Zephaniah was from the royal family. Surely he had access to the king and the rulers of the people of Judah. He must have witnessed the idolatry of the rulers; worshiping Baal and taking oaths in the name of Milcom. In spite of king Josiah’s reforms he saw leaders turn their backs on God. They no longer went to the temple with sacrifices or sought his guidance in prayer (1:6). The greatest danger of this infection was not the invasion of a foreign army, which was coming. It was not the famine and death that would consume the people, which God sent. Zephaniah’s sternest warning was offered in 2:2; to wither and die like a flower. They were in danger of being cut off, spiritually, from the real source of life. They were refusing to worship God and would soon be cut off from his fellowship. That death is worse than any punishment that God would send their way.
Stuart
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