Zephaniah 2

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Judgment of the Lord Upon the Gentile Nations

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. God will judge those who mock and despise His people.

  2. God will judge those who exalt themselves above others.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Are you hidden from the Lord’s anger?

QUESTIONS

  1. What is the theme of Zephaniah?

  2. What are the two aspects of this theme?

  3. Were all of the prophesies of Zephaniah Chapter 1 fulfilled by the Babylonian invasion of Judah?

  4. Who preserved the Scriptures during the Babylonian captivity?

  5. Is Zephaniah 2:3 a reference to Christians who are raptured before the Tribulation?

  6. God pronounces judgment on which group of people in Zephaniah 2:4-15?

ANSWERS

  1. The day of the Lord

  2. The historical aspect and the eschatological (future) aspect to the day of the Lord.

  3. No. Some of the prophecies await fulfillment.

  4. The Jews who were taken captive to Babylon preserved the scriptures and produced the godly remnant that came back to Jerusalem after the seventy-year captivity.

  5. No. The godly remnant in this verse are future believers that God preserves and protects from His wrath during the time of the Tribulation.

  6. The Gentile nations surrounding Judah.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Look at a map of the Old Testament period. Locate the nations to the west and east of Judah that are mentioned in Zephaniah 2:4-11. Discuss the prophecies that were fulfilled concerning these nations. Discuss the prophecies yet to be fulfilled. Is there peace in Askelon today?

  2. God pronounced judgment on the Gentile nations surrounding Judah because they were proud and arrogant and they mocked and despised the Jews. Does this have relevance today?

  3. Take out your map again, and locate the places south and north and further east mentioned in Zephaniah 2:12-15. Nineveh was judged because it exalted itself above others. Consider the relevance of such judgment today, both in nations and in individuals.

CHALLENGE

  1. In context, Zephaniah 2:3 refers to the godly remnant that God preserved during the Babylonian captivity and looks forward to the godly remnant that will be preserved during the coming Tribulation Period. This also has application for today. Are you hidden from the Lord’s anger? Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?

KEY VERSES

  • “ Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth…it may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger. ” - Zephaniah 2:3

  • “ …they have reproached and made arrogant threats against the people of the Lord…the Lord will be awesome to them…people shall worship Him… ” - Zephaniah 2:10-11

  • “ This is the city that dwelt securely, that said in her heart, ‘I am it, and there is none besides me.‘ How she has become a desolation… ” - Zephaniah 2:15



Zephaniah, Talks, Old TestamentDeb HarmsZephaniah 2