Friday – Prophets

Reading – Zephaniah 1-2

Highlight Verse:

““I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship. I will put an end to all the idolatrous priests, so that even the memory of them will disappear.”
‭‭Zephaniah‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have to admit that my first thought when I read this verse was, “Didn’t Zephaniah just make us remember those priests he say will be forgotten?”

Then I looked at the whole reading and realized that Zephaniah didn’t pull any punches.

This prophecy, which is the Word of God, was quite harsh.

Judah did survive, although they had to go through an exile first.

So, then I had to ask, does God sometimes go back on His Word?

That turned my thoughts toward two other people.

Jonah. He had very harsh words from God for Nineveh. They repented. God relented.

Josiah. He was the king mentioned earlier in this chapter. This prophecy was likely the catalyst for the reforms he brought to bring the nation back to worshipping God.

In my mind, the words of this prophecy reflect the extreme disappointment and anguish of God at the state of things in Judah at the beginning of Josiah’s reign.

When Josiah and Judah heard these extreme words, many repented and returned to their faith.

I would call that a success.

What is your reaction to the harshness of this prophecy?
How do you think Zephaniah would prophecy today?