The Strand Study Bible

ZEPHANIAH 1:9

ZEPHANIAH 2:9

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9 1 In the same 2 DAY also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit. P P 10 And 1 it shall come to pass in that 2 DAY , saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the 3 second, and a great crashing from the hills. P P 11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, 1 for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off. P 12 And 1 it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish themen that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, 4 The LORDwill not do good, neither will he do evil. P 13 1 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. P 14 1 The great 2 DAY OF THE LORD is near, 5 it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the 6 voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. P P 15 1 That day is a 2 DAY OF WRATH , a day of trouble and distress, a day of waste- ness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick dark- ness, P P 1 7 16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. 1 17 1 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like 8 blind men, be- cause they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the 9 dung. P 18 1 Neither their 10 silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the 2 DAY OF THE LORD’S WRATH ; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. P P Zephaniah 2 There is safety in the “ DAY OF WRATH ” Date Written - c. 628 BC/AM 3372

1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; 2 Before the decree 1 bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, be- fore the 2 DAY OF THE LORD’S ANGER come upon you. P P 3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: 11 it may be 12 ye shall be hid 1 in the 2 DAY OF THE LORD’S ANGER . P P The promise of Philistia’s complete 4 13 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ash- kelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up. P 5 13 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Ca- naan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. P 6 13 And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks. P The promise to bring Israel back to Jerusalem (Fulfilled - Ezra 1:1-3 - 536 BC) 7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed there- upon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: 14 for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity 1 The promise of Moab and Ammon’s 8 15 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of 16 Am- mon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border. 9 Therefore as I live, saith the LORD OF HOSTS , the God of Israel, 17 Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breed- ing of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual fall to Babylon (Fulfilled - 586 BC) fall to Babylon (Fulfilled - 582 BC)

1. Fulfilled - II Ki 25 (Fall of Judah) 2. Fulfilled - Rev 19:11-21 (Christ’s Second Coming) 3. or, “suburb of Jerusalem” 4. Note - Deism (the belief that God exists and that He created the world but thereafter assumed no control over it - The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil ) was alive and well even in Zephaniah’s day. 5. Joel 1:15 & 2:1,11 6. Rev 19:15 7. Jere 4:19 8. Deut 28:29 9. Jere 9:22 10. Ezk 7:19 11. Amos 5:14-15 & Ezk 9:4-6 & 11:14-16 of caring for His “own” ( ye shall be hid ) in the midst of judgment - Lk 17:27-28 . 13. Fulfilled - 586 BC (Fall of Philistia) (See - Ezk 25:15-17) 14. Fulfilled - Ezra 1:1-3 (Israel Returns Under Cyrus) (See - Jere 29:14) 15. Jere 48:1,26-29 & Ezk 25:8-11 16. Jere 49:1-6 & Ezk 25:3,10 17. Fulfilled - 582 BC (Fall of Moab) 12. Note - God is fully capable

1:12 a Lees are the residue and/or sediments of grapes that lie at the bottom of wine vats. What God was saying was that the people of God had become settled, indifferent, at ease, apathetic and complacent about the things of God (Jere 48:11-12, Amos 6:1 and Psa 75:8). Charles Stanley in Confronting Casual Christianity notes:

The severest sin of a Christian is a numbing lack of concern, an anesthetized attitude of “I don’t care. I’m in the fold. Why should I concern myself? I have a fire insurance policy against hell.” 1 Sadly, the unorganized indifference within the ranks of the church members is far more destructive to the work of the Lord than all the organized forces of iniquity assailing from the outside. Truly, the greatest threat to the Christian world is not the evil without, but the “apathy” within.

1 Stanley, Charles. Confronting Casual Christianity , Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Pub. 1985. Print

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