Zion Born - Zephaniah

Many of the prophetic books of the Old Testament follow a similar introductory formula: The prophet is introduced along with a reference to his father, and perhaps his grandfather, the town where he lived and the king or kings who were in power during his ministry. There is some variation among the prophets, but they largely follow this pattern.

But the prophet Zephaniah deviates from this formula slightly in that his pedigree lists not one or two but five generations. This variation is intriguing on two points The first being that Zephaniah ben Cushi traces his ancestry back to Hezekiah.

Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah.

You probably recognize the name Hezekiah. There was a king of Judah named Hezekiah. He ruled from 715 - 687 BC. But was Zephaniah's great-great-grandfather King Hezekaih? Were they one and the same? Well it’s possible. It cannot be discounted based on the time frame and it would certainly explain the irregular extended family tree in the prophet’s introduction.

That also makes him a second cousin to the king in power during his time as prophet – King Josiah, and a third cousin to kings Jehoaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedikaih who would follow. The prophet Zepheniah came from a powerful and royal family.

But there’s another interesting tidbit that I find even more compelling than his descent from royalty. Zephaniah is called the son of Cushi – the son of Cush. There’s a definite possibility that this is means the area of Africa just south of Egypt. (Modern day Sudan and Ethiopia) "This form of the word [Cushi], whether taken as a proper name or as an ethnic designation, regularly points in biblical usage to Israel's darker hued neighbors to the south, peoples from Egypt, and the extended regions of the Nile valley”[i]  Zephaniah, very likely, may have been part African.

Zephaniah’s short book zigzags back and forth between Jerusalem and the nations that surround. He declares Yahweh’s judgment on Jerusalem then on the nations, and then on Jerusalem again, and then on the nations. Then Zephaniah delivers a promise of Yahweh’s salvation to the nations and then to Jerusalem, or Zion. It’s this promise of salvation we want to look at today.

Like many of the other prophets, Zephaniah dealt with the coming destruction of Jerusalem and Judah and the surrounding nations because of their various sins against the Lord. Of their many sins Zephaniah lists the worship of false gods, abandoning YHWH, mocking God’s people, not listening to the prophets, and not accepting the correction that they offered among others as the reasons why God would send his wrath on the immanent Day of the Lord.

The great Day of the Lord is near,

near and coming with great speed

how bitter the sound of the Day of YHWH

the Day when the warrior shouts his cry of war.

That Day is a day of retribution.

a day of distress and tribulation.

a day of ruin and devastation.

a day of darkness and gloom.

a day of cloud and dark fog.

a day of trumpet blast and battle cry

against fortified towns and high corner tower.

I shall bring such distress on humanity

that they will grope their way like the blind

for having sinned against YHWH

their blood will be poured out like mud,

yes, their corpses like dung;

nor will their silver and gold be able to save them

on the Day of Yahweh’s anger

by the fire of his jealousy

the whole earth will be consumed.

For he will destroy, yes annihilate

everyone living on earth. (1: 14 – 18)

I suppose complete literalists would demand that this means that God at some point after this prophecy, or even yet in the future, has literally annihilated or will soon annihilate everyone living on the earth – every single living person on the earth!. But the context of Zephaniah is clear that this Day of the Lord would be the destruction of Jerusalem and the surrounding nations under the army of the Babylonians.

Zephaniah begins with Gods’ voice ‘unmaking’ everything in a sort of ‘anti-creation’ Just as in the Genesis account God speaks everything into existence, here God speaks creation out of existence.

“I shall sweep away everything

off the face of the earth

declares YHWH.

I shall sweep away humans and animals,

the birds of the air and the fish of the sea,

I shall topple the wicked

and wipe all people off the face of the earth

-declares YHWH” (1: 2 – 3)

Humans, beasts, birds, fish – reverses the order of creation in Gen. 1: 20 – 26. From chaos to creation and back to chaos again. This judgment on the sins of Jerusalem and her neighbors was described as an unmaking of the whole created world.

But Zephaniah’s prophecy doesn’t end with doom, gloom, destruction, and damnation. After the devastation of the Day of Wrath God says:

Yes, then I shall purge

the lips of the peoples,

so that all may invoke the name of YHWH

and serve him shoulder to shoulder from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia

my supplicants will bring me tribute. (3:9 –10)

From the burning fire of God’s wrath come the burning coals that purify the lips of his people everywhere.

“Woe is me! I am lost. For I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the King YHWH Sabaoth. Then one of the seraphs flew to me holding in its hand a live coal which had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. With this it touched my mouth and said, ‘look, this has touched your lips, your guilt has been removed, and your sin forgiven.’” Isaiah 6: 5-7

The burning wrath was not to destroy the world but to burn away the impurities, and to leave behind only purity. God’s burning wrath on the nations would leave them with “pure lips” able to call on his name.

“in the end I will turn things around for the people. I’ll give them a language undistorted, unpolluted, words to address GOD in worship…” (the Message Bible)

And with their new language for worship the peoples (all the peoples) of the nations will serve him with one accord – shoulder to shoulder – and that particular English idiom almost exactly reflects the Hebrew idiom used – they will serve with “one shoulder”.

After the fire of God’s vengeance falls on the nations they will be left with a pure language – the ability to call on God’s name, to worship him, and to serve him in unity.

God’s burning wrath would result in the conversion of the nations. The burning and destruction wasn’t to be the end of the world (despite the universal destruction language – not to be understood literally) It was the end of an age… and the threshold to a new age.  The future, Zephaniah, said wasn't going to be a remake of the old segregated order with enmity between the peoples. God’s chosen people would include all peoples and all nations. It would no longer be Jews on the inside and Gentile dogs on the outside - all would be welcomed.

With it’s foundations on the holy mountains
YHWH loves his holy city
he prefers the gates of Zionto any dwelling place in Jacob.
He speaks glory for you, city of God.
‘I number Rahab and Babylonamong those who acknowledge me;
look at Tyre, Phillistia, Ethiopia,
so and so was born there.’
YHWH in his register of peoples
will note against each, ‘Born there’,
princes no less than native-born;
all make their home in you.
(Psalm 87)
 

In God’s kingdom there are no national boundaries, there are no boarder disputes. All are included as natural born – and are thought of as princes and princesses no less than the natives.  I can easily imagine Zephaniah ben Cushi pointing to himself as an example of this coming conversion of nations. "Look at me. I am not African born. I am Zion born. We are all Zion-born."

Zephaniah continues:

Shout for joy, daughter Zion

Israel, shout aloud!

Rejoice, exult with all your heart,

daughter Jerusalem!

YHWH has repealed your sentence;

he has turned your enemies away.

YHWH is King among you, Israel,

you have nothing more to fear,

do not let your hands fall limp.

YHWH your God is there with you,

the warrior-Savior.

He will rejoice over you with happy song,

he will silence you with his love,

he will dance with shouts of joy for you

as on a day of festival

(3: 14 –18)

 “Do not be afraid. Look I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord….. Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace for those he favors…” Luke 2: 10, 14

Our King is among us. Our God is among us. Our God is With Us. Emmanuel. There is no reason for us to be afraid. We are princes and princesses of Zion, born into God’s eternal kingdom, born into the presence of our God and King who sings and dance over us in great joy and great love. What a great image. Our God, our King, our Warrior-Savior sings songs over us and dances in delight for us. He loves us. He is overjoyed in us.  He is King over all the nations, tribes, and peoples - and all languages and tongues are united in a language of praise to the One-In-Three who lives, and reigns as God among Us. Amen.

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[i] . Robert A. Bennet - The New Interpreter's Bible pg. 670 Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1996.