If you think that nothing can ever take away your shame, hear the promise of the Lord, “I will change their shame into praise” (v. 19). If you think that no one could ever love you, be encouraged by the word of the Lord, “I will bring you in” (v. 20). If you think that all is lost because of your sin and suffering, meditate on the promise that the Lord will “restore your fortunes” (v. 20). These promises will be consummately fulfilled in the new Jerusalem, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Rev. 21:3). 

One of the things we most want in life is to be loved. We want our parents and siblings to love us. We want our friends and extended family members to love us. We want our coaches and teachers to love us. If we are married, we want our spouse to love us. If we are parents, we desire our children to love us. But in this broken world, there are many relationships in which we feel unloved and unwanted. So, we end up turning to other things to fulfill this deep desire of our hearts, but none of them quench our thirst for love. In fact, we often feel even emptier than when we began because our search for love in the wrong places leaves us disillusioned, depressed, and devoid of joy.

Where then do we turn to find true love? The answer is found in one of the most neglected books of the Old Testament, the book of Zephaniah. There are three main points that arise from Zephaniah’s prophecy. First, Zephaniah declared and described God’s coming judgment on Israel and the nations (1:1-18). In the past God had stretched out His hand upon Israel’s enemies, but now He will stretch out His hand upon His people because of their idolatry and immorality. Although Zephaniah’s prophecy was immediately fulfilled when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, his prophetic words ultimately allude to the final day of judgment (see 2 Pet. 3:7).

Second, Zephaniah pronounced a woe upon the nations and Jerusalem concerning God’s judgment (Zeph. 2:1-3:8). The purpose of his message was not all doom and gloom. Zephaniah holds out hope to all who will repent of their sin and return to the Lord, in whom redemption and righteousness is found. While the enemies of God’s people are judged for their pride, violence and idolatry, God’s people are judged for rebelling against the Lord and His ways, rejecting His correction, and refusing to trust in Him.

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