How to read Zephaniah
Zephaniah will seem more interesting if you grasp the historical situation in which he wrote. For the decadence that led to King Josiah’s reforms, read 2 Kings 21. Josiah’s history is told in chapters 22 and 23. Second Chronicles 33-35 tells the same story with slightly different details. Zephaniah is easily understood. It has a clear and symmetrical structure, opening (after a brief introduction) with a warning of judgment for Judah and its capital of Jerusalem, then extending the judgment to Judah’s neighbors, and closing in chapter 3 with good news about Jerusalem. Beyond Darkness (A worldwide catastrophe and a shining light) Z EPHANIAH WROTE NOT LONG AFTER Manasseh had ended his 50-year reign in Judah. One of the worst Kings on record, Manasseh had idol worship and child sacrifice as common practice. He had built altars for star worshippers of God’s temple and had encouraged male prostitution as part of the religious rituals. He had also “shed so mu...