Let us consider Zephaniah 3:1. This first verse stands as both an introduction and a summary of the chapter for the words used to denounce Israel in this verse could be read in a negative or in a positive way; this is the beauty of the Hebrew language. Zephaniah 3:1 reads, Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, To the oppressing city! We have seen in last week’s message that the word rebellious could also be read as full and well nourished. The word polluted could be read redeemed and the word oppressing could be read as dove, a symbol of beauty.
But this is how Zephaniah 3 is designed; it begins by denouncing the sins of Israel and then those of the other nations. But see how it ends. The final words of this chapter may be among the most beautiful passages of the Bible. There we find words of joy and exultation on earth and in heaven and from God Himself, as He ushers in the beginning of the Messianic Age.
While the first verses are complicated, the rest of the chapter, beginning with vs.8, is a delight. Bad news is always much harder to share, but people long to hear good news. Let us then begin with the first part and see now how the Lord pleads with them to consider His protective and evil-restraining presence among them. See the argument He brings out; something we can use today.
The verse comes suddenly and is spoken of with such passion. Verse 6-7a reads, I have cut off nations; Their corner towers are in ruins. I have made their streets desolate, With no one passing by; Their cities are laid waste, Without a man, without an inhabitant. “ I said, “Surely you will revere Me!” See how the Lord longs for us to consider all what He has done in the past. He wants us to run to Him. This argument is so timely today as Israel is fighting for what it calls her survival, and here the Lord says: Look unto Me and consider what I have done in the past to the nations who came after you. “
Consider for a moment, Egypt. Do you recall how this entire army was destroyed in the Red Sea? This gave enough time for Israel to enter the land of Canaan and conquer it and establish herself in it. We didn’t hear from Egypt again for quite a while, not until the reign of King Solomon.
And again, considering Egypt, do you remember how in 1948, in 1956, in 1967 and in 1973 Egypt swore to throw every Jew in Israel into the sea? They threatened on four occasions and lost each time. Who was behind this? God was!
Look back at Assyria and Babylon; both the streets of Nineveh and Babylon are desolate with no one passing by, as the Lord says in Zephaniah chapter 2. Look at the Greek and Roman empires, the Nazis and the Soviet Regimes which do not exist anymore; all of these wanted to harm Israel but they are gone, yet Israel remains.
We remember that this Soviet regime opposed the establishment of Israel. Before it was dissolved in 1991, it had greatly restricted Jewish emigration. Since its fall, over a million Jews emigrated to Israel from there. And see how the Lord ends this verse by an emotional appeal, Surely, after all of this… you will revere Me (vs.7). How He wished they would turn, but they did not then nor do they right now.
Right after these words, we learn from Jeremiah, that they did not listen at all: we read in Jeremiah 37:2, But neither he [that is Zedekiah the last king of Judah] nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. What happened after this? Israel lost her Temple, Jerusalem and her land and so the great Diaspora began.
What about today? The same will happen as the prophecies of the Tribulation unfold, with the invasion of Gog and Magog as predicted, but the Lord is still asking Israel to reconsider and come to Him and discover Yeshua in His Word; this, according to the Scriptures, is His will.
It is after this appeal when the Lord now turns to the nations of the world and speaks of the judgment to come: the judgment on the nations. This is a very serious section dealing with all nations of the world.
See how it begins; vs.8 reads, For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My judgment is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.
The fire of His zeal will not only be His wrath poured out during the time of the Tribulation, but also during the last judgment, the White Throne Judgment. As there is a judgment for Israel, so there will be for the nations; to the Jew first and also to the Gentiles. Here we see God rising as a witness; He was there from the start and is now the last witness in the end. He has been watching and nothing, no words, no thoughts escape His attention.
Rabbinical commentators understood this verse to occur right after the war of Gog and Magog, at the coming of the Messiah and we agree with that, but it will be at Messiah’s Second Coming. But the key questions are; What is the basis of this judgment, and where will it take place?
Answering these will deepen our understanding of the current events unfolding in Israel and shed light on the root of antisemitism, an ancient hostility that appears to be intensifying with each passing day. So where and why is this judgment of the nations?
It is the prophet Joel and Yeshua Himself who tell us where it will happen and the reason why. First the LORD says in Joel 3:2-3 I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land. Here is the basis and reason for this judgment, on account of My people, My heritage Israel. This would be the foundation of this coming judgment; how they treated Israel.
And Obadiah says the same thing concerning the judgment on Edom. Eight times in this short book God repeats the word: you should not have – have done what? Done all these things when Israel was overtaken by the nations. And Isaiah along with Jeremiah, Amos and Psalm 83, name some of these countries: Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, the strip of Gaza, the West bank and others, while Ezekiel names Iran, Turkey, Russia and others; these are the nations that will be gathered there on the Day of Judgment of the nations.
Here in Zephaniah, speaking to the Philistines, those who occupied the Gaza Strip, the prophet says, The Word of the Lord is against you 2:5. Who is the Word of the Lord but Yeshua Himself? That means Yeshua is against them.
Click Here for the Video : Zephaniah Part 7 – God, the Last Witness