Zephaniah 1:1-18

1:1 | The opening phrase the word of the Lord, which is also used by Hosea, Joel, and Micah, indicates an inspired message from the God who is in covenant with Israel. Zephaniah dared to speak to the highest levels of leadership in Judah, who likely knew him personally due to his royal heritage.

1:4-2:3 | This section foretells Judah’s destruction in the day of the Lord. Its idolatry, failure to seek the Lord, and complacency would all lead to this. The language of judgment here is reminiscent of God’s judgment of the earth in the days of Noah (Gen. 6:7; 7:4,23).

1:2-6 | The focus of judgment ultimately narrows from all the land to Judah and then Jerusalem. Judah was guilty of spiritual adultery (idolatry). Zephaniah names Jerusalem here because it was the spiritual center of Judah.

1:4-6 | Those who worship on the housetops worshiped the stars (2 Kgs. 23:4; Jer. 19:13) – and believed the celestial bodies (the host of heaven) were deities. God had clearly warned against this practice (Deut. 4:19). Zephaniah also condemns those who worship other gods in addition to the Lord. Baal was the Canaanite god of fertility; Milcom was an Ammonite god (1 Kgs. 11:5,33; 2 Kgs. 23:13), who may be the god Molech referenced in 2 Kings 23:10.

1:8-9 | The people of Judah had adopted pagan customs and worship (clothed themselves with foreign apparel). To leap over (“step on”) the threshold was a pagan ritual, possibly associated with the worship of a Philistine god (1 Sam. 5:4-5). These practices were symptoms of Judah’s straying heart.

1:10 | Named because of its location near the fish market, the Fish Gate was on the north side of Jerusalem; Nebuchadnezzar would enter through this gate when the Babylonians invaded. The Second Quarter was north of the temple and the main part of the city. The upper classes lived there.