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Minor Prophets, Part 2: Babylonian Crisis

  1. Lesson One
    Nahum
    23 Activities
    |
    3 Assessments
  2. Lesson Two
    Zephaniah
    22 Activities
    |
    3 Assessments
  3. Lesson Three
    Habakkuk
    19 Activities
    |
    4 Assessments
  4. Lesson Four
    Joel and Josiah
    24 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  5. Lesson Five
    Interpreting Prophecy
    34 Activities
    |
    7 Assessments
  6. Course Wrap-up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment
Lesson 2, Activity 6

In | Zephaniah and Idolatry, Part 2

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Be silent before the Lord GOD!
For the day of the LORD is near;

the LORD has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
And on the day of the LORD’s sacrifice—
“I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and all who array themselves in foreign attire.” 

Zephaniah 1:7-8 ESV

Although Zephaniah is a book that encourages praise in exile, he also prophesies that, initially, it’s a time for their singing to be silenced. It’s not that God is tired of praise, but the people’s praise has not been reserved for YHWH alone. Read these verses leading up to the command for silence:

Those who bow down and swear to the LORD and yet swear by Milcom, those who have turned back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him. 
Zephaniah 1:5-6 ESV

“Milcom” is another name for the Canaanite god Molech, a god to whom people offered child sacrifices (2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 32:35). Although worship of Molech is prohibited in the Pentateuch, the people in Zephaniah’s day worship and “swear by him” anyway. As a result, the “day of the LORD” is near, and it’s a day of judgment.