Zephaniah
Zephaniah 2
Chapter II · Vol. III, pp. 1474–1476
1 An exhortation to repentance. 4 The judgment of the Philistines, 8 of Moab and Ammon, 12 of Ethiopia and Assyria.
1 Gather1 yourselvesa together, yea, gather together, O bnation not desired;2
B.C. cir. 610.
1 Gather. 'Gather (shake) the straw from yourselves.' That is, sift, search, examine.—C.
2 Beforec the decree bring forth, before the day pass das the chaff,3 beforee the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD's anger come upon you.
c 2 Ki.22.16,17; 23.26,27. Eze.12.22,25. Ec.8.11.
d Job 21.18. Ps.1.4. Is.17.13. Ho.13.3.
3 'Before the decree be executed that your day pass away as chaff.'—Newcome.
e 2 Ki.22.13,17; 23.26. 2 Ch.36.16,17. Ps.50.21,22; 95.7,8. Mal.4.1.
3 Seekg ye the LORD, all ye hmeek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness,4 seek meekness: iit may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD's anger.
g Am.5.4-6,8,14,15. Is.55.6,13; 1.16-19. Ho.14.1-4. Je.3.13,14; 29.13.
h Zec.8.19. Ps.149.4; 22.26. 1 Pe.5.6. Mat.5.5.
4 Seek righteousness—even 'Jehovah our righteousness.'—C.
i 2 Sa.12.22. Joel 2.13,14. Am.5.15. Jonah 3.9. Je.30.3. Is.26.20. Ps.32.7; 91.1.
4 Forj Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod kat the noon-day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
j Am.1.6,8. Is.14.29-31. Je.25.9,20; 47.1-7. Eze.25.15-17. Zec.9.5-7, with Ju.3.3. Jos.13.3.
5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the lCherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.5
l Eze.25.16.
5 The Philistine people have long been extinct. The rich plain along the sea-coast, which was once so densely peopled by them, is now almost deserted. A few mud-cottages, occupied chiefly by shepherds, stand upon the sites of once proud cities.—P.
7 And othe coast shall be for pthe remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening; 6for the LORD their God qshall visit them, and turn away their captivity.
8 I have heard rthe reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, 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, sSurely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon tas Gomorrah,7 even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: uthe residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
s Is.xv.xvi.; 25.10; 11.14. Je.xlviii.; 49.1-6. Eze.25.1-11. Am.1.13-15; 2.1-3.
t De.29.23. Is.13.19; 34.13. Je.49.18; 50.40. Ps.107.34. Is.5.6. Eze.47.11.
7 As complete a ruin as either Sodom or Gomorrah.—'A deserted place for the thorn, and a place of digging for salt' (Newcome).—C.
A.M. cir. 3394. B.C. cir. 610.
10 This shall they have vfor their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.
v See ver.8. Is.16.6. Je.48.29. Eze.36.2,3. See ver.8.
11 The LORD will be terrible unto them: for hex will famish8 all the gods of the earth; and meny shall worship him, every one from his place,9 even all the isles of the heathen.
13 And ahe will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and bwill make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.
14 And cflocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant1 and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels2 of it: their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover3 the cedar-work.
c See ver.6,15. Is.13.21,22; 34.11,14. ver.6,15.
1 Or, pelican.
2 Or, knops or chapiters, Am.9.1.
3 Or, when he hath uncovered.
15 This dis the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: ehow is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! gevery one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.4
d Is.47.8. Re.18.7, with Na.2.8; 3.4. Is.10.12-14.
e Is.14.4-6. Re.18.9-19.
g Ps.52.7. Eze.27.3,6. Job 27.23. La.2.15. Na.3.19.
4 The descriptions of Layard, Loftus, and Rawlinson prove how wonderfully these terrible judgments have been executed. The site of Nineveh is desolate. Shepherds and their flocks roam over it. Wild beasts are the only inhabitants of its once gorgeous palaces. Ancient ruin and modern excavations have laid bare the cedar-chambers. The magnificence of the decorations, and the completeness of the ruin, have caused all who pass through Assyria to wonder at the judgments which have fallen upon a great nation.—P.
Notes
Ver. 1-3. O nation, careless about, and odious to God, search yourselves diligently, and assemble together in solemn fasting, before the appointed day of his judgment overtake you, which shall unavoidably hurl you out of your land, and miserably destroy you. Ye poor, afflicted, and humble souls who have obeyed his laws and observed his ordinances, implore his favour, and supplicate increase of grace and holiness:—thus, it may be, ye shall not perish with your wicked countrymen. 4-7. The Philistines' strong cities shall be utterly destroyed, and the inhabitants murdered by the Chaldeans, Greeks, and others; and at last the Jewish Maccabees shall reduce the whole country, and dwell therein. 8-11. For their insolent behaviour towards the Israelites, the country of the Moabites and Ammonites shall be made an utter and lasting desolation, and at last become the property of the Jews;—and in the apostolic and future periods, idolatry shall be banished from it, and a glorious gospel church established there, as in other heathen countries. 12-15. The Ethiopians on the south, and Assyrians on the north-east, shall also be murdered by the Chaldeans and other instruments of judgment. And the now famous, fearless, and haughty city of Nineveh, shall be reduced to a heap of ruins, to the astonishment and joy of the nations which they have oppressed.
Ver. 4. The third and fourth verses are closely connected, although the third refers to the Jews and the fourth to the Philistines. The reason is this: A common enemy was about to desolate both. The Chaldeans when invading Judah would also overrun Philistia. The prophecy also glances down into the distant future, and predicts the state of the great cities of Philistia as they exist at present. I was especially struck with the doom of Ashkelon:—'It shall be a desolation.' No word could more graphically portray its state. Every building within its walls has been overthrown; and the very site is almost entirely obliterated by the drifting sand. P.
Ver. 7. This prophecy, no doubt, began to be accomplished on the return of Judah and Benjamin from Babylon; but its complete realization is still future. C.
Ver. 11. Famish all the gods. When it is recollected that the bull, the dog, the crocodile, &c., were among the gods of the heathen, there will be no difficulty in understanding how they might be literally 'famished.' C.
Reflections.—Sin renders the highest professors useless and odious before God. And there is great need of self-examination, and solemn humiliation and prayer, when his judgments hang over our head. How terrible are the corrections of God's own people! But little reason have their enemies to rejoice thereat, for their calamities will issue in the ruin of their injurers. Pride, insolence, and carnal mirth must at last give place to debasement, anguish, death, and ruin! Yea, sinners are often fearfully recompensed in this world, and their places of abode marked with wrath. What then must be their eternal misery at last.