Zephaniah is the last of the Minor Prophets before the return from Babylon. He tells us that the word of the Lord came to him in the days of Josiah, that godly son of an ungodly father; whose mother, however, taught her boy well out of the Word of God, and was much in prayer for him (2 Kings 21:1919Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. (2 Kings 21:19) to 22:2; 23:25). There were few in those days whose ways were pleasing to the Lord, and as far as the Scriptures tell about them, none of Josiah’s children turned out well. Twenty-two years after his death, Jerusalem was destroyed and Judah was gone into captivity.
The nation had now passed the forbearance of God, yet He would not leave the without another warning of what their sins were about to bring upon them, and so He raised up Jeremiah, Habakkuk and Zephaniah to speak for Him, together with Josiah their king.
Not the warning voices of the former prophets, nor the carrying off of the ten tribes of Israel, had affected the state of Judah; like the world today, they pursued their course, heedless of the word of God; there were then, as there are today, believers, but then and now constituting only a minority without noticeable influence on the general trend of the age. (See 2 Kings 22:15-2015And she said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me, 16Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: 17Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched. 18But to the king of Judah which sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard; 19Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. 20Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again. (2 Kings 22:15‑20)).
The prophecy of Zephaniah (whose name, fittingly, means “Jah is darkness” – God shut up to judgment) is therefore a prophecy of judgment, especially in chapter 1; the cup of Judah’s iniquity was full, and the godliness of a few could have no effect in the way of staying the outpouring of divine vengeance.
In verses 2-3 the judgment promised is universal; in verses 4-13 it is chosen people that are in view, and verses 14-18 embrace all who pass through the fearful day of the Lord. As has been remarked already, the prophecies of the Old Testament had a partial fulfilment long ago; at the same time they point forward to a day when there will be complete fulfilment.
The “stumbling blocks” of verse 3 are idols. The “remnant of Baal” and the “name of the Chemarims with the priests” (verse 4), and those mentioned in verses 5-6 suggest a reference to 2 Kings 23; it is evident that Josiah’s vigorous work for God did not remove all that savored of idolatry and indifference to Him. The “Chemarims” are named in verse 5 of that chapter, but the translators in that case gave the English sense, “idolatrous priests” (see marginal note).
Maktesh (verse 11) was in or near Jerusalem.