1. Zephaniah 1: 2-18 NKJV ERIK MEDEROS APRIL 14 TH, 2015 REL 311

2. 1:2 Breaking His Covenant with Noah? “I will utterly consume everything From the face of the land,” Says the L ORD ; Genesis 8:21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. Genesis 9:11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

3. 1:3 – Undoing Creation “I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, The fish of the sea, And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land,” Says the L ORD. Genesis 1:20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” (5 th Day) Genesis 1:24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (6 th Day)

4. 1:4-6 – Baal and Milcom (Molech) 4“I will stretch out My hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, the names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests— 5Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the L ORD, but who also swear by Milcom; 6Those who have turned back from following the L ORD, Baal  Worshipped throughout Egypt and the Middle East (especially Canaanites)  Common Semitic noun (ba’al) – “owner”, “lord”  Early Hebrews may have used Baal for “Lord of Israel”  9 th Century BC Baal becomes anathema to Israelites when Jezebal introduced her Phoenician cult of Baal into Israel in opposition of worship of YHWH 1 Kings 18:38-40 38 Then the fire of the L ORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The L ORD, He is God! The L ORD, He is God!” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.

5. 1:4-6 – Baal and Milcom (Molech) 4“I will stretch out My hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, the names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests— 5Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the L ORD, but who also swear by Milcom; 6Those who have turned back from following the L ORD, Milcom (Molech) Leviticus 18:21 And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the L ORD.

6. 1:4-6 – Baal and Milcom (Molech) 4“I will stretch out My hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, the names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests— 5Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the L ORD, but who also swear by Milcom; 6Those who have turned back from following the L ORD, Milcom (Molech) Leviticus 20:1-5 1Then the L ORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name.4And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him, 5then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech.

7. 1:4-6 – Baal and Milcom (Molech) 4“I will stretch out My hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, the names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests— 5Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the L ORD, but who also swear by Milcom; 6Those who have turned back from following the L ORD, Jeremiah 32:33-35 33 And they have turned to Me the back, and not the face; though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction. 34 But they set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 35 And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.’ 36 “Now therefore, thus says the L ORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence’: 37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.

8. 1:7-12 – The Day of the Lord 7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord G OD ; For the day of the L ORD is at hand, For the L ORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests. 8 “And it shall be, In the day of the L ORD ’s sacrifice, That I will punish the princes and the king’s children, And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. 9 In the same day I will punish All those who leap over the threshold, Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit. 10 “And there shall be on that day,” says the L ORD, “The sound of a mournful cry from the Fish Gate, A wailing from the Second Quarter, And a loud crashing from the hills. 11 Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh! For all the merchant people are cut down; All those who handle money are cut off. 12 “And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, ‘The L ORD will not do good, Nor will He do evil.’

9. 1:13-18 – The Day of the Lord 13 Therefore their goods shall become booty, And their houses a desolation; They shall build houses, but not inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.” 14 The great day of the L ORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the L ORD is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out. 15 That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, 16A day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers.

10. 1:13-18 – The Day of the Lord 17 “I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the L ORD ; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse.” 18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them In the day of the L ORD ’s wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land.

11. Similarities to Isaiah Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the day of the L ORD is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Isaiah 13:9-12 9 Behold, the day of the L ORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. 11 “I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.

12. Similarities to Amos Amos 5:11-13 11 Therefore, because you tread down the poor And take grain taxes from him, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, Yet you shall not dwell in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink wine from them. 12 For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate. 13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time.

13. Similarities to Joel Joel 2:1-3 1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the L ORD is coming, For it is at hand: 2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations. 3 A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them.

14. Resources https://www.bible.com/bible/114/zep.1 Zephanaiah by Arend Remmers http://www.biblecentre.org/commentaries/ar_40_ot_zephaniah.htm http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/388467/Moloch http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303679/Jezebel http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/47227/Baal