Zephaniah 2:4-15, Yahweh’s Judgment on the Nations

Zephaniah’s prophecy takes a strong right turn, from talking about the certain judgment coming on Judah and the appeal to her to repent, to a focus on God’s judgment of the nations around Judah and how the remnant of God’s people, those who aren’t destroyed but are humble and obedient, will prosper at the expense of these nations Yahweh is judging.

⁴ Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted. ⁵ Woe to you who live by the sea, you Kerethite people; the word of the Lord is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines. He says, “I will destroy you, and none will be left.” ⁶ The land by the sea will become pastures having wells for shepherds and pens for flocks. ⁷ That land will belong to the remnant of the people of Judah; there they will find pasture. In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon. The Lord their God will care for them; he will restore their fortunes.

⁸ “I have heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammonites, who insulted my people and made threats against their land. ⁹ Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will become like Sodom, the Ammonites like Gomorrah—a place of weeds and salt pits, a wasteland forever. The remnant of my people will plunder them; the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.” ¹⁰ This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the Lord Almighty. ¹¹ The Lord will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the earth. Distant nations will bow down to him, all of them in their own lands.

¹² “You Cushites, too, will be slain by my sword.”

¹³ He will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert. ¹⁴ Flocks and herds will lie down there, creatures of every kind. The desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns. Their hooting will echo through the windows, rubble will fill the doorways, the beams of cedar will be exposed. ¹⁵ This is the city of revelry that lived in safety. She said to herself, “I am the one! And there is none besides me.” What a ruin she has become, a lair for wild beasts! All who pass by her scoff and shake their fists.

Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron and Ashdod were cities in Philistia along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Philistines, also known as Kerethites, had always been a thorn in Israel’s side, but subdued by David and Solomon. As Israel moved away from Yahweh, the power of these people increased, and God used them to discipline Israel. But now Yahweh promises they will be destroyed. And in their abandoned pastures God’s people, Israelites, will find pasture and, under God’s care, will thrive.

And Judah’s enemies on the east, Moab and Ammon, will also be destroyed, as He did Sodom and Gomorrah, and His people, the Israelites, will inherit their land and thrive. Yahweh will destroy the “gods of the earth,” defeating the demonic spirits who pretend to be gods and seek worship. These nations will recognize only the true God, Yahweh.

The land of Cush, in Egypt, will also be destroyed. And the Assyrians, far to the north of Judah, who defeated, captured, and exiled the northern kingdom of Israel some 80 years prior, will also come to ruin. In her pride she thought she could never be defeated, but Yahweh raised up a nation more powerful than her, Babylon, who defeated her.

It has always been the case with nations displaying great power, like the United States and China, like Russia and others, that they see themselves as invincible. Yahweh sees things differently.