Zephaniah 1:7-18, Judah Sacrificed in Judgment

It seems the phrase “getting off Scot free” comes from the Scandinavian term “skat,” meaning a tax or payment, and an English “redistributive taxation” or “skat” levied against the well-to-do to help relieve the crushing burden of the poor back in the 11th century. The poor got off scot, or tax, free. Many times, it seems the leaders who lead a people into something bad get off scot free in terms of consequences. But Zephaniah’s message from Yahweh is here to declare that the leaders of Judah will not get off scot free.

⁷ Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Yahweh, for the awesome day of Yahweh’s judgment is near. Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice and sanctified his guests. ⁸ “On that day of judgment,” says Yahweh, “I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those following pagan customs. ⁹ Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies, and those who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

¹⁰ “On that day,” says Yahweh, “a cry of alarm will come from the Fish Gate and echo throughout the New Quarter of the city. And a great crash will sound from the hills. ¹¹ Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area, for all the merchants and traders will be destroyed.

¹² “I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem’s darkest corners to punish those who sit complacent in their sins. They think Yahweh will do nothing to them, either good or bad. ¹³ So their property will be plundered, their homes will be ransacked. They will build new homes but never live in them. They will plant vineyards but never drink wine from them.

¹⁴ “That terrible day of Yahweh is near. Swiftly it comes—a day of bitter tears, a day when even strong men will cry out. ¹⁵ It will be a day when Yahweh’s anger is poured out—a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, ¹⁶ a day of trumpet calls and battle cries. Down go the walled cities and the strongest battlements!

¹⁷ “Because you have sinned against Yahweh, I will make you grope around like the blind. Your blood will be poured into the dust, and your bodies will lie rotting on the ground.” ¹⁸ Your silver and gold will not save you on that day of Yahweh’s anger. For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. He will make a terrifying end of all the people on earth.

“Be quiet, Yahweh is here to judge His people.” The day of judgment is near, the Day of Yahweh. Yahweh’s final judgment, the Day of Yahweh, has minor fulfillments in times of God’s judgment. Zephaniah pictures it as Yahweh offering a sacrifice, Judah being that sacrifice, and the guests, the foreign invading nations, having been made ritually pure in order to eat the feast of the sacrifice. They are pagans who have been summoned by Yahweh to punish those of His people who act like pagans (see Habakkuk). The leaders of Judah will be particularly singled out for judgment.

Zephaniah then pictures the invasion, coming from the direction of the Fish Gate which went out north from the city. The cry of alarm will note the invasion from the north. A great crash from the hills will signal the attack. The market area will be destroyed. Even as the invasion lingers into the night, the invaders will search with lanterns to find all those hiding, those who complacently believed no judgment or blessing would come from Yahweh. It will be a day so terrible that even those used to battle, the strong men, will cry like babies. The strongest walls will not prevent the destruction.

And the reason for this punishment is Judah’s sin against Yahweh. They won’t be able to buy their way out of facing Yahweh’s anger. His jealousy will be like a fire, because His people were serving other gods. There will only be bodies lying rotting on the ground. “All the people on earth,” in this case, will be the inhabitants of Judah. We know this punishment was inflicted by Babylon, whom God used to conquer what remained of His people in Judah, not long after the reign of Josiah.