*Scripture verses covered in this section's commentary are noted in italics

Home / Commentary / Zephaniah / Zephaniah Chapter 1 / Zephaniah 1:7

Zephaniah 1:7 meaning

Zephaniah admonishes the people of Judah to be silent before the LORD because the day of His judgment is imminent.

The prophet Zephaniah pronounced the LORD’s decision to judge the people of Judah for their wickedness (vv. 4-6). He communicated that the Suzerain God was angry at Judah, who had broken its vow under their covenant agreement with Him. Recognizing the certainty and severity of the judgment, he issued a wise counsel to his listeners: Be silent before the Lord God! (vs 7).

To be silent in the presence of God means to show reverence to Him, to stand in awe of Him. It is preparation to listen and hear. This act describes the appropriate response of someone who has recognized the LORD’s power and awesomeness (Habakkuk 2:20; Zechariah 2:13). The prophet placed the word Be silent at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize the importance of the advice, which he reinforced by using two words for God: Lord and GOD.

The commandment Jesus pronounced as the greatest of all is preceded with the command “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Then follows the greatest command:

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
(Deuteronomy 6:5)

This statement by Zephaniah to Be silent before the Lord God is similar, in that it alerts Israel to the urgent importance to hear and heed what follows.

The phrase Lord GOD is a combination of the Hebrew word “Adonai,” which means “master” or “ruler,” and the Hebrew word “Yahweh,” the covenant name of God (Exodus 3:14–15). Zephaniah used the two terms together to show that the LORD was the master (ruler) and the covenant God of Judah, not Baal or Milcom (vv. 2-6). As such, the people of Judah needed to submit to God alone. This is the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-39).

Zephaniah asked the people of Judah to be silent before their Suzerain God because the day of the LORD is near (vs 7). The phrase day of the LORD refers to a time of divine intervention and judgment (Joel 2:1; Amos 5:18; Zechariah 14:1; Acts 2:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:2). It is a time when the LORD moves in a mighty way, a way that substantially alters the status quo. In a sense, every day is the Day of the Lord, because all things exist because He sustains all things (Colossians 1:17). The day of the LORD spoken of in Zephaniah will be a day of judgement, when God changes the fundamental political structure of Israel. It refers to God’s imminent judgment on the people of Judah.

In the balance of Zephaniah 1:8-18, the prophet describes the judgment God will pour out upon Judah, as well as the entire earth. With the benefit of history, we see that these verses describe the invasion, captivity, and exile of Judah by Babylon. Verse 7 describes the imminent day of the LORD as a day of feast. God has invited His guests, and they will “come to the festival.”

Zephaniah told his audience that the LORD had prepared a sacrifice and had consecrated His guests (vs 7). The term sacrifice (“zevaḥ” in Hebrew) is a specific ritual, namely, animal sacrifice (especially sheep or goat). During this ritual, the worshiper would bring the animal to the sanctuary, lay his hands on it, and slaughter it at the opening of the “tent of meeting” (Leviticus 9:23-24). Then, the priest would toss the blood, burn the animal, and dispose of the remains (Leviticus 1).

In our context, however, the term sacrifice does not refer to an animal but is used ironically for the people of Judah. The guests were the Babylonians, the enemies of Judah (Habakkuk 1 and 2). Judah is about to get slaughtered by Babylon. As God told Habakkuk “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans” to discipline Judah for its immorality and injustice (Habakkuk 1:6).

In the Bible, guests were to witness and celebrate an event. For instance, Haman and King Xerxes spring to mind as those for whom Esther planned her banquet (Esther 7:1-6). Similarly, the psalmist David celebrated the banquet that the LORD had prepared for him (Psalm 23:5).

Here in Zephaniah, the LORD consecrated His guests for a sacrifice. That is, He had set apart the adversaries of Judah (namely, the Babylonians) as His tool to carry out His judgment upon His covenant people, Judah. Such a celebration would not entail rejoicing for the people of Judah because the enemy would slaughter them like animals.

This would be the unfortunate but clearly spelled out corrective provisions of Israel and Judah’s covenant with God if they broke their covenant vow to follow His commands (Exodus 19:8):

“The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young.”
(Deuteronomy 28:49-50)

This is a clear covenant in the contract between the Suzerain (Ruler) God and His people. The Jewish people had ample notice from God’s prophets. Fortunately for Judah, during Zephaniah’s ministry, the people did repent, and God stayed His hand of judgment as a result (2 Chronicles 34:33). God delayed the judgement during that time, then enforced His judgment when Josiah’s sons led Judah to resume the wicked ways of their grandfather Manasseh.

Biblical Text

⁷Be silent before the Lord GOD!
For the day of the LORD is near,
For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice,
He has consecrated His guests.

Check out our other commentaries:

Galatians 6:7-10 meaning
Living a life of sin will earn loss of reward. Living a life in the Spirit will earn God’s reward. In this short life, we......
Hebrews 9:1-7 meaning
The Old Covenant had regulations for worship, and the Pauline Author explains some of them here. He will then proceed to show how these look......
Hebrews 13:7-9 meaning
he Pauline Author encourages his readers to imitate their leaders and not be led astray by false teachings. ......
Genesis 20:8-11 meaning
Abimelech awoke and called for Abraham. He asked Abraham why he had misled them. Abraham replied he thought he would be killed because of his......
Daniel 9:3-6 meaning
Daniel prays to God. He praises the Lord for His faithfulness, and confesses the sins of the Jews’ disobedience.......

Additional Resources

Book Theme

Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of Josiah, king of Judah. He encouraged the people to return to God, honor the vows they made to God under their covenant with Him, and avoid the penalties associated with violating their vows. The message of Zephaniah complements that of the prophet Jeremiah. Both seek to encourage Judah to repent and return to their Suzerain (Ruler) God, and honor their covenant with Him, thus avoiding His day of wrath.

King Josiah reigned in Judah from 640 to 609 BC. The Babylonians placed Judah under servitude shortly after his death, in 605 BC, taking its then king Jehoiachin captive, and carrying off the treasures from the temple, along with many officials and soldiers. Judah rebelled again. In 586 BC, Jerusalem was destroyed and all but the poorest of the people were exiled.

Zephaniah’s prophecy has not only an immediate application to Judah, and the looming invasion by Babylon, but also pictures the ultimate judgment Jesus will inflict upon the earth, cleansing it of evil, exploitation, and violence, and restoring it to its original, perfect design.

In this short book, Zephaniah calls to repentance, and prophesies judgement upon Judah, its neighboring nations, and the nations of the earth. The book can be viewed as a study in the moral cause-effect relationships God built into His creation.

God built into the moral universe what might be considered a moral law of reciprocity. The second greatest commandment is to love others as we love ourselves. If we set aside selfish interests and serve others, we actually discover our greatest fulfillment. Since (because of the Fall of Man) this is not our natural instinct, the first and greatest commandment is an essential precursor to follow this moral reality: to love God and obey Him with all our being. If we trust that God has our best interest at heart, that leads to a perspective that allows us to live into this great moral law.

The moral mirror of this “love-your-neighbor” principle might be called the “exploit-before-you-are-exploited” principle. There is a natural death, and (ironic) self-destruction God built into His creation for those who follow this exploit-your-neighbor principle. We can see this many places in scripture, including Zephaniah 2:8-11. In the New Testament, we see God’s wrath described as giving people over to their own passions, where (to use modern terminology) they become addicts, then lose their mental health (Romans 1:24, 26, 28).

Zephaniah can help the modern reader understand that the laws of cause-effect in God’s moral universe are just as certain, and just as inevitable as the physical laws. We can decide not to believe in gravity, but we will still hit the ground.

Chapter Context

Zephaniah 1 contains a proclamation of judgement on Judah as well as upon the entire earth. What will transpire in Judah when Babylon conquers and exiles its inhabitants will also take place at the end of this age, when Jesus returns to earth. This prophecy took place during the reign of King Josiah of Judah, who led Judah to return to God. As a result, God stayed the day of judgement until Josiah’s sons ascended to the throne, at which time the judgement was implemented through the agent of the kingdom of Babylon.

An outline for Chapter 1 is as follows:

The LORD gives a message to the prophet Zephaniah during the reign of Josiah, king of Judah (v. 1).
The LORD announces that He will sweep away all living creatures on the face of the earth because of man’s idolatry and rebellion. If He will thus judge the earth, then most certainly He will judge His own people who have violated their covenant agreement to follow His ways (vv. 2–6).
Zephaniah admonishes the people of Judah to be silent before the LORD because the day of His judgment is imminent (v. 7).
The LORD announces judgment on the people of Judah for their exploitation and spiritual arrogance. He invites the commercial interests and possessors of property to mourn, as their wealth will be pilfered and expropriated by invaders ( 8–13).
Zephaniah announces the imminent day of the LORD’s wrath. His prophecy applies both to Judah, and its imminent invasion by Babylon, as well as the ultimate conquering of earth by Jesus, when He will cleanse the earth of sin and restore it to its original, harmonious design ( 14-18).

Zephaniah 1:7 meaning

Check out our other commentaries:

Galatians 6:7-10 meaning

Hebrews 9:1-7 meaning

Hebrews 13:7-9 meaning

Genesis 20:8-11 meaning

Daniel 9:3-6 meaning

Additional Resources

Book Theme

Chapter Context

Maps and Charts

Videos

The Bible Project - Zephaniah Summary

Download Commentary