Title: The Fallen Jerusalem/Zep 3:1-6
The Phenomenon of Fallen Jerusalem
Wet 3:1-6
(Zep 3:1) Woe to her rebellious and filthy place, to her tyrannical city (Zep 3:2) For she has not listened to commands, received no instruction, has not trusted in the LORD, and has not drawn near to his God. 3:3 The princes among them are roaring lions, and their judges are evening wolves that leave nothing to the next day (Zep 3:4) Their prophets are ignorant and deceitful men, their priests defiled the sanctuary and transgressed the law. (Zeb 3:5) The LORD who dwells in them is righteous and does not do anything unrighteous; he reveals his justice in a simple manner every morning; and the unrighteous know no shame (Zep 3:6) because I cut off the nations. Its tower is desolate, and I have made its streets empty, so that no one can pass by, and all its cities are desolate, and there are no people and no dwellers. (Zephany 3:7) I said, “Only fear me and be taught, and I will It was decided to inflict punishment, but your dwelling place shall not be cut off.
3:1 Woe to the rebellious and filthy place, to the tyrannical city!
The specific meaning of 'city' is not clearly shown, but 'prophet', 'priest', and 'sanctuary' are mentioned after this verse, so it can be considered to mean Jerusalem.
The prophet Zephaniah is accusing Jerusalem of sin with three modifiers.
First, it is 'rebellious'.
It means rebelling against the will of God and refusing to obey (v. 2).
Second, it is 'dirty'.
This represents ceremonial impurity, such as the pagan worship of idols (v.
Jerusalem appeared clean from the outside, but was actually very corrupt and unclean. Third, it was 'violent'.
This is an expression of the relationship between the people living in Jerusalem, and it means ignoring the rights and positions of others and treating them ferociously (verse 3).
The inhabitants of Jerusalem disregarded the rights of the Canaanites, widows, or orphans, and treated them rudely.
3::2 He did not listen to the command...he did not draw near to his God.
The main sin of Jerusalem is rebellion.
First, they did not listen to God's commands and precepts in their lives.
Second, he did not rely on Jehovah.
Third, they refused to approach God who was in control of their lives.
3:3 The hundreds of them are roaring lions.
'Princes' refer to the nobility, the leaders of Jerusalem who must do everything with justice and fairness.
Rather than guiding the people well as leaders, they focused on fulfilling their own self-interest.
The judges are supper with nothing left to the next day.
The expression 'evening with nothing left until the next day' refers to the greed and predatory nature of the judges.
They did not hesitate to pervert judgment in order to accumulate unrighteous riches, just as a fertilized beast eats all at once without leaving any food left.
3:4 Those prophets are ignorant and deceitful of great men.
'Reckless' is used to refer to a person who cannot escape from an evil and debauched life (Judges 9:4).
'Deceitful' means unfaithful and false.
Prophets are those who prophesy the word of God and are only faithful to God.
However, the prophets of Jerusalem at the time of Zephaniah were deceitful and not faithful to God, and they did not represent the voice of God, but made false prophecies that satisfy the human heart only to satisfy greed.
Their priests have defiled the sanctuary and have transgressed the law.
The Hebrew word 'kodesh' for 'sanctuary' refers to 'holy things' rather than sanctuary.
Although the priests must distinguish between the holy and the profane in performing the rites,
He blasphemed God by giving indiscriminately.
Also, despite their duty to obey the law, they did things that were against the law through their words and actions, that is, their entire lives, without hesitation.
3:5 The LORD, who dwells in them, is righteous... and every morning he manifests his justice without simplification.
Jehovah does justice.
'Every morning' means just as the sun always rises and shines in the morning (Hosea 6:3)
It implies that God continues to do justice without change.
The unrighteous know no shame.
'The unrighteous' refers to the leaders of Jerusalem mentioned earlier (verses 3 and 4).
God continues to reveal his justice every morning, but the inhabitants of Jerusalem are stubborn and do not realize their iniquity and shame.
3:6 I have cut off the nations...and all their cities are desolate, and there is no one to live in.
This verse exemplifies God's judgment on the nations.
However, it does not appear which country specifically refers to.
It only turns out that all the nations that have become proud of their own strength and economic power have become so devastated that there are no people walking through the streets.
3:7 I said, Fear me, and take instruction...your dwelling place shall not be cut off.
It indicates the purpose of foreshadowing God's judgment of the nations (v. 6).
God's sudden judgment of the nations is explained in order to encourage Jerusalem to see the nations that have been judged for their sins, reflect on them, and return.
In other words, when God saw the nations that were judged by Jerusalem, he eagerly wanted to fear God and turn away.
So, if Jerusalem turns away, he clearly declares that he will not destroy what he has already decided to judge.
God's judgment is not an end in itself, but a means to turn Jerusalem back to God.
They have diligently defiled all their works.
Even though he had declared that God would change even his decrees of judgment if he would accept his counsel, Jerusalem was stubborn, ignoring the warning and willing to do more evil.