Fall Preaching Series on THE MINOR PROPHETS God's Mechanic: ZEPHANIAH Historical Context            Zephaniah is the only prophet introduced with a lineal genealogy of such depth. His ancestry is traced back four generations to a person named Hezekiah (Zephaniah 1:1). Although this Hezekiah is not specifically designated as the famous king by that name, most likely the prophet wanted to highlight his royal lineage as a descendant of one of Judah’s good kings. The reference to “this place” in Zephaniah 1:4 indicates that he prophesied in Jerusalem, while his many references to temple worship display a strong familiarity with Israel’s religious culture. All these factors paint the picture of a man who was at the center of Judah’s political and religious world, a man whose close proximity to those in power would have given his message pointed accuracy and an even greater impact.
               It was in 628 B.C. that good King Josiah tore down all the altars to Baal, burned the bones of false prophets, and broke the carved idols (2 Chronicles 34:3–7); and in 622 BC the Book of the Law was found (2 Chronicles 34:8–35:19). Zephaniah 1 attests that Assyrian attire became customary in the royal court and pagan magic invaded every day life.  Given the vivid descriptions of the sins being condemned and the single minded earnestness of Zephaniah's proclamation of a devastating Day of the Lord, it appears likely that his preaching preceded the full implementation of the reforms and, indeed, may have helped to inspire and guide the direction of the sought after changes in Jerusalem and Judah. In 609 BC Josiah died in battle and Judah once again spiraled into idolatry that God ended with the Babylonian exile in 587 BC.
 Message/Theme/Audience            The expression “Day of the Lord” is used by Zephaniah more often than by any other Old Testament writer, and is described as a day that is near (1:7), and as a day of wrath, distress, devastation, desolation, thick darkness, and alarm (1:15,16,18). Because of Judah's idolatry and indifference toward God, because of the pride of the foreign nations, the Lord will "utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth" (1:2). Yet even within these oracles of divine wrath, the prophet exhorted the people to seek the Lord, offering a shelter in the midst of judgment (2:3), and proclaiming the promise of eventual salvation for His believing remnant (2:7; 3:9–20).
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"I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, every remembrance of the idolatrous priests." Zephaniah 1:4 "The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17x