THE MESSAGE OF ZEPHANIAH

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HE key to the book of Zephaniah is the phrase "the day of the Lord." phrase is not peculiar to Zephaniah. Most of the prophets make use of it in the course of their prophesying. In our study of the permanent value and living message of the prophecy of Joel we noticed that Joel used it five times in the course of his brief message, and by his use of it we found that the phrase stands for a perpetual method in that activity of God which moves ever forward until at last it accomplishes all His purpose in the affairs of men. To him the locust plague was "the day of the Lord"; the threatened invasion would be "the day of the Lord"; that ultimate procedure whereby God will establish His rule in the world will be "the day of the Lord."

Zephaniah used this phrase more frequently than any other prophet. It was his burden. Consequently we find, as we should expect, in his prophecy a fuller explanation of the mean

ing of the phrase than in any other of the Old Testament writings. The explanation of the phrase is the permanent value of this book of Zephaniah.

Wherever we find this phrase in any of the prophets or in the New Testament, it invariably suggests a contrast. Each prophet who uses it does so in a certain set of circumstances, in order to put such circumstances into contrast with that which he describes as "the day of the Lord." The contrast is always that between the day of man and the day of Jehovah.

Zephaniah uttered his prophecy in the time of Josiah. A remarkable thing which has puzzled expositors is that Zephaniah, whose prophecy opens with the declaration,

"The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah,"

never referred to the reform under Josiah. The days of Josiah stand out, when we study the history of the people, as days of reform. I think the explanation is simple. The reform under Josiah, so far as it affected the nation at all, was a reform brought about by the popular.

ity of the king, and not by heart repentance. Huldah the prophetess had declared that this would be so. Zephaniah took no account of the reform, knowing as he did that the hearts of the people were still in rebellion and in sin. Amid circumstances of rebellion, sin, and corruption, he spoke of "the day of the Lord."

The day of man is the day of Jehovah's patience. "The day of the Lord" is the day of man's judgment. Wherever this phrase occurs, it refers to God's judgment, in order to the establishment of His Kingdom. To Joel the locust plague was "the day of the Lord," because it was a day of judgment; the coming armies constituted "the day of the Lord" because their coming was the coming of God's judgment upon a sinning people. The ultimate "day of the Lord," according to Peter, is the day in which "the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up." The day of man is

the day of God's patience.

"The day of the

Lord" is the day when patience has had her perfect work on the part of God, and He takes up the sword of judgment.

The permanent value of this book, then, is its