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Activity 1|Activity 2|Activity 4|Activity 5
Process
Activity 3: Know Your
Prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures
Group 4: Your Prophets are Ezekiel, Zephaniah
Complete the tasks for Zephaniah.
2
Zephaniah
Use the following information and the
listed resources to complete your tasks.
Zephaniah - His
Profile
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His Name Means |
Yahweh
protects |
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Appears |
Zephaniah |
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Home |
He
must have been a citizen of Jerusalem, for he mentions the districts of the city by name
(Zephaniah 1:10 - 11). |
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Family |
Zephaniah,
the son of Cushi lived in the reign of Josiah (640 - 609 BC) and was a contemporary and
fellow-citizen of the great prophet Jeremiah. |
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Biographical
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Nothing
is known of the Prophet despite the four-generation genealogy given to him. If the
'Hezekiel' mentioned there was the king of that name, Zephaniah was of royal descent, but
that did not stop him attacking the religious and royal "Establishment" of his
day. "But
remember that the prophets were not political forecasters, concerned only with tracing
political developments. They viewed the historical scene from the perspective of faith in
God....Since they were concerned with what Yahweh was saying and doing in the concrete
situation at hand, they did not think it was inconsistent for the agent of divine
judgement to vary from time to time" (Anderson, 1990, 367) |
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Special
Interest |
He
was vehement against the idolatrous practices in Jerusalem - the star-worship copied from
the Assyrians and the infiltration of local Canaanite deities. |
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Time |
The
prophet's activity is set in the reign of Josiah, king of Judah (640 - 609 BC). The
religious abuses described in the book suggest a time early in Josiah's reign (640-622 BC
for the first two chapters) and show why many must have considered his religious reforms
(2 Kings 22 - 23) to be necessary. The third chapter was written after 612 BC when
Josiah's efforts to reform worship had been largely thwarted. |
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Key
Themes/
Messages |
The
humble to put their trust in God as they wait for divine action. "Seek Yahweh,
all you, the humble of the earth, who obey his commands. Seek integrity, seek humility;
you may perhaps find shelter on the day of the anger of Yahweh" (Zephaniah 2:3) The Day of the LORD
Zephaniah repeats some familiar
themes: God's judgement on the people for neglecting their covenant faith, adopting
foreign values and lifestyles, and generally ignoring their religious commitments. But he
goes on to ask how such prophecies of judgement and destruction fit in with messages of
hope for the future. He suggests that judgement will be a way of purifying the nation,
burning away their pride and complacency. But only a small minority (a 'remnant') of the
people will trust in God and be saved. (Drane, 1998, 228)
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 The Day of the Lord |
Key
Passages |
The
Day of the Lord: "A day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin
and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of
trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty
battlements" (Zephaniah 1:15-16) There are only 3 chapters in this Book. Chapter 1: Editorial
superscription. The Day of God's judgement against Judah, Jerusalem and all people.
Chapter 2. Call to repentance.
Oracles against foreign nations.
Chapter 3. Further charges against
the Jerusalem leaders. Salvation for Judah and the nations and God's reign as universal
king. A song of joy (Zephaniah 3:14-20) |
Sources:
Anderson, B.W., 1990, The Living World of the Old Testament,
Longman UK
Bower, J. 1998, The Complete Bible Handbook - An Illustrated Companion,Dorling
Kindersley, UK
Brown, R.E., Fitzmyer, J.A.,and Murphy, R.E., 1992. The New Jerome Bible
Handbook, Geoffrey Chapman, England
Comay, J., and, Browning, R., 1980. Who's Who in the Old Testament,
Bonanza Books, NY
Drane, J.(ed), 1998, The Lion Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Bible,
Lion Publishing, England
Motyer, S. 1998. Who's Who in the Bible - An Illustrated Guide,
Dorling Kindersley, UK
Resources
Catholic Encyclopedia - Sophonias
(Zephaniah) - difficult reading
The Minor Prophets - Zephaniah
Bible Basics - Zephaniah (scroll down left hand side to
Zephaniah)
Bible Study - Zephaniah
(extension work)
When you have completed
Activity 3, go to Process
Introduction|Task|Process|Resources|Evaluation|Conclusion|Teachers
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