Zephaniah 1:7-18--The Day of the LORD Is Near

Zephaniah 1:7-18
English Standard Version

The Day of the LORD Is Near
7 Be silent before the Lord GOD!
    For the day of the LORD is near;
the LORD has prepared a sacrifice
    and consecrated his guests.
8 And on the day of the LORD's sacrifice--
“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
    and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9 On that day I will punish
    everyone who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's house
    with violence and fraud.

10 “On that day,” declares the LORD,
    “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
    a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
    For all the traders are no more;
    all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
    and I will punish the men
who are complacent,
    those who say in their hearts,
‘The LORD will not do good,
    nor will he do ill.’
13 Their goods shall be plundered,
    and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
    they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
    they shall not drink wine from them.”

14 The great day of the LORD is near,
    near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter;
    the mighty man cries aloud there.
15 A day of wrath is that day,
    a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
    a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16     a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
    and against the lofty battlements.

17 I will bring distress on mankind,
    so that they shall walk like the blind,
    because they have sinned against the LORD;
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
    and their flesh like dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
    shall be able to deliver them
    on the day of the wrath of the LORD.
In the fire of his jealousy,
    all the earth shall be consumed;
for a full and sudden end
    he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

---

The people are commanded to be silent before the LORD.  They are to wait in awe (and probably fear) as the coming judgment approaches because the LORD Himself will cause this to happen, though He will use the Chaldeans to do it.  All those who continue in rebellion and associate themselves with the nations of the world will be judged, even the rich and powerful like the kings and their sons.  Any who have used violence to accumulate wealth for themselves will have violence turned against them and their wealth will not save them--it will be taken away to foreign lands.

The people will cry out, but not for salvation.  They will comfort themselves by saying something to the effect of "God is dead"--He can do neither good nor bad towards them.  They will not fear Him, but also will not cry out to Him for salvation.  The LORD will look for all such men and women in all the dark corners of the city and they will all be destroyed.  Only those who hope in the LORD and know He is their salvation will remain.  They will build houses they will not live in, plant vineyards that others will harvest and turn into wine to enjoy, and others will possess all the goods they have acquired for themselves.

The coming Day of the LORD that is mentioned here is a day that His judgment and wrath (though not His full wrath that we will see poured out on the wicked in the end times) is poured out on His people and it will be a day of mourning and great sadness for them.  It will not be like the day of salvation and rejoicing that we see associated with the coming Day of the LORD when all of the LORD's enemies will be defeated.  That is why when we see this "Day of the LORD" mentioned in prophecy we need to think about if the prophecies have a "near" or "far" fulfillment (we may not know, and this is part of what confused the Jewish people about the coming of Messiah, as that too was proclaimed to be the Day of the LORD).  This is a time of anguish, darkness and gloom for them.  Many will die and many others will wish they were dead when they watch their loved ones die or be taken away into exile and all they worked for and loved destroyed--even the Temple sanctuary will be ransacked and the holy things taken away by the plunderers.  They will blow the trumpet blast to sound the alarm and call for help, but there will be no one to come to their rescue.

The LORD reminds the people that the Day is hastening (coming quickly) and without warning other than the warning He has given through His prophets.  They will have no time to prepare for it once it starts.  They are not to fight it, for that will certainly lead to their death.  Their only hope to surrender and trust the LORD to save their descendants and return them to the Land one day.

The LORD will not be impressed by the silver, gold, or other wealth they have accumulated for themselves (much of it by sinful means that the LORD calls abominations).  His jealousy (because they worship other gods) will consume them like fire.  This is one of the attributes of the LORD we don't talk about much, but His name is Jealous and He is allowed to be jealous without sinning.  We typically cannot be jealous without sinning.  Now it's talking about the whole earth being consumed--that sounds like something far away in the Great Day of the LORD that is coming that we read about in the book of Revelation which will lead to the destruction of all evil men.  See how the prophets get a mixture of both "near" and "far" events together and it is hard to separate them?  It is easier for us to pick out the events that have already happened and those that have not yet happened, but this is what makes studying books of prophecy "confusing" for some people as the same prophecy can have implications for something in the past, something right now, and something or some things still to come in the future.  We trust the LORD to bring about His perfect plan in His perfect way and in His perfect time.  We too will be silent and wait and see what He is going to do, but we wait for His salvation and deliverance, not His judgment.