Not too long ago we read through the book of Jonah. It was one of a few prophetic books written specifically to non-Israelites. Although the message of the book was great (Salvation is for all who will turn to God and trust Him alone for salvation) it ended on a sad note. God’s messenger of love and forgiveness, Jonah, resented the fact that the Assyrians (Ninevah was the capital of the Assyrian empire) were allowed to turn back to God and be forgiven. Jonah ends with the prophet sitting on a hill mad over the death of a plant he was using for shade while wishing God would destroy the Ninevites. The events in Jonah occured about 760 BC.
Shortly after the time of Jonah the Assyrian empire had two politically weak kings but about 744 BC a new king came to power, Tiglath Pileser III, who started to build the empire again. He eventually invaded Israel (the Northern Kingdom) and took many people captive and scattered them through out his empire. Israel remained a separate kingdom though and paid tribute (taxes to honor the greater king) to Assyria. In 727 BC Tiglath died and the empire was taken over by Shalmaneser V. Hoshea, the king of Israel, revolted at the death of Tiglath and Shalmaneser responded by invading Israel. Eventually he besieged the capital city, Samaria. Before Shalmaneser could conquer Samaria he died and the kingdom was taken over by Sargon II (722 BC). Sargon completed the conquest of Samaria and destroyed the Northern Kingdom (Israel) scattering her people throughout the Assyrian empire and bringing in people for other parts to intermarry with those who remained. Sargon was succeeded by his son, grandson, and then his great-grandson. All maintained control of the empire through the used of brutal force. In 2 Chronicles 33:11 the King of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) is taken captive to a leading city in the Assyrian empire (Babylon, later to become the capital of the empire which would defeat the Assyrian’s). In that verse we are told that that king, Manasseh, was bound in chains and led with hooks. The practice was to chain up a prisoner and then put a hook in their lip to lead them. . We know from other references in history that the Assyrians would tear off arms and legs, poke out eyes, shove a post through people and put them up like a sign, boil them in tar, and make pyramids of heads of their victims. Starting with Sargon’s great-grandson, Ashurbanipal (669-633 BC), though the empire began to weaken and in 612 BC Assyria was conquered by the new Babylonian empire.
We have also read through the book of Nahum. From Nahum 1:15-2:1 we can see that his vision was given to the people of Judah (the Southern Kingdom). Remember that the kingdom was under constant threat from the Assyrians. So the fact that Ninevah, or the Assyrian empire, would eventually be destroyed would have been a comfort to the people of Judah. They would be glad that God would eventually catch the Assyrians in his trap. The history of the Southern Kingdom in it’s final years was one of spiritual decline with a few high points. Above I mentioned a king named Manasseh who was taken captive to Babylon by the Assyrians. Manasseh reigned in Jerusalem over the Southern Kingdom from 697-642 BC (though part of this time he was a captive in Babylon). In 2 Kings 21:9 we are told that Manasseh was a worse influence on the Jewish people that the people who the nation of Israel had pushed out of the land centuries before. Manasseh did not honor God with his life but rather worshipped the local false gods, Baal and Asherah. And even sacrificed some of his children to the false god Molech. While in captivity in Babylon Manasseh turned back to God and was restored as king in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 33:12-13). Manasseh was succeeded by his son Amon, who was also wicked and only lasted 2 years as king. Amon was followed by his 8 year old son Josiah who was a good king who restored worship of Yahweh to Judah. Josiah was followed by his three sons as king none of whom honored God. These were the final kings of Judah before the new Babylonian empire conquered it.
Zephaniah tells us that he received words for Yahweh (the personal name of the god of Israel) in the days of Josiah son of Amon. Zephaniah’s prophecy centers around a time he calls “the Day of the LORD”. It is to be a time of judgment of sin for the Israelites and the world. The purpose of this severe time though is to purify a people for God; to get people to turn back to Him. The prophecy ends with assurance that God will establish the kingdom promised to the Israelites, one in which God will be king and the nations of the world will participate in.
Josiah reigned from 640 BC to 609 BC when he was killed in a battle against the Egyptians. When Josiah was 16 (632 BC) years old he began to seek God and when he was about 20 (628 BC) he began to clear out all of the false religion that had invaded Judah (2 Chronicles 34). In the 18th year of his reign (622 BC) he also began work restoring the Temple for proper worship of Yahweh (the personal name of God)(2 Kings 22). During the restoration of the Temple a scroll of God’s word was found and brought to Josiah. Scholars believe that the scroll was the Book of Deuteronomy. Josiah’s response upon hearing the words of the book was grief. After making sure the book was authentic he restored worship in the temple and the nation celebrated the Passover in a way which had not been done in almost 400 years, since the time of the Samuel the Prophet (2 Kings 23:22, 2 Chronicles 35:18. Samuel followed the period of the Judges historically). Since Zephaniah is condemning the very practices that Josiah deals with it seems likely that he wrote before 621 BC and possibly before 628 BC.
Much of what Zechariah had to say had is found in other prophets who wrote before him or around the same time. That should be no surprise since part of the task of a prophet was to apply God’s already revealed truth to current situations. Some scholars call this “forth-telling” which is different than “foretelling” telling something before it happens) which is what we usually think of when we think of prophets. Zechariah’s writing does contain a lot of foretelling but it is material that had been communicate before in the history of the Israelites. Scholars also find a lot of influence from the book of Deuteronomy in Zephaniah’s writing. Since that is the book which was ultimately found in the Temple and delivered to Josiah it may have been that God was preparing Josiah’s heart by the words of Zechariah for what he would read when the scroll was found.
Zephaniah’s name means “Yahweh hides”. Remember that during the childhood of Zephaniah that Manasseh was king and that he sacrificed children in the fire to Molech, including his own children. In addition Zephaniah traces his family back four generations to a person named Hezekiah. Although Hezekiah was a popular name in Israel this is probably a reference to King Hezekiah who reigned from 728-686 BC. Making Zechariah a part of the royal family. In those days it was common for a new king to kill members of the family of the old king even members of their own family to protect from competition for the throne. If this is the Hezekiah in his family background Zephaniah would have been doubly at risk of being killed by Manasseh. The name “Yahweh hides” would have been an appropriate choice by his parents under the circumstances (see “What’s in a Name?”).
God may have also gotten a little laugh out of inspiring this prophet to write words that were very similar to the book of Deuteronomy and have him give them to Josiah. Then when the book “hidden” in the Temple for so many years was found and read imagine Josiah’s surprise when the message delivered to him by “Yahweh Hides” was so similar to the book “hidden” in Yahweh’s “house”. One last little note. The description of the actions of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29) show he was fairly acquainted with the word of God, his son Manasseh as we have said wanted nothing to do with the God of Israel. It is quiet possible that the book was hidden during the period in which Hezekiah and Manasseh shared the throne (overlapping rule was somewhat common in those days, sort of a passing the throne from one generation to the next). Tying himself back to Hezekiah might have communicate to Josiah that Zephaniah loved God and was not a part of the wicked part of the family represented by Manasseh and Amon. By the way if the Hezekiah in Zephaniah is the king that would make Zephaniah and Josiah some sort of cousins.