Jensens survey of the old testament adam 258
Bạn đang xem bản rút gọn của tài liệu. Xem và tải ngay bản đầy đủ của tài liệu tại đây (131.3 KB, 4 trang )
DELIVERANCE
Zephaniah was one of the last prophets of
Judah before the nation fell to the
Babylonian invaders. Josiah, who reigned
over Judah during Zephaniah’s ministry, was
the last of the righteous kings of this
Southern Kingdom. So the Jews had the
o er of much spiritual guidance and help in
those years. Their sin in rejecting this light
from God is a dark chapter of their history.
I. BACKGROUND
Before going any further in your study,
scan the three chapters of Zephaniah. This
will take the book out of the “stranger”
category for the survey that follows.
First, refer to Chart 3 to see Zephaniah’s
place among all the Old Testament prophets.
Then look at the setting of Zephaniah’s
writing by following its antecedents in a
chronological order. Chart 110 shows this
historical background as well as Zephaniah’s
vision into the future.
Note on the chart the eight signi cant
points, numbered consecutively. Refer to the
chart as you study carefully each of the
following eight descriptions.
1. King Hezekiah. He was one of Judah’s
righteous kings. He may have been the
Hizkiah of Zephaniah 1:1(KJV). If so, he was
the great-great-grandfather of Zephaniah,
the only prophet with royal blood.
2. Birth of Zephaniah. If the prophet was
about Josiah’s age, he was born around 648
B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 22:1). This was during the
wicked reign of Manasseh. The name
Zephaniah means “hidden, or protected, by
Jehovah.” Could it be that his parents gave
him this name in gratitude for his life being
spared during the atrocities of King
Manasseh (2 Kings 21:6; cf. Heb 11:37)? It is
interesting to note that an important part of
Zephaniah’s
message
concerned
the
protection of Judah from harm in the day of
God’s judgment (see 2:3).
Zephaniah’s home may have been in
Jerusalem. Suggested dates for the term óf
his public ministry are 636 to 623 B.C.
3. King Josiah. Josiah was a greatgrandson of Hezekiah (2 Chron 32:33;
33:20, 25). How then was Zephaniah
possibly related to Josiah? Josiah was only
eight years old when he began to reign over
Judah (2 Chron 34:1). At age sixteen he
“began to seek the God of his father David”
(2 Chron 34:3). It may very well be that
Zephaniah’s access to the royal court gave
the prophet ample opportunities of witness
to the king. In fact, he may have been the
key spiritual influence in Josiah’s early life.
4. The book of Zephaniah is written (c.
6 2 7 B.C.). The prophet probably wrote his
book during the early part of Josiah’s reign,
