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land, whose campaigns would extend throughout the earth, to possess the dwelling-places that are not theirs, to take possession of strange countries, to wage wars of conquest. V. 7. They are terrible and dreadful, arousing terror, causing fear; their judgment and their dignity, what they consider their right and their eminence, shall proceed of themselves, they take this much upon themselves, they themselves decide the norm and the right of their actions. V. 8. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, so that their attacks could be made with the greatest speed, and are more fierce than the evening wolves, when hunger makes them ravenous; and their horsemen shall spread themselves, rushing along with a fearful sound, and their horsemen shall come from far, from the remote country of Babylonia; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat, pouncing upon his food to devour it. V. 9. They shall come all for violence, or, "all its multitude," the entire hostile nation, "comes for deeds of violence," so that none can withstand the impact of its attack; their faces shall sup up as the east wind, panting to go forward to the attack, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand, their captives being innumerable. V. 10. And they shall scoff at the kings, rulers that attempt to stop their victorious onslaught, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them; they shall deride every stronghold; for they shall heap dust, any kind of little earth-mound, and take it. The enemy would simply mock at every show of resistance to their advance as a ridiculous and futile effort. V. 11. Then shall his mind change, then the spirit of the enemy revives, and he shall pass over, passing on in his whirlwind campaign, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god, or, "he becomes guilty, for this his power is his god," he deifies himself. With these words the Lord points out that the climax of Babylonia's power would thereby be reached, for He cannot permit such idolatrous ideas to gain the upper hand in a nation.

THE PROPHET'S PRAYER. V. 12. Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, mine Holy One? To this certainty the

prophet clings; from it he derives consoling confidence. We shall not die, the people of the Lord would not be wholly exterminated. O Lord, Thou hast ordained them, the children of Israel, the Lord's people, for judgment, to carry out His judgment of punishment upon them; and, O mighty God, literally, "Thou Rock," Thou hast established them for correction, to be chastised and thus brought to the realization of their sins. V. 13. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, too pure to endure to behold it, and canst not look on iniquity, the wickedness and distress which men inflict upon others; wherefore lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, the violent Babylonian conquerors, and holdest Thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he, for the children of God in the midst of Israel gave them a higher moral standing than that which the Chaldeans possessed, v. 14. and makest men as the fishes of the sea, helpless in the face of the fisherman's net, as the creeping things that have no ruler over them, one who might act as their protector and defender in times of peril? V. 15. They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag, in the largest kind of fish-net; therefore they rejoice and are glad, the enemies being pleased with the ease with which they overcame the Lord's people. V. 16. Therefore they sacrifice unto their net and burn incense unto their drag, a custom which was actually found among some heathen nations; because by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous, present in rich and great quantities. V. 17. Shall they therefore empty their net, namely, with the intention of casting it out again for a new draught, and not spare continually to slay the nations? or, "and always strangle nations without sparing?" The enemies' angles, or hooks, nets, and drags are clearly his great and powerful armies, with which he has conquered nations and brought the treasures of the world to Babylon. Mark: He who puts his trust in anything on earth and glories in it to the exclusion of God makes this creature his idol.

The Overthrow of the Wicked World-Power.

CHAPTER 2.

THE INTRODUCTION AND THE FIRST WOE. — V. 1. I will stand upon my watch, as an observer on a solitary height, and set me upon the tower, on the pinnacle of a fortress, where he would have an unobstructed view and could prepare his soul to receive the word and testimony of God, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, in an inner revelation,

and what I shall answer when I am reproved, literally, "to my complaint," how he would satisfy himself and others by the answer of Jehovah. V. 2. And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision, what would be shown him in this revelation, and make it plain upon tables, the writingtablets on which he should engrave its contents, that he may run that readeth it, so that every one passing by, even hastily, would

be able to read it quickly. V. 3. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, it awaits its fulfilment in the future, but nevertheless in a fixed period, but at the end it shall speak and not lie, like the predictions of the false prophets. Though it tarry, wait for it, not becoming foolishly impatient, because it will surely come, it will not tarry, not be postponed beyond the time fixed for its fulfilment. V. 4. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, that is, the conqueror is puffed up, he is not sincere in his attitude over against God; but the just shall live by his faith, that is, he who relies on God's merciful promises in the Gospel would, and does, by this confidence, receive eternal life as a gift of God. Cp. Rom. 1, 17; Gal. 3, 11. V. 5. Yea, also, because he transgresseth by wine, rather, “and, moreover, wine is treacherous," not bringing those who are addicted to it life and power, as it seems to promise, but unhappiness and destruction; he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, the tendency of the Chaldeans in this respect being known, who enlargeth his desire as hell, in an insatiable greed, and is as death and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, as vassals and captives and slaves, and heapeth unto him all people, collecting them under his scepter; v. 6. shall not all these take up a parable against him, a proverbial saying, and a taunting proverb, a satirical speech or sententious poem, against him and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! as the Babylonian conqueror did in this instance. How long? that is, How long could this still last? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! rather, "and loads upon himself a burden of pledges gained by usury." "The Chaldean is compared to a harsh usurer and his ill-gotten treasures to heaps of pledges in the hands of a usurer." V. 7. Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, the Hebrew having a play upon words between the bite of a snake and the interest which the usurer demands, and awake that shall vex thee? rather, "and those who shake thee violently," as a creditor might shake a debtor in driving him out of his possession, "wake up," and thou shalt be for booties unto them? so that they would, in turn, plunder. V. 8. Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people, either those who were left after being spoiled, or those who had not yet been subjugated, shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, as shed by the Chaldeans, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein, the entire nation being guilty of such wickedness upon the various countries conquered by the Chaldeans, especially Judea and Jerusalem.

THE FOUR REMAINING WOES.-V. 9. Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, who accumulates the gain of

wickedness for his house, seeking to establish his house by unrighteous, wicked methods, that he may set his nest on high, secure against every form of attack, as the Chaldean did, that he may be delivered from the power of evil, considering himself safe against every form of misfortune. V. 10. Thou hast consulted shame to thy house, for the Chaldean's counsel, as outlined in the preceding verse, was bound to bring disgrace upon him, by cutting off many people, the plan to bring about the destruction of many nations being the reason for the Lord's judgment upon Babylonia, and hast sinned against thy soul, transgressing in such a way as to forfeit his life. V. 11. For the stone shall cry out of the wall and the beam out of the timber, the spar out of the woodwork, shall answer it, agreeing with the stone in its charge against the builder on account of the crimes committed in building the city. V. 12. Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood! with blood-bought spoils, as Babylon was built, and stablisheth a city by iniquity, by violence and oppression. V. 13. Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labor in the very fire, for it was due to His dispensation that men strained themselves to the utmost, only, however, to have their buildings consumed by fire in the burning of their cities, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? For all the proud buildings erected by them would eventually be destroyed. V. 14. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, the destruction of the world-power being a necessary condition to this end, in order that the honor of Jehovah, the almighty Ruler of the heavenly armies, might be known throughout the world, as the waters cover the sea. Cp. Is. 11, 9. The enemies who refuse to accept the Lord in the beauty of His mercy will be obliged to acknowledge Him in the majesty of His almighty power. V. 15. Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, as the Babylonians did, figuratively speaking, that puttest thy bottle to him, or, "while thou addest thy wrath," and makest him drunken also that thou mayest look on their nakedness! The picture of one lying in a drunken, shameful stupor well emphasizes the entire subjection of a conquered people. V. 16. Thou art filled with shame for glory, or, "so, then, shalt thou be satisfied with shame instead of glory," satiated with disgracefulness; drink thou also, draining the cup of the Lord's wrath, and let thy foreskin be uncovered, showing Chaldea to be uncircumcised, heathenish. The cup of the Lord's right hand, offered in a manner that it could not be refused, shall be turned unto thee, so that it would eventually be Chaldea's turn to empty it to the last dregs, and shameful spewing, the vomiting of drunkenness and

shame, shall be on thy glory. V. 17. For the violence of Lebanon, the outrage committed in ruining its cedar forests, shall cover thee and the spoil of beasts, the dispersion of the animals of Lebanon, which made them afraid because of men's blood, shed by the conquerors, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. Cp. v. 8. V. 18. What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it, such trust is utterly useless, the molten image and a teacher of lies, the idol itself, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? All this is vain and foolish. It follows, therefore, v. 19. Woe unto him that

saith to the wood, Awake! expecting help from a carved idol; to the dumb stone, the hewn idol, Arise, it shall teach! rather, “Can it teach?" Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it, whence it follows that idolatry is a most foolish undertaking. V. 20. But the Lord, the contrast being sharply emphasized, is in His holy temple, the Ruler in His mighty kingdom; let all the earth keep silence before Him, awaiting His judgment in silent and humble submission. If the whole earth is obliged to acknowledge His majesty and authority, then the glory and power of the Chaldean state cannot maintain itself in His sight.

CHAPTER 3.

The Prophet's Prayer for Mercy in the Lord's Judgment.

JEHOVAH'S MAJESTIC COMING TO JUDGMENT. V. 1. A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, in the form of the Davidic psalms, upon Shigionoth, after the manner of a dithyramb, in reeling, exciting time, with triumphal music. V. 2. O Lord, I have heard Thy speech, the announcement of the judgment of punishment through the Chaldeans, and was afraid. O Lord, revive Thy work, call into existence once more the former way of dealing with Thy people, as well as the double judgment of which the prophecy had spoken till now, in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known, so that the delay in bringing eventual redemption to His people may not be too great; in wrath, namely, while He expressed His indignation through the punishment carried out by the Chaldeans, remember mercy, so that the severity of the punishment might be tempered at least to some extent. The prophet having thus announced the theme of his psalm, he immediately launches forth in his prayer. V. 3. God came from Teman, cp. Deut. 33, 2, the eastern division of Edom, and the Holy One from Mount Paran, the mountainous country between Idumea and Egypt. Selah. The description shows the Lord approaching from this region with all the glory of His majesty. His glory covered the heavens, extending as far as the eye could see, and the earth was full of His praise, so that His splendor covered its whole expanse. "The flaming glory of Jehovah filling everything is a vision of such excessive sublimity that one scarcely dares to follow the prophet in spirit to meditate upon it." (Lange.) V. 4. And His brightness was as the light, bursting forth as the sunlight when the ball of the sun rises above the horizon; He had horns, the rays of the sun as it first appears, coming out of His hand, on either side, the appear

ance of God being attended with brilliant light; and there was the hiding of His power, His almighty power, as it were, being veiled by the splendor of His appearance. V. 5. Before Him went the pestilence, or, the plague goes before Him, and burning coals went forth at His feet, the excessive heat of the fever of various pestilences, these angels of death being His attendants on His triumphal march. V. 6. He stood and measured the earth, calmly standing, amidst the general commotion, as the Judge of the world, measuring the countries and their doings, or. causing them to shake in terror, in order to execute judgment; He beheld and drove asunder the nations, making the heathen tremble; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, or, "the primeval mountains burst asunder," dissolving in dust, the perpetual hills did bow, the hills of the early world sink down. His ways are everlasting, or, "the paths of olden time, He follows them." As He once came in earthquakes and terrible manifestations of His majesty in order to make Israel His covenant nation, so He may once more be expected to come to Judgment. V. 7. I saw the tents of Cushan, of the Ethiopian armies, in affliction, in the distress of terror; and the curtains, the tent-cloths, of the land of Midian did tremble, that is, all the inhabitants of the heathen countries round about were filled with terror. V. 8. Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? Was Thine anger against the rivers? literally, "Was it against the rivers that was kindled, Jehovah, was it against the rivers that Thy wrath was kindled?" Was Thy wrath against the sea that Thou didst ride upon Thine horses and Thy chariots of salvation? the winds and clouds being considered the vehicles bearing the Lord as He goes forth to redeem His people. The cause of His dividing the Red Sea and the Jordan was not His displeasure against

these waters, but His intention of interposing for His people's salvation. V. 9. Thy bow was made quite naked, drawn forth from the quiver and made ready to send forth its arrow, according to the oaths of the tribes, even Thy word, literally, "sworn are the scourges by the word, rods of chastisement are sworn by the word," that is, the chastisements of Jehovah are definitely decided upon and even supported by oaths. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers, as when masses of water rush from the mountains, or when tidal waves cut deep gullies into the earth. V. 10. The mountains saw Thee, and they trembled, shaken by storms and earthquakes; the overflowing of the water passed by, a torrent of water, from subterranean sources or as the result of a cloudburst, rushes along; the deep, the abyss of the ocean, uttered His voice and lifted up His hands on high, in a mighty noise accompanying their breaking forth. V. 11. The sun and moon stood still in their habitation, or have entered their dwelling, so that a terrifying darkness ensues; at the light of Thine arrows they went and at the shining of Thy glittering spear, as God manifested Himself as the judge of the world, executing justice and righteousness upon all men.

V. 12. Thou didst march through the land in indignation, through all the countries of the earth; Thou didst thresh the heathen in anger, stamping them under foot. V. 13. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people, Israel, as representative of all true children of God, even for salvation with Thine Anointed, all the leaders of the people being types of the Messiah, by whom the Lord's kingdom would be permanently established. Thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, crushing the Chaldean nation with its ruler, typical of the antichristian forces, by discovering the foundation unto the neck, laying bare the foundations being the same as razing the entire building to the ground. Selah. V. 14. Thou didst strike through with his staves, piercing with the spear or weapons of the wicked one, the head of his villages, the ruler of his hordes, or the chief of his princes, so that the soldiers of the hostile armies would turn one against the other; they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me, rushing in to disperse the people of Israel; their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly, that is, the enemies are like assassins, who delight in pouncing upon the unsuspecting wayfarer and

in taking his life. V. 15. Thou didst walk through the sea with Thine horses, as when Jehovah destroyed the army of Pharaoh and delivered His people, through the heap of great waters, upon the billows of great waters, the expression serving to bring out the almighty power of Jehovah in the deliverance of His people. Thus the majesty of the Lord in overcoming all His enemies is set forth in a word-painting of singular beauty and power, with the Messianic background clearly in evidence.

A PLEA FOR MERCY. — V. 16. When I heard, my belly trembled, namely, with terror at the revelation of the mighty judgment of Jehovah, my lips quivered at the voice, so that he was unable to steady them; rottenness entered into my bones, a feeling of overpowering weakness, and I trembled in myself that I might rest in the day of trouble, quietly, in silent submission, awaiting the day of distress. When he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops, or, "when he comes up against the people who will attack it," when the conquest on the part of the invader may be expected. V. 17. Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive, as it brings forth its blossoms and yields its fruit, shall fail, shriveling up, and the fields shall yield no meat, no grain for food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls, orchards and cultivated fields are barren, granaries and barns are empty in consequence of the desolation of the land caused by the enemy; v. 18. yet I will rejoice in the Lord, in spite of all these afflictions, I will joy in the God of my salvation, exulting in Him on whom the salvation of all mankind rests. V. 19. The Lord God is my Strength, Ps. 27, 1, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, strong and sure-footed, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places, on the heights of salvation to which one climbs from the valley of affliction on the basis of the confidence of faith. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments, this being a note to the leader of the Templemusic, directing him to have the psalm accompanied by music on stringed instruments. The God of salvation is on the side of His children, so that they are safe in the midst of all their enemies and will eventually enjoy the fulness of the redemption earned and prepared by the Messiah.

THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ZEPHANIAH.

INTRODUCTION.

The prophet Zephaniah ("Jehovah hides") himself traces his family back to Hizkiah, or Hezekiah, and there seems to be little doubt that this is the king of that name and that Zephaniah was of royal descent. He prophesied under King Josiah, and was therefore a contemporary of Jeremiah, of Habakkuk, and of the prophetess Huldah, in the last half of the seventh century before Christ. The date of his book may safely be placed at about the year 625 B. C. His preaching, of which a summary is offered in his book, strongly supported the king in his work of reforming the Jewish Church.

The Book of Zephaniah offers his prophecies in a condensed form and in a continuous discourse. Its theme is the great day of Jeho

vah's judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem, as well as upon the entire sinful world. But his powerful, at times overwhelmingly impressive call to repentance concludes with a most cheering promise of salvation through the Messiah.

The style of the book, though not uniformly sublime, is graphic and vivid in the presentation of details. There are passages which agree to a remarkable extent with the sayings of former prophets, a factor which supports the brotherhood existing between the inspired men of that day. The comforting promises of the third chapter are the outstanding feature of the entire book.1)

1) Cp. Fuerbringer, Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 92. 93.

CHAPTER 1.

The Universality of the Judgment. THE NATURE OF THE JUDGMENT. — V. 1. The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah, being communicated to him by special revelation of the Lord, the prophet tracing his genealogy as follows: the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, four representative members from his ancestry being given, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, who made the last consistent effort to bring about a reformation of the people. V. 2. I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord, sweeping it off the face of the earth in an utter devastation. V. 3. I will consume man and beast, even the creatures being affected by the universality of the judgment; I will consume the fowls of the heaven and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, that is, whatever men have offended and transgressed with together with the objects of their idolatry; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord, certainly destroying them off the face of the earth, in a last great destruction. V. 4. I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, the particular object of His wrath, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for the people of the land followed the inhabitants of the capital in their transgressions; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, for there were still such as adhered to his idolatrous worship, and the name of the Chemarim, the idol-priests, those engaged in the worship of Baal, with the priests, for these also had polluted themselves and were therefore destined for destruction, v. 5. and them that worship the host of heaven upon the

housetops, regarding sun, moon, and stars as their gods; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord and that swear by Malcham, by their king, so that they tried to combine the service of the true God and that of Baal, solemnly pledging themselves to the latter's service, v. 6. and them that are turned back from the Lord, drawing back from Jehovah, and those that have not sought the Lord nor enquired for Him, both the openly wicked and the irreligious being included in the list of Jehovah's enemies. V. 7. Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God! ready to submit to His judgment as outlined above; for the day of the Lord is at hand, when His punishment must strike the transgressors; for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, the Jewish nation itself, He hath bid His guests, namely, the world-powers and their allies, all ready to devour Judah. V. 8. And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, when His punishment is put into effect, that I will punish the princes, the mighty ones, the dignitaries of state, and the king's children, all those belonging to the royal family, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel, their dress showing that they were estranged from the national spirit and customs. V. 9. In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, namely, that of the temple of Dagon, the idol of the Philistines, 1 Sam. 5, 5, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit, bringing their money and their treasures, unjustly acquired as they are, into the houses of their idols. V. 10. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be the noise of a

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