Zephaniah Part Two Dive

CULTURALLY DISTANT IS NOT AN ISSUE

Sometimes when you are reading the prophetic books, like all the books in the Bible, you can feel culturally distanced from the text and therefore a little frustrated that you can’t understand the culture, nuances and language that it is written in.

But don’t fear, there are ways of getting around this, and it’s not to invent a time machine, however cool that would be. That is why we have commentaries and history books to help us. So, let me show you some great cultural insights from the Book of Zephaniah that really make the book come alive.

Z 1:5 Those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host.

Whenever I find obscure verses like this, I highlight them and then do some digging. The first thing I do is check out what a commentary says about it:

The Tyndale New Testament Commentary on Zephaniah by David Baker explains Chapter 1:5 - worship of astral deities was performed on the roof (Jeremiah 19:13), these were also worshipped by Canaanites and the Assyrians (the zodiac). Great! We’ve got some clarity there. I’m happy with that, let’s check out another one.

Z 1:5b those who also swear by Molek

Who is Molek? This time I’ll go to BibleHub commentary:

Biblehub commentary on Zephaniah 1:5 says, the kindred and equally horrible worship of ‘Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon’ (1 Kings 11:7), was brought in by Solomon in his decay, and endured until his high place was defiled by Josiah (2 Kings 23:13-14). It is probable then that this was ‘their king’ of whom Zephaniah speaks.

I’m hooked on discovering Molek now, so I look up any Bible references where Molek is found to get some more information. I find references in Leviticus 18:21 and 20:2-5, 1 Kings 11:5, 7, 33, 2 Kings 23:10, 13, Isaiah 57:9, Jeremiah 32:35 and 49:1, 3 and then I find one in the New Testament: Acts 7:43.

What? Molek is also addressed in the New Testament! Seriously people! God had warned them about this over and over again and it still happened in the New Testament?! Can you see how much you can get out of one verse when you venture into it a little bit more? Let’s try another one.

Z 1:10 A cry will go up from the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills.

I know that gates are important in Jerusalem, so I want to remind myself why that is. Tyndale New Testament Commentary unpacks Chapter 1:10 – Fish gate was north of the city (2 Chronicles 33:14, Nehemiah 3:3 and 12:39), probably the main gate there. Due to the steep slopes on the other surrounding sides of Jerusalem, the city was most vulnerable from the north. The New Quarter was a more recent addition, to the north of the temple and the main part of the city (2 Kings 22:14).

If I do a word search on Fish Gate, I find out that this gate was originally built in 2 Chronicles 33:14 and then rebuilt by Nehemiah in 3:3. I can then check out a map and have a look at the Gates and where the Fish Gate is located or find a map that shows you where the New Quarter is in Jerusalem. Even the names of the places in Chapters 2 and 3 of Zephaniah are not an issue, just look up a map online and you can see where they are.

The Day of the Lord imagery is one that we can find quite confusing and for me, one of the things I most wanted to study in Zephaniah. One thing I couldn’t work out was why God was prophesying all this judgement in a time when Josiah was king of Judah. Josiah was a good king that brought reform to Judah, check out 2 Kings 22-23 or 2 Chronicles 34-35. I mean, I could understand this prophecy if it was for when Manasseh was in charge, but Josiah? That confused me. So I went on a cultural adventure, and this is what I discovered.

There are two ways of interpreting the ‘Day of the Lord’ prophecy found in Zephaniah. First, as a future event at the end of time when ‘the earth will be destroyed’. A prophecy that outlasts both the Old and New Testament and speaks into the future even today. Second, scholars date this prophecy in the middle of king Josiah’s reign. That way we can understand the mention of all the idolatry and corruption in Judah as it is prior to the full reformation being completed. This prophecy was to motivate the young king to fix the issues as God is pretty much listing them out for him. So as you go, write in the margins what you would fix if this was your role as king of Judah.

Being culturally different from the context of the Bible doesn’t make the Bible harder to read, it just means you get to put on your Indiana Jones hat and go digging. Get historical, check out some maps and have an adventure that will bring the book alive!

Have a great time trashing Zephaniah!

Zephaniah Part Two Dive

CULTURALLY DISTANT IS NOT AN ISSUE

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