at the end of this chapter that God has to move in the sovereignty of His love to produce something in correspondence with Himself when there was not anything.
Verses 11 to 13 describe God’s oblation. The end of verse 10 says, “My suppliants ... shall bring mine oblation”; that is, God gets His portion. It would be good for us to take the line indicated here. Verse 9 says, “For them will I turn to the peoples a pure language”. The first thing He does is to teach them to pray. The first utterance of a pure language is when one can speak to God; to call upon God’s name is a pure language. It is a first mark of a sovereign movement of God in the soul; thus a revolution is brought about. To obtain a link with God in calling upon His name is a revolution. “My suppliants” — it is a beautiful expression, speaking of a certain class that God can regard as His people. We would like to be among them. It indicates a very definite desire to have something from God. Those are the people we are to look out for; we are to follow with those that call on the name of the Lord out of a pure heart. And prayer must lead to service. “That they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent”. The footnote reads, “with one shoulder”. The result of prayer is a united desire to serve God for His pleasure. The true remnant must be ever marked by these things. A pure language is not mere formal prayer, for that will not secure anything; with it there is no self-confidence, no leaning on anything but God.
The features of the oblation come out in verses 11, 12 and 13. The first thing God takes away is spiritual pride, which may be in the favour He has shown us; He takes away that spirit. “Thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain”. God does not give us marks of His favour to build up the flesh; it is a subtle and self-satisfying pride that He roots out of us. “An afflicted and poor people” is the people He gets on with! There is nothing in man for God but what He has Himself wrought [p. 73] sovereignly. Mary was morally suited to be the vessel for bringing in the Lord, that Holy One. Of Elizabeth and Simeon it says that they spoke in the Spirit; Mary spoke out of her own inwardness, for it does not say that she spoke by the Spirit. Simeon was a very definite part of the oblation in that day, he was entirely taken up with the excellence that was in Another. In verse 13 they are morally suited. God loves to see His own character reproduced in His people, and then there is nothing to disturb the conditions of rest of the soul. “They shall feed and lie down”. They will be gathered where they were scattered. The dispersion is greater today; but if saints only prayed about matters, would it not be all put right? Persons who pray must come into one mind. It is impossible that two praying persons should be found not coming into accord; having no will of their own, they would get into line with God’s mind and be of one accord.