Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:14-17).
Nobody really thinks about Zephaniah. Sandwiched between Habakkuk and Haggai (two other Old Testament prophets with hard-to-pronounce names) Zephaniah seems like just another writer of gloom and doom, an old guy with a long white beard shaking his cane at people and hollering about the wrath of God. Like most writers of the Bible who make people uncomfortable, he probably doesn't get read very much.
But I think that, especially on Christmas, we should read a little closer. In this unlikely book, we find a story not of curse but of redemption.
Zephaniah only has three chapters, but even so, I could write on and on about each of them forever, so I'd best limit myself to a particular section, at least for this post. You can read the rest for yourself. (And maybe someday I will write a book. Finding Jesus in the OT just tickles me!) For the purposes of this post, we'll break down Zephaniah 1:7-18, which in my Bible is titled "The Day of the Lord is Near."
Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
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" (v. 7-8).
This reminds me of the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:14. The king (representing God) invites all his friends (religious people) to a wedding feast for his son (Jesus, who marries the church), but they refuse to come, mistreating and even killing the servants (prophets like Zephaniah) who have come to invite them. So the king destroys their city (their reputation for religious ritual), and instead, he invites anyone and everyone in the streets, including the homeless poor. He discovers one man who has gotten into the wedding feast without a garment. That guy gets thrown out. Basically, the story is a warning to those who consider themselves "religious," but who don't know Jesus and are not covered in the robe of righteousness that He bought for us on the cross.
These subtle few lines in Zephaniah set up the context for the following verses. I believe they indicate that the rest of the chapter is about the "sacrifice"--Jesus--whom God has prepared, which "consecrates His guests."
I don't often retype long passages of scripture (again, you're perfectly capable of reading it yourself), but I think it's important to go through verses 10-18 word-for-word so we can get a clear picture of "the day of the Lord." I'll insert scripture references rather than deconstructing each and every line in graduate school thesis fashion, just to spare you the pain of reliving your college English class. Those of you nerds like me (you know who you are) can go ballistic on it yourselves.
"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 [Matthew 27:51].
Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders are no more,
all who weigh out silver are cut off [John 2:16].
At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps [Isaiah 9:2],
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.' [Revelation 3:15-16]
Their goods shall be plundered,
and their houses laid waste [Matthew 12:29].
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them [Proverbs 10:30, Isaiah 65:22].
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 [Mark 15:34 & 37].
A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation [Mark 15:38],
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness [Mark 15:33],
a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk like the blind [Matthew 23:24, John 9:39],
because they have sinned against the Lord;
their blood shall be poured out like dust [Matthew 26:28],
and their flesh like dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the Lord [Matthew 27:3].
In the fire of his jealousy,
all the earth shall be consumed [Song of Soloman 8:6];
for a full and sudden end
he will make of the inhabitants of the earth [2 Corinthians 5:17].
As one of my favorite preachers, Joseph Prince, likes to say, "There are no insignificant details in the Bible." (And if you're really a nerd who loves scripture cross-references, you can check out his sermons.) I'm no Biblical scholar, and I am sure Zephaniah is layered with meaning and probably refers to multiple events. But if you check all my nerd references, you will see what I think about this passage: that it refers not to a complete destruction of sinners, but complete destruction of sin and deceit on the day of the crucifixion. It is not about doom and gloom and hopelessness, as the Jews would have read it. It is about Jesus' victory over death, His destruction of false pharisaical religious tradition, and His restoration of right relationship with us. In other words, I don't think this passage is about how horrible we've been, but about how good Jesus is.
The Jews who read this would have expected relentless devastation, the angry wrath of God. To them, it would have sounded like just another warning against sin. And indeed, God doesn't lie: He intended to punish the people. It's just that He poured out their punishment on one man, His Son, Jesus Christ. I think the "fortified cities" and "lofty battlements" that are destroyed in this passage are the strongholds of the devil. I believe "the cry of the mighty man" is Jesus' cry on the cross, and the "loud crash" is the sound of the curtain being torn in two. I think the "blood poured out" was Jesus' blood, for the sake of all the people. I think He did cause blindness to fall on the Pharisees, who refused to acknowledge that He was God. And I think His jealousy does consume us completely, into the restoring fire of His love displayed through Jesus Christ on the cross. I believe He destroys mankind--that is, the sin inside of us, so that we can be reborn as sons and daughters of the King.
In the Word of the Lord from Zephaniah, the Jews probably expected utter destruction and hopelessness. But through the lens of Jesus, we see that God is a merciful and a just God. Though His people expected judgment from Him, what they got was a Savior. The Messiah was not a militant warrior who came to overturn the Roman empire and restore Israel's autonomy, as the Jews believed; God had bigger plans than that. The Messiah came to be born of a human mother into an imperfect stable, and He grew up to save the entire world from the clutches of sin and death. Zephaniah seems an unlikely book in which to read the story of Jesus; but then again, Jesus, by the world's perspective, seems an unlikely man to become our savior.
Sometimes, even in the New Testament days, we believers still expect judgment from God when we should be turning our eyes to the Savior.
I want to challenge you, on Christmas day, to rethink your expectations of God.
To all of you who feel that God is distant, angry, and wrathful: remember on this day that He came down Himself to a world full of sin, hopelessness, and brokenheartedness, just so He could bridge the distance between Himself and us. He left His throne (Philippians 2:4-11) in order to become Emmanuel, "God with us." His love is earth-shattering and sin-shattering.
Don't surrender to hopelessness today. The Redeemer lives, and His plan for your life is so much more wonderful than you expect.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
A very joyous Christmas to you.
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