Judah will be judged

After stating at the beginning (verses 2-3) that universal judgment will come, Zephaniah next prophesies concerning the judgment that will fall upon Judah, God’s people. It says, “So I will stretch out My hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (v 4a). (1) When God’s hand is stretched out, it means protection in the case of believers, and judgment in the case of unbelievers. Here it has the latter meaning. (2) Although universal judgment will come, especially severe judgment will fall upon Judah. Furthermore, among Judah, the judgment that falls upon Jerusalem will be the most severe. Jerusalem is the city of God, and the unfaithfulness of the nation’s leaders cannot be overlooked.

The five kinds of people that will be judged

Next, Zephaniah denounces five kinds of people. (1) “The remnant of Baal” will be judged. During the days of King Josiah, religious reform was carried out, and the number of those who turned to Baal worship had decreased. Even so, a small number still remained. “The remnant of Baal” refers to such people. Among them were those who worshiped “Ashtoreth (the goddess corresponding to Baal).” (2) “The idolatrous priests” will also be destroyed. “The names” of the priests will be eliminated, meaning their reputation will be wiped out. (3) “Those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly lights” will also be destroyed. The phrase “on the housetops” refers to the structure of houses in that region, where the roof functioned as a flat rooftop, and people would go up there to look at the heavenly bodies. Deuteronomy 4:19 forbids the worship of celestial bodies: “And be careful not to raise your eyes to heaven and look at the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the heavenly lights, and allow yourself to be drawn away and worship them and serve them, things which the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.” (4) “Those who bow down and swear to the Lord, but also swear by Milcom” will also be destroyed. They are double-minded people. The worship of the heavenly bodies and the worship of Milcom were widely practiced during the reigns of Manasseh and Amon. Those evil customs still remained even in the days of Josiah. (5) “Those who have turned back from following the Lord” will also be judged. Zephaniah first pointed out the religious sins of God’s people. There is no sin more dreadful than making something other than God into your own god. It is the sin that lies at the root of all corruption. Let us remove everything other than God and learn to worship God as God. God is waiting in order to forgive us.