Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Zeph is a treatise on the wrath of God
The prophecy of Zephaniah may fittingly be called a treatise on the wrath of God . The dominant characteristic of this Day is that it is a Day of overflowing wrath ( ym ebr ; cf . v . 18 ). From this verse apparently arose the inspiration for the thirteenth-century song written by Thomas of Celano , which may have been translated into more languages than any other hymn :
That day of wrath , that dreadful day
When heav ' n and earth shall pass away !
What pow ' r shall be the sinner ' s stay ?
How shall he meet that dreadful day ?
When , shrivelling like a parched scroll ,
The flaming heav ' ns together roll ;
When louder yet , and yet more dread ,
Swells the high trump that wakes the dead ;
O on that day , that wrathful day
When man to judgment wakes from clay ,
Be thou the trembling sinner ' s stay ,
Though heav ' n and earth shall pass away . (page 242 trinity hymnal)
That day of wrath , that dreadful day
When heav ' n and earth shall pass away !
What pow ' r shall be the sinner ' s stay ?
How shall he meet that dreadful day ?
When , shrivelling like a parched scroll ,
The flaming heav ' ns together roll ;
When louder yet , and yet more dread ,
Swells the high trump that wakes the dead ;
O on that day , that wrathful day
When man to judgment wakes from clay ,
Be thou the trembling sinner ' s stay ,
Though heav ' n and earth shall pass away . (page 242 trinity hymnal)
Summary... Wrath
The prophecy of Zephaniah may fittingly be called a treatise on the wrath of God . The dominant characteristic of this Day is that it is a Day of overflowing wrath (1:18).
Summary: The prophecy of Zephaniah clearly presents itself as a treatise on the wrath of God . The great Day of Yahweh is coming soon . On that Day , the God who has pledged himself repeatedly and in various contexts by the oath of the covenant shall devastate all who have broken the covenant . This terrible judgment is inevitable and unavoidable . The Day is coming soon .
Zephaniah ' s Day of Yahweh , in which the wrath of God was to be poured out on Judah , found expression in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians . But the " day of wrath " is yet to come ( Rom . 2 : 5 ). This " great Day of his wrath " ( Rev . 6 : 16-17 ) is as certain to come as was the devasta- tion of Jerusalem . With eschatological finality , all who are not found by faith to be united in him shall be consumed from the face of the earth ( cf . Matt . 3 : 7 ; 1 Thess . 1 : 10 ; Rev . 11 : 18 ; 14 : 10 ; 16 : 9 ; 19 : 15 ).
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Pages 283, 287, 288.
Summary: The prophecy of Zephaniah clearly presents itself as a treatise on the wrath of God . The great Day of Yahweh is coming soon . On that Day , the God who has pledged himself repeatedly and in various contexts by the oath of the covenant shall devastate all who have broken the covenant . This terrible judgment is inevitable and unavoidable . The Day is coming soon .
Zephaniah ' s Day of Yahweh , in which the wrath of God was to be poured out on Judah , found expression in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians . But the " day of wrath " is yet to come ( Rom . 2 : 5 ). This " great Day of his wrath " ( Rev . 6 : 16-17 ) is as certain to come as was the devasta- tion of Jerusalem . With eschatological finality , all who are not found by faith to be united in him shall be consumed from the face of the earth ( cf . Matt . 3 : 7 ; 1 Thess . 1 : 10 ; Rev . 11 : 18 ; 14 : 10 ; 16 : 9 ; 19 : 15 ).
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Pages 283, 287, 288.
Has the Day of Yahweh come yet?
some quotes by OPR on this question:
By this (Matthew 13) apparent allusion to Zephaniah , Jesus transfers the coming cosmic judgment described by the prophet from the devastation associated with judgment on old covenant Israel to the devastations associated with his final return . Jesus thereby indicates that the ultimate application of the prophetic threat of Zephaniah still is outstanding . The cosmic judgment that will reverse the creation is yet to come .
The finality of cosmic overthrow associated with the coming of Yahweh ' s Day in the fullest sense never came in the context of events as- sociated with the old covenant . It is not surprising , therefore , to find in the NT both passages which suggest an arrival of the Day of Yahweh in events current in NT times as well as passages looking to a future arrival of the great Day . Both of these perspectives must be kept in mind for a proper understanding of the contemporary significance of the coming of the Day . (already & not yet)
In a certain sense , the Day of Yahweh has come . But distinctive to the Day is the characteristic of finality . In a sense the Day came in association with certain events surrounding the advent of Jesus Christ . But in another sense the Day is yet to come . And as Zephaniah prophesied , it is near.
.
Suffice it to say that the cosmic judgment associated with a dramatic theophany now may be understood in terms of the glorious return of Jesus Christ . On the day appointed he shall consummate all things .
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990).
By this (Matthew 13) apparent allusion to Zephaniah , Jesus transfers the coming cosmic judgment described by the prophet from the devastation associated with judgment on old covenant Israel to the devastations associated with his final return . Jesus thereby indicates that the ultimate application of the prophetic threat of Zephaniah still is outstanding . The cosmic judgment that will reverse the creation is yet to come .
The finality of cosmic overthrow associated with the coming of Yahweh ' s Day in the fullest sense never came in the context of events as- sociated with the old covenant . It is not surprising , therefore , to find in the NT both passages which suggest an arrival of the Day of Yahweh in events current in NT times as well as passages looking to a future arrival of the great Day . Both of these perspectives must be kept in mind for a proper understanding of the contemporary significance of the coming of the Day . (already & not yet)
In a certain sense , the Day of Yahweh has come . But distinctive to the Day is the characteristic of finality . In a sense the Day came in association with certain events surrounding the advent of Jesus Christ . But in another sense the Day is yet to come . And as Zephaniah prophesied , it is near.
.
Suffice it to say that the cosmic judgment associated with a dramatic theophany now may be understood in terms of the glorious return of Jesus Christ . On the day appointed he shall consummate all things .
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990).
stretching out the hand
(In Zeph 1:4 God says He'll stretch out His hand to bring judgement. Stretching out the hand means coming with more than usual power)......"The same concept appears in the NT when Christ works a miracle of healing by stretching out his hand ( Matt . 8 : 3 ; Mark 1 : 41 ; Luke 5 : 13 ). Elsewhere Jesus interprets his supernatural interventions as the work of the " finger of God " manifesting the arrival of the kingdom of God on the earth ( Luke 11 : 20 ). His interpretation of these events suggests that the " stretching forth " of his hand was probably intended not merely as a means of making physical contact but as a means of symbolizing a direct connec- tion with those ancient occasions in which God stretched out his hand in sal- vation . This gracious character of these new covenant interventions displays the extent of God ' s mercy toward the undeserving in Jesus ' day , but does not nullify the ultimate fulfillment of the judgment motif involved in this symbolism as anticipated by Zephaniah . "
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Page 262.
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Page 261.
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Page 262.
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Page 261.
John Piper's Outline of Zephaniah
1:1-18 announces the coming judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem Verse 4, "I will stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem."
2:1-3 calls the nation back to God, and specifically (as it says in verse 3) to "seek righteousness and seek humility."
2:4-15 Zephaniah announces the judgment that is also coming on the lands that surround Judah: the Philistines to the east (vv. 4–7), Moab and Ammon to the west (vv. 8–11), the Ethiopians to the south (v. 12), and Assyria to the north (vv. 13–15).
3:1-7 Here Zephaniah turns his attention to Jerusalem again and lengthens the catalogue of God's accusations against her.
3:8-20 proclaims the conversion of the peoples (v. 9), the conversion and re-gathering of Israel (v. 10), and the glorious future of all the godly as God rejoices over them with gladness.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Zephaniah 1
Some excerpts from O Palmer Robertson's commentary on Zephaniah, which is the 1st book i've ever purchased as digital media from amazon.
The description of Josiah ' s reforms in the book of Kings appears as something of a blitzkrieg . But even if his major policies were instituted in a relatively short period of time , he still would have needed the strong support- ing confirmation of a contemporary word from the Lord to make his policies even remotely acceptable to the public . Very possibly this supporting word came from Zephaniah the prophet . Incorporating into his message the very phrases of the recently discovered book of the covenant , he addressed the people as God ' s contemporary mouthpiece , applying God ' s ancient word to the current situation . So it may be proposed that Zephaniah prophesied in the days of Josiah , and more specifically in the days immediately following the dis- covery of the book of the covenant approximately in 622 B . C .
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Page 256.
It is a sign of the persistence of God ' s grace in redeeming a people to himself to note that Amon, Josiah , and Josiah ' s son Jehoiachin are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ , the ultimate successor to the throne of David ( Matt . 1 : 10-11 ). Despite many perils and many failings on the part of God ' s people , the purposes of God could not be thwarted .
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Page 257.
Beasts, birds, and fish, representative of the whole of creation, have become for humanity an occasion of stumbling. Because of his wickedness, humanity has twisted the good things of creation into a cause for sin.
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Page 259.
The description of Josiah ' s reforms in the book of Kings appears as something of a blitzkrieg . But even if his major policies were instituted in a relatively short period of time , he still would have needed the strong support- ing confirmation of a contemporary word from the Lord to make his policies even remotely acceptable to the public . Very possibly this supporting word came from Zephaniah the prophet . Incorporating into his message the very phrases of the recently discovered book of the covenant , he addressed the people as God ' s contemporary mouthpiece , applying God ' s ancient word to the current situation . So it may be proposed that Zephaniah prophesied in the days of Josiah , and more specifically in the days immediately following the dis- covery of the book of the covenant approximately in 622 B . C .
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Page 256.
It is a sign of the persistence of God ' s grace in redeeming a people to himself to note that Amon, Josiah , and Josiah ' s son Jehoiachin are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ , the ultimate successor to the throne of David ( Matt . 1 : 10-11 ). Despite many perils and many failings on the part of God ' s people , the purposes of God could not be thwarted .
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Page 257.
Beasts, birds, and fish, representative of the whole of creation, have become for humanity an occasion of stumbling. Because of his wickedness, humanity has twisted the good things of creation into a cause for sin.
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
O. Palmer Robertson. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Page 259.
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