We often joke about the “hard to read” sections of the Bible. Who hasn’t started the year with the intentions of reading the Bible straight through only to run into the genealogy of Genesis 5 or the repetitious laws of Leviticus? The Minor Prophets are just such a section of the Bible. We acknowledge that they are a part of Scripture but they are the most foreign-seeming, hard-to-digest parts. So, more often than not we skip past them into the safer grounds of the New Testament.

Still, if it is part of God’s Holy Word, then it must have something to say to us today. Indeed, the minor prophets are highly relevant to our times. So often we look in bewilderment at our rapidly changing world. We are shocked by the seismic shifts in morality and dismayed by the apathy and decline of the local churches. These are precisely the circumstances of the days of the prophets. Zephaniah lived sandwiched in between the fall and disbursement of the Northern Kingdom and the rapid decline of Judah as it approached judgment. It is like a mirror into our present age of rebellion against God.

In the three chapters of Zephaniah we are confronted with God’s judgment. However, it is not a simple warning of impending doom. It is a lens into the heart of God. If He truly loves people, then how can He bring such horrible judgment upon them? In this study we will see how the elements of justice, love, and holy jealousy combine as the rationale of righteous judgment. We will find a roadmap to navigating discipleship and ministry in our perilous times. And through this insight into God’s character we will see the richness and depth of His commitment to His people.