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In With the New

Continued from "Out With the Old."

New Speech

Zeph 3:9 “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord.

As we progress through this last chapter it becomes increasingly a stretch to try and see a fulfillment of Zephaniah’s words in the near term Babylonian context. Even so, an Orthodox view would be that the effect of Babylonian captivity was to draw Jews together in solidarity of community and press them to rely ever more strongly on their original faith in YHWH. Although this did happen, the words of Zephaniah beg for greater understanding. “At that time” appears to refer to the time of gathering mentioned in the previous verse.

In the Messianic sense, the wrath of God was poured out onto His son when Christ was crucified for the sin of the world. In this same sense we can view the purification of speech as the clarified understanding of the gospel of Jesus and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit to draw men together of one accord. One of the key events at Pentecost was when Peter and others filled with the Holy Spirit began speaking in languages that were understood by foreigners in the audience (Ac 2:4-6). Paul spoke of a different form of tongues where humans were gifted with angelic speech when filled with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 14). Beyond this we can draw an apocalyptic conclusion by simply turning back to Gen 11:1-9 where the speech of humanity was first confused at Babel. The hundreds of languages on earth today are due to the supernatural division of speech by God roughly 4000 years ago. The apostles spoke of the Holy Spirit and its work on earth now as a deposit on what is to come (2 Cor 1:22). We can look forward to a time when the Lord gathers faithful humanity in Heaven. When this happens the deposit will be fully redeemed and we will all will speak a single pure language with perfect clarity and understanding (Rev 7:9-10).
 

New Daughter

Zeph 3:10 From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering.

This is the second time Ethiopia (Cush) is mentioned by Zephaniah. The idea of an offering being brought from “beyond the rivers of Cush” is common to most translations, but the rest of this passage is difficult to translate. The reference to dispersed (post-exile) people coming to worship from beyond Cush may be meant as a general reference to believers coming from a great distance. Only in this most vague sense can we apply this verse to predicting the return of Jewish exiles from Babylon. You could use the same logic in reference to the people from nations listed in Ac 2:9-11 who were present to hear the preaching of Pentecost. A very specific fulfillment can be found in Ac 8:26-39 where an Ethiopian official was coming to Jerusalem to worship. The Lord directed Philip to go meet this Ethiopian and upon explaining Isaiah’s prophecies Philip led the Ethiopian to belief in Jesus and immediately baptized him. Ac 8:39 says the Ethiopian went away rejoicing. By his rejoicing he gave an offering pleasing and acceptable to God (Heb 13:15-16). Frequently the term “daughter” is tied to the church of the New Testament. This only serves to reinforce Zeph 3:10 as a prophecy fulfilled by Ac 8:26-39. As for an end times fulfillment, we have only to look at the incredible growth of Christianity in Africa in recent decades. Although Christianity is declining in Europe and America, it is expanding at an incredible rate in Asia and particularly Africa. It has been estimated that while Christianity looses nearly 1000 members per day in the United States, Africa gains an estimated 10,000 new Christians per day.

New Purity

Zeph 3:11 “On that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me; for then I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain.

A purified and forgiven remnant will remain when the rebellious ones are removed. In a vague sense this took place when the humbled, faithful remnant of survivors from the Babylonian exile returned to Jerusalem. Considering the Messianic and apocalyptic overtones of Zephaniah’s writing it only stands to reason that this passage likely has a greater fulfillment in later times. In a very vivid sense this prophecy was fulfilled through Jesus Christ in and after his human life. During his lifetime, Jesus went among the common people, keeping separate from and even being “on the lamb” from the religious authorities of his time. Following his resurrection, the followers of the risen Lord became their own sect apart from the religious authority of Jerusalem’s Temple. The Second Temple was destroyed just one generation after the resurrection of Christ bringing an end to the old system of the self-righteousness Sanhedrin elite. In the place of the old wineskin of legalism came the new wineskin of faith with a focus on the Lord, not a temple or priestly class. The new faith was marked by humility and hardship, but also by joy and love and purity through the Holy Spirit. Paul provides a beautiful explanation in 2 Cor 6 where he speaks of the stark difference and division between the worldly and the spiritual. We know that Zeph 3:11 can also be viewed as apocalyptic because we find several New Testament prophecies of a dividing of good from evil and a final removal and destruction of evil. We know that when that day comes the Lord will forgive those he’s chosen for salvation and will set them aside, cleansed and purified, to live forever in His presence.
 

New Humility

Zeph 3:12-13 But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord, those who are left in Israel; they shall do no injustice and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.”

Continuing the themes of purity and humility from 3:11, this passage lauds the virtues and hopes of the pure and humble. The remnant who will remain when the dust settles will be like those mentioned among the beatitudes (Mt 5). These are the poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry, merciful, pure of heart, peacemakers, and persecuted. Their hopes include obtaining the kingdom of heaven, comfort, inheritance, satisfaction, mercy, seeing the face of God and being called a son of God, and great heavenly reward. John speaks of being free of grief (Rev 7:17). Isaiah speaks of the child playing safely next to the venomous snake (Is 11:8). Ezekiel wrote a great deal about the kingdom yet to come where God would be among his people forever with perhaps the most clear words on the subject found in Ez 37:24-28. We have a glimpse of this in our world when the Holy Spirit converts us, cleansing and making us new creations and children of God and subjects of the Kingdom of God. We know this is but a glimpse, though, because we have even greater promises of glory yet to come.

As a final thought on 3:11-13 together, this passage suggests that the Lord will take the evil from the world and return earth to Edenic conditions rather than remove the saved and destroy the earth. We must be careful not to place too much weight on any one passage, particularly a passage like this with its layers of application and multiple fulfillments, when it comes to interpreting the way end time events play out. We are blessed with the ability to look back on 3000 years of history to see ancient prophecy. If anything should be clear to its students it should be that when Old Testament prophets looked forward in their prophecy they seldom saw things in the kind of strict chronological and purely literal way that we who are trained in scientific western reasoning ways want to see them. The same caution should also be used when reading the prophecies of New Testament authors. We should take the cue from Zephaniah and be humble in our estimations of our understanding and enjoy the blessings of whatever wisdom the Holy Spirit imparts when we read our Lord’s words for ourselves.

» left by Anonymous (58 days 18 hours ago.)

If, if and buts were candy and nuts it would be Christmas all year long. Thing about my mother in law was that she was a eollowfr of The Christ. I have never met anyone who was more like Him. Her love was without strings attached and she never spoke a negative word. During the time I was abusing alcohol and drugs she never castigated me for the behavior shown to her daughter and grandchildren. I and two of my drinking buddies arrived home on a Sunday morning after carousing all night. This was just at the time she came to pick up my wife and children for church. When she came in the door and saw me she put her arms around me and told me how much she loved me and what a beautiful family I had. She was crying and I had no defense for that kind of love, none. When they left for church she said: Oh by the way, I smashed your whiskey bottle against the chimney, I hope you will forgive me. Had she been a Mormon or a Jehovah Witness, I don't think the outcome would be the same. Irregardless, she wasn't, she was a Christian in the true sense of the word.J.M. Howard

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