Zephaniah, Haggai, Malachi

Iain M. Duguid, Matthew P. Harmon

• Publisher: P Publishing
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781629951997
• Topic: Teología y religión
• Subtopic: Estudios bíblicos

God is both Judge, and a refuge from judgment, faithful to those who fear him, a blessing at the center of your life—major lessons from so-called "minor prophets."

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INTRODUCTION TO ZEPHANIAH, HAGGAI, AND MALACHI

T he books of Zephaniah, Haggai, and Malachi are not typically high on most readers’ lists of favorite books of the Bible. They are tucked away in our translations in a section unpromisingly titled “Minor Prophets,” and it is easy to miss them when skimming through the pages of the Old Testament. Yet these books too are part of God’s inspired Word, written down for our instruction, reproof, encouragement, and training in righteousness (see 2 Tim. 3:16). Studying and preaching from them is all the more important, since many Bible readers will not have encountered them before, except perhaps for an occasional sermon on stewardship from Malachi 3. These books that come to us from the latter part of the period of the history of God’s Old Testament people speak to us of judgment and hope, of challenge and blessing, and will point us again and again to the sufferings of Christ and the anticipated glories that will follow, just as Luke 24 told us.

THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH

Author and Date

We know very little about Zephaniah’s personal story. Based on his genealogy, some have speculated that he had African blood because of his father’s name, “Cushi,” or that he was of royal descent, since the last name in the genealogy is “Hezekiah,” the great-grandfather of then-reigning King Hezekiah (Zeph. 1:1). Neither of these claims is certain. Apart from the Cush in Upper Egypt, there is also a Cush within the borders of Canaan, while “Cushi” and “Hezekiah” were both common personal names in the West Semitic context.¹ Both are plausible, however, given the brief mention of Cush (2:12) that certainly refers to Southern Egypt and the fact that the prophet seems intimately familiar with the goings-on in the upper echelons of society. Either of these alternatives might explain the unusually long four-generation genealogy that is given at his introduction.

Zephaniah lived and ministered during the reign of King Josiah of Judah, who ruled from 640 to 609 B.C. King Josiah was a reforming king, but he inherited a nation in a spiritually dangerous state. His grandfather, Manasseh, and his father, Amon, had both led the people astray. Manasseh had installed pagan altars in the Lord’s temple and encouraged worship of pagan deities at the high places throughout the land (2 Kings 21:1–7). Amon had followed in his father’s unspiritual ways during his short reign of two years (2 Kings 21:19–22). Josiah came to the throne while he was still only a child, but from the beginning he pursued a different path, seeking to cleanse the land of the pagan abominations (2 Chron. 34:5–7). In the eighteenth year of his reign, he restored the temple in Jerusalem. During the renovation work, the high priest Hilkiah found the book of the law in the temple (2 Kings 22:8). This document seems to have included the book of Deuteronomy, since Josiah’s reforms proceeded along the lines of that ancient work. It is a mark of the poor state of spiritual affairs in Judah during Josiah’s reign, however, that such a crucial book could be so little known as to need to be rediscovered.

Nor did Josiah’s reform last. After his death, many of his reforms were rolled back and Judah headed downward into a spiral of sin that culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Zephaniah’s unheeded warnings (along with those of many other prophets) came home to roost.

It is not certain when during Josiah’s reign Zephaniah prophesied. Commentators are divided about whether his ministry predated or followed the discovery of the book of the law in the temple in 622 B.C. At times, his language seems to be influenced by the book of Deuteronomy, which might argue for a later date, though the description of the state of affairs in Judah seems more apt to describe the earlier situation. Zephaniah 1:8–9 in particular seems to describe a situation in which members of the royal family are behaving with unchecked license. His ministry presumably predated the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C., which is still future in the book, but we cannot be more precise than locating it somewhere in the second half of the seventh century B.C.

Themes

The book of Zephaniah focuses on the imminent judgment of God both on Judah (Zeph. 1:2–18; 3:1–8) and on the surrounding nations (2:4–15) because of their sins, which include pride, idolatry, and oppression of the poor. These anticipated judgments were fulfilled in history in the latter part of the seventh and the early sixth century B.C., as the power of Assyria was swept away and the Babylonians came to dominate the region. Yet Zephaniah insists that this change in geopolitical realities was not the result of the ascendency of the Babylonian gods or a meaningless turn in the global wheel of fortune. Rather, it was a sovereign act of judgment on the part of the Lord, whose power extends over every people and nation. Thus, this historical event foreshadows the last and final judgment on the day of the Lord, when the Lord will bring all human beings to account.

At the same time, Zephaniah speaks words of hope and encouragement that flow from the reality of the Lord’s sovereign power. If it is the Lord who is our Judge, then repentance is possible. If God’s people repent and humble themselves, seeking the Lord’s face, then a refuge may be found on the coming day of judgment (Zeph. 2:3). Indeed, the Lord’s purpose is not to destroy all flesh but rather to transform the nations into his pure worshipers (3:9–10). A remnant will be found in Israel, too, who humble themselves and find refuge in the name of the Lord (3:12). The Lord who demonstrated himself mighty in judgment when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. will also demonstrate himself as mighty in salvation, redeeming a people over whom he will rejoice with singing (3:17).

In many ways, the message of this book summarizes the larger message of the Minor Prophets thus far.² It echoes the announcements of condemnation of God’s rebellious people in Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Micah, while confirming the Lord’s judgment on those who plundered them, a key theme of Obadiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk. Yet it also points forward to the coming of Christ. Repentance and humility by themselves cannot atone for sins committed against God’s holiness. Nor can Israel simply turn over a new leaf and choose to become holy. That much became crystal clear with the failure of Josiah’s attempts at reform. As soon as the noble king died, Judah went back to her old ways with a vengeance.

If the Lord were to have a people over whom he could rejoice, he would need to provide them with a refuge against his own wrath, along with a righteousness that was not their own. He did this through sending his own Son, first to live the life of holiness that none of us could live. Jesus did not give his heart to idols, or rob the poor, or serve his own self-interests. Instead, he poured out his life in perfect love to God and to his neighbor. He truly sought the Lord in humility all the days of his life. And then he subjected himself willingly to the ultimate “day of wrath” on the cross, when all of God’s righteous anger against the sin of his people was poured out on him. As a result, all those who humble themselves and seek refuge in Christ are eternally safe against the wrath to come. We can never be forsaken or put to shame: we are the Lord’s redeemed people, over whom he delights with singing. This rescued community is now drawn not merely from Judah or Israel but from every tribe, nation, and language, a new redeemed humanity cleansed by Christ’s blood.

Structure

1:1 Superscription

1:2–2:3 Judgment and the Need for Repentance

1:2–3 Global Judgment

1:4–13 Judgment on Judah

1:14–18 Global Judgment

2:1–3 A Call to Repentance

2:4–15 Judgment against Judah’s Neighbors

2:4–7 The Philistines (West)

2:8–11 Moab and Ammon (East)

2:12–15 Cush and Assyria (South and North)

3:1–20 Judgment and the Promise of Restoration

3:1–8 Further Judgment on Judah and the World

3:9–13 Promises of a Purified Remnant

3:14–17 Rejoicing in Salvation

3:18–20 Promises of Restoration and Deliverance

THE BOOK OF HAGGAI

Author and Date

Haggai prophesied alongside the prophet Zechariah to restore the faith of those who had returned from exile in Babylon. After Jerusalem’s destruction in 586 B.C., most of the city’s remaining inhabitants were taken into captivity in Babylon, where they were permitted to live in their own communities, retaining their ethnic identity. When the Babylonian Empire fell to the Persians in 539 B.C., the Persian emperor Cyrus encouraged many ethnic groups to return home and rebuild their national sanctuaries.³ The Jews were among these peoples, and a significant population returned immediately to Jerusalem, recognizing in this provision the fulfillment of divine prophecy. They began work on rebuilding the temple immediately, but they faced significant opposition right from the start, and work on the temple building was soon halted (see Ezra 4).

Meanwhile, the Persian Empire experienced political upheaval of its own. Cyrus was killed during a military campaign on the eastern frontier in 530 B.C., to be replaced by his son, Cambyses. In 522 B.C., a man named Gaumata led a coup attempt while Cambyses was away fighting in Egypt. When Cambyses died on the journey home, his place was taken by one of his generals, Darius, who successfully put down the coup and gained control of the empire. Haggai’s prophecies were delivered around 520 B.C., while Darius was consolidating his power.

Themes

The rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem is the central theme in the book of Haggai (Hag. 1:8). Since the temple had been destroyed along with Jerusalem because of the people’s sin, marking God’s abandonment of his city, its rebuilding was a key mark of the Lord’s blessing and presence with his people. Though life was hard in those days for those who had returned, they needed to reorder their priorities and invest their efforts and resources in building the Lord’s house (1:2–5). God’s renewed presence in their midst would result in renewed blessings in the present, in line with the promises of the Sinai covenant (2:15–19). Yet their eyes should also be looking forward to a greater transformation that was yet to come, of which the present transformation under the leadership of Governor Zerubbabel was only a sign (2:21–23). His presence, as a son of David leading the people in obedience to the Lord, was a sign of the future fulfillment of God’s covenant with David, which promised an enduring and righteous king from that line.

Both the temple and Zerubbabel point forward to the coming of Christ. The temple was the visible symbol of Immanuel—God dwelling in the midst of his people—which finds its richest fulfillment in the person of Jesus, the eternal Word who took on flesh and “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14). Indeed, in the New Testament, Jesus himself is the new temple (John 2:19), as is his body, the church (Eph. 2:16–22). The message of this book for Christians, therefore, is not about reconstructing a buildin...