“I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord (v2 ESV).
This is the opening verse of God’s judgment against Judah in the book of Zephaniah. It is as clear as it is far-reaching. God’s pronouncement continues in verse 17, “I will bring distress on mankind so that they shall walk like the blind because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.
The imagery is terrifying to imagine. Distress to such a degree that blood is poured out like dust is the thing of nightmares and horror movies. And if you are like me, sometimes I read passages like this and think, “Really? This seems a bit excessive. Why is God so thoroughly exercising His wrath, especially on His own people? He says He’s doing it because of their sin, but ban their sin really be that bad?”
However, we must remember that in our sin-warped thinking, we don’t initially judge correctly. Often, we too easily flip the hero and villain in this account. God seems to be the villain here. I mean, He is riding forth in His wrath to spill Israel’s blood. The Israelites seem to be the heroes. Sure, they have sinned, and maybe they aren’t heroes, but they are at least victims. They seem to be on the receiving end of a disproportional punishment from an angry God. Besides, the glaring elephant-in-the-room question of this text is how could a loving God act so un-loving?
One thing that helps right our thinking in this area is the sins Israel was committing.
The sins mentioned in Zephaniah are the same sins that Israel frequently committed as they wrestled with God – idolatry. With Israel’s two favorite false gods—Asherah and Ba’al. Idolatry alone is enough to deserve God’s righteous wrath, but how these false gods were worshipped provoked Him to pour out wrath all the more.
Asherah was a fertility goddess of Canaan and Mesopotamia. She is said to be the mother of Ba’al and all things. So, if you want to have children, worship Asherah. Fertility also applies to the land. If you wanted better crops next year or good fortune, worship Asherah. But how do you worship her? Being a fertility goddess, the main way was through “actions of fertility.” Asherah always had both priestesses and priests with whom you could ‘worship’ Asherah. I won’t go into more detail, but you get the idea. This uninhibited sexual immorality was rampant in Israel and justly merited God’s wrath.
Israel also worshiped Ba’al at the time of Zephaniah. Ba’al was usually represented as a cow or bull and likewise promised prosperity. Ba’al worship was a deep-rooted idolatrous trap since the beginning. Remember right after they were rescued from Egypt and 400 years of slavery? Even at the base of Mt. Sinai, when Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments from God, Israel melted down their gold to make a statue of Ba’al to worship. Can you imagine such a profane dishonor to God—their Redeemer? This flagrant disrespect alone is detestable, but it gets worse.
Ba’al worship was often mixed with the worship of Molech. Worshipping Molech involved child sacrifice. Parents would place their children on a burning statue of Molech, while musicians were told to play loudly so people would not hear the child’s screams. This incomprehensible evil was so detestable that the Lord forbade Israel from committing this abomination. Deuteronomy 12:31 reads, “you shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.”
To summarize, the people of God routinely participated in adultery, fornication, and murdered their own children during the week. Then, they went to the Temple on Saturday and sang praises to the Lord. Does that sound like a people whom God will bless?
Now we should read Zephaniah in context. Are we surprised that God says:
“I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests.” (v,4)
Yes, God is bringing down fire. He is bringing “distress to mankind,” but He’s doing it to fight wickedness. He is bringing His judgment to stop the unspeakable evil that His people are doing. God’s love and righteousness compel Him to intervene—He’s been patient long enough. You see, the Israelites are not the victims of an angry God’s unjust wrath. The Israelites are the oppressors. They are polluting their souls by committing wicked sexual acts with their bodies. They are murdering their own children. They are not the heroes but the villains. God is the hero, the Savior, and the Messiah. He intervenes to stop sex from being used outside of His design and to protect the lives of babies.
Let’s think about this in another way. What would you say if children were being slaughtered and those who killed them got away with it? Like me, I’m sure you would ask God to do something. We would demand justice swiftly! If that is true, we cannot read passages of judgment without thanking God that He does come to the aid of the helpless. We should rejoice that He hears the cries of the afflicted and rushes to their aid. We should worship even more because His justice is perfect. Rest assured, no evil doer will ever be safe. The Lord of all the Earth will eventually and permanently make things right.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His heart is still close to the broken. He is abounding in mercy, and His arm is not too short to save. But “do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7).
Asherah worship is alive and well today. We still see uninhibited sexual immorality, and this ‘worship’ is praised by the media and culture at large. Our entertainment society continues to glorify this wicked and destructive lifestyle and practice. If you worship Asherah in the club or your unmarried bedroom, you are sowing destruction for your soul.
Shamefully, the US continues to worship Molech. How many people sacrifice their child to Molech via the priestesses at Planned Parenthood, praying for prosperity? If you enable or support the modern-day Molech worship of abortion, you are heaping wrath on your head.
If this is you, don’t let today become tomorrow. The day of repentance is now. Turn and repent and be covered in the blood of Jesus. He will forgive you of all sin, no matter how evil.
May we all tear down every idol in our life so that we may only worship the Living God. May we sow faith and trust in Jesus. Sow good works and obedience, and reap the benefits of living the abundant life Christ came to give you.
Jacob is a committed husband, father, and teacher. He has taught social studies for over a decade in the US and internationally. He has written Right Before the Bell: A Teacher’s Weekly Devotional to help teachers use God’s Word to shape their classrooms. He is also the author of Hope to Win the War: How Pornography Enslaves and the Truth Frees. He loves reading, watching movies, hiking, and eating great food. Jacob also has the privilege of serving as an elder in his local church, and one of his greatest desires is to see people become all that God made them to be. He lives and teaches overseas with his wife and two children.