Before we dive into the text itself, let me give you an overview of this final section of Zephaniah. Within these 22 verses, from 9 to 20, there is one deep truth that moves, that stands out before us: we are witness to God’s rejoicing in a way that is rarely seen elsewhere in Scripture. It is a glimpse of divine joy that is both profound and unforgettable.
Just consider all the He Wills in this short text: There are12 of them:
- Verse 9 begins by telling us that He will give purified lips to Israel and to all mankind so that they will all call on the one name of the Lord, the God of the Bible.
- Then, He will remove evil, vs.11.
- He will preserve the remnant vs.12
- He Himself will exult vs.17.
- He will rejoice vs.17 and it is here where we see His excitement for the moment He so desired since the very beginning.
- He will also be quiet in His love vs.17.
- He will gather all those who grieve vs.18
- He will save the lame vs.19 and restore all human beings and there will be no sickness anymore.
- He will turn the shame into praise and renown for Israel vs. 19; no more antisemitism.
- He will bring Israel back home vs.20
- He will raise the name of Israel vs. 20
- He will restore their fortunes vs. 20
The Lord promises to do this, and very soon. And it is in this small text where we see the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant given some 4000 years ago, finally fulfilled. To Abraham He promised: I will make you a great nation and I will make your name great. Gen.12:1-3.
This is where, in Zephaniah 3:20a we see this promise fulfilled, at the very last verse of the book. Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth. It is hard to conceive this reality when we see how many nations are against Israel today.
To Abraham, God promised that He would bless him and his descendants. Though the fulfillment of that promise unfolded over a long span of history, we catch a glimpse of its fullness in Zephaniah 3:15a: The Lord has taken away His judgments against you; He has cleared away your enemies. Here we see the covenantal faithfulness of God reaching a beautiful climax, judgment is removed, enemies are defeated, and blessing being fulfilled. He promised Abraham that through him and his descendants, all the families of the earth will be blessed.
We see here the final phase of this blessing in Zephaniah 3: 9 where we are told that the whole world will call on the name of the Lord. There will be unified worship.
To Abraham, God said in Genesis 12:7: I will give this land to your descendants, and in Genesis 15 He gave him the size, from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates, a land the Jewish people never yet fully occupied. In Zephaniah 3:20 however, the Lord said, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes. Then comes the great promise; the Lord told David, I will establish forever your descendants’ kingdom (2 Sam. 7:12) and He further promised Israel through Jeremiah 33:14, that He will restore the righteous Branch of David to bring forth justice and righteousness. And it is in Zephaniah 3:15 where we see that a king will rise in Israel, and this one is the Messiah Himself. This is where Yeshua is identified in Zephaniah. He is the King of Israel. So this very short passage is filled with great blessings.
Let us now turn to a few verses and discover how they speak with remarkable relevance, not only concerning today’s world events, but also concerning our personal lives. Let us begin by reading the opening verse of this new era, vs.9, For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him in one accord. This is a grand entry to a time of peace and harmony. This is the moment when the Lord will give the people purified lips; but what does this mean?
In order to understand these words, we need to go back to the events of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 where the word lips is there mentioned for the first time and repeated five times.
There we will see that this word lips, Hebrew saphah, is not the usual word used for language. It goes so much deeper. The word for language or tongue used in Babel is only found in Genesis 10, the Hebrew word is lashon. There we are told how the nations were separated…according to their language (lashon) (Gen.10:5,20,31). However, when it comes to the building of the Tower of Babel, in Genesis 11, the word lashon is dropped and replaced by the Hebrew word saphah, being translated into English as language in both chapters. But this word saphah goes beyond a spoken language by describing the state of the mind and the condition of the heart.
This is how many rabbis understood Zephaniah 3:9. We read how a few of them in the Talmud (Berakhot 34b) and Midrash (Tanna Devei Eliyahu Rabba 8:2) interpreted this passage as referring primarily to a spiritual revival that will occur in the Messianic era.
This is because the outcome of this miracle of purified lips is that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve Him in one accord. This is when we see a unified worship and belief in the one God of the Bible. Verse 9 of Zephaniah begins by indicating the reversal of the curse of Babel. And this is further enhanced when we consider that the last worldly enemy that is to be crushed is Babel in Revelation 17-18. Babylon is the Greek rendering of Babel and as the word lips goes beyond just a simple language, Babel goes furthur to include a larger scope of evil.
And consider the primary meaning of this word lips, sapah. It is elsewhere translated as seashore, or the edge of a city or the banks of a rivers. The idea is that the heart of man will be so purified that no evil will ever enter it. And this is a great joy for the Spirit of God who later in this chapter, speaking of the remnant of Israel and the nations, He says in vs. 13 they will do no wrong, and tell no lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths.
And these, He says in vs. 12 are the humble and lowly, and to these Yeshua promised that they shall inherit the earth Mat. 5:5). In verse 10, He calls them My worshipers, My dispersed ones, [who] will bring My offerings. These are the fruits of the outcome of purified lips.