Zephaniah 3:20 Komentář

We now return to Jerusalem, and must again hear what God has to say to her, I. By way of reproof and threatening, for the abundance of wickedness that was found in her, of which divers instances are given, with the aggravations of them (Zep 3:1-7). II. By way of promise of mercy and grace, which God had yet in reserve for them. Two general heads of promises here are: - 1. That God would bring in a glorious work of reformation among them, cleanse them from their sins, and bring them home to himself; many promises of this kind here are (Zep 3:8-13). 2. That he would bring about a glorious work of salvation for them, when he had thus prepared them for it (Zep 3:14-20). Thus the "Redeemer shall come to Zion," and to clear his own way, shall "turn away ungodliness from Jacob." These promises were to have their full accomplishment in gospel-times and gospel-graces.

At that time I will bring you [again], even in the time that I gather you That is, at the time that the Lord will gather them in the effectual calling to himself and to his church, he will return them to their own land; and, as soon as the Jews are converted, they will not only be gathered into Christian churches, but will be gathered together in one body, and appoint themselves one head; and will go up out of each of the lands wherein they have been dispersed, and enter into their own land, and possess it; at the same time they are made partakers of the grace of God, they will enjoy all their civil privileges and liberties; see ( Hosea 1:11 ) : for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth; this is repeated from the preceding verse ( Zephaniah 3:19 ) , for the confirmation of it; and in connection with the following clause, to show when it will be: when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord; or "captivities" F24; meaning not the several captivities of the kings of Judah in Babylon, as of Manasseh, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah; but the two fold captivity of this people, literal and spiritual; their present outward exile from their own land, captivity and dispersion among the nations; and their spiritual captivity or bondage, to sin, Satan, the law, and the traditions of their elders; from both which they will be delivered at one and the same time; and which will be notorious and manifest; what their eyes will see with pleasure and admiration; and which may he depended upon will be done, since the Lord has said it, whose purposes, promises, and prophecies, never fail of their accomplishment: he is God omniscient and knows with certainty what will be done; he is God omnipotent, and can and will do whatever he has determined, promised, or said should be done. FOOTNOTES: F24 (Mkytwbv ta) "captivitates vestras", Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin, Drusius.

Verse 19, 20: Behold, I will kill all those who have afflicted you at that time; and I will save the lame, and gather her who was cast out; and I will make them a praise and a name in all the earth's confusion. In the time when I bring you; and in the time when I gather you: for I will give you a name and a praise to all the peoples of the earth, when I turn your captivity before your eyes, says the Lord. LXX: Behold, I will do in you, for you, at that time, and I will save the oppressed, and I will receive the rejected, and I will place them in glory, and those who are named in all the earth. And they will be confounded at that time, when I have done well to you: and at the time when I have received you, for I will give you a name, and glory among all the peoples of the earth; when I turn your captivity before you, says the Lord. And this is the synagogue that does not limp, but is cut off on both feet, promising itself in the coming of its Christ, whom it hopes to come: and it thinks that all the nations that have afflicted Israel will be destroyed by the Lord, and the synagogue will be saved, and the one who had received the bill of divorce will be gathered, and they will be placed in praise, and in the name in all the land of their captivity, where they were previously confused. And this happened during the time when the captivity of Jerusalem had been reduced, and the temple had been rebuilt, and the remaining order of ceremonies had been observed. She promises this to herself, and therefore does not repent, and while she hopes for uncertain things, she loses certain salvation. I am not surprised that the synagogue says these things, which, because it does not receive Christ, it hurts its eyes, and when it winks, it is not loved by Jacob, and when Rachel succeeds, it is neglected (Gen. XXIX). I marvel at the Christians, or rather semi-Jews, who claim to be of the Church and profess those things which, if true, we believe in vain in Christ, and all our sacraments are taken away, and we are more miserable than all men, believing in him who did not come. But since our hope is certain and the vows of the Jews are empty, according to the earlier understanding, let us now weave the present and final chapter and let us bring forth the testimony of Jesus son of Sirach: He who casts a stone high, casts it upon his own head (Eccl. XXIII). For indeed, because Zion and Jerusalem are situated on high, whoever detracts from Zion and Jerusalem and hurls stones of contempt at them, casts them upon his own head; and their reproach will return upon his own head. And his pain and wickedness will descend upon his own head. How many today reproach the souls that seek God's mysteries, that desire to see His peace, and say: He is insane and drunk, and full of wine; he avoids the company of men; he spurns pleasure; he considers gold as mud; he loves only poverty. But those who are unbelievers even reproach the cross of Christ to Him, even though when they see Him in distress and temptation, they say: Where are Your mercies and the justice that You have wrought? What shall I say concerning unbelievers, when certain leaders of the Churches reproach such men and consider their lives folly, and do not praise their present conduct, but reproach their old sins? Nor do they hear that it is commanded: Do not reproach a man who turns away from his sins (Eccl. VIII). Woe therefore to him who brought reproach and took it upon himself, and surrendered himself to such a duty, to slander Zion and the city of God. For by this injury, the Lord is the avenger of his own city, and he will say to Zion: Behold, I will do in you for your sake, that is, I will do your vengeance, and I will save the afflicted, or as it is said in Greek, the oppressed; so that the meaning may be: I will save her, who at present is like a grape and an olive, so pressed and afflicted by trials and troubles, as if she were crushed and pressed by a winepress and a beam, in order to make wine and oil, and Jesus would drink of the wine in the kingdom of his Father; but he would be anointed with the oil by his fellow partakers. I think that because of the expression of such wine and oil, Job suffered many things; but after he had made wine and oil, he heard from the Lord, 'Do you think that I have responded to you in any other way, except that you may appear just?' (Job 40:70). As if he were speaking to a grape and an olive; Do you think that I have pressed and afflicted and crushed you in any other way, except that I may extract wine and oil from you? It follows: And I will receive her who was rejected. It seems that God repels us when he allows temptation. Hence Job says, 'The visitation of the Lord has looked upon me' (Job 10:12). And not only do the just speak, saying, 'But now you have repelled and confounded us,' as it is written in the forty-third psalm, but the Lord and Savior himself, speaking in the person of the man he had assumed, says, 'But you have repelled and despised: you have delayed your Christ; you have overthrown the testament of your servant.' But the identity of the righteous person is confirmed in the 43rd psalm, which says: Now you have rejected and humiliated us, but all these things have come upon us, and we have not forgotten you, nor have we acted unjustly in your covenant; our heart has not turned back. Therefore, the Lord will receive her who appeared cast down in temptations, and he will place them in glory and make them renowned throughout the earth, namely, the children of the Church, who have been manifested and rejected. But who else can we understand as children of the Church, if not the apostles? Look at Peter and Paul and Matthew and John; and consider this that was promised to Abraham: I will magnify your name, accomplished in them by their works. Every day their names are mentioned in the Church, every day their names are magnified: not because it benefits them to be mentioned by us in the Church, but because by magnifying their names and reading what they wrote, we obtain salvation. In that time, he says, when the repulsed attack had been undertaken, and his sons had been placed in glory (for the Lord glorifies in his athletes, when he sees them crowned, just as he gloried against the devil concerning Job), so the Apostle, rejoicing in the progress of his disciples, says: Even through your glory, those who were your adversaries will be confounded, and they who had hurled reproach against you will see those whom they had considered miserable to be happy, and those whom they had regarded as poor and lowly to become powerful and glorious. Then they will see their captivity, by which they had been subjected to a harsh rule in this world, being brought back to heavenly Jerusalem; and they themselves rising to eternal shame and confusion. Grant us, Jesus Christ, who are expressed and afflicted and rejected in this world, that you may receive us and place us in glory: may confusion prevail in the time of his remaining, may his idle words cease, may his poisons become dull, and may his confusion lead to salvation. This according to the Septuagint. However, the Hebrew text does not require much explanation because, apart from the beginning that we mentioned at the end of the previous chapter, it does not differ significantly from their translation.

The salvation of human beings rests with divine lovingkindness alone: we do not earn it as the wages of righteousness; rather, it is a gift of divine goodness. Hence the Lord says, “on your behalf I shall save and welcome” and make my own what has become another’s, render it conspicuous, make it more famous than all others, free it from its former shame, and from being captives and slaves I shall make them free people and my own. Now, as I have said, this he both made a gift of to those returning from Babylon at that time and also granted to all people later. We who were once in thrall to the devil but are now freed from that harsh captivity and unmindful of the error of polytheism have become God’s own, being famous beyond pagans and barbarians, according to the prophecy, and we who were once far off have become near, according to the divine apostle.

The prophet reproves Jerusalem, and all her guides and rulers, for their obstinate perseverance in impiety, notwithstanding all the warnings and corrections which they had received from God, Zep 3:1-7. They are encouraged, however, after they shall have been chastised for their idolatry, and cured of it, to look for mercy and restoration, Zep 3:8-13; and exited to hymns of joy at the glorious prospect, Zep 3:14-17. After which the prophet concludes with large promises of favor and prosperity in the days of the Messiah, Zep 3:18-20. We take this extensive view of the concluding verses of this chapter, because an apostle has expressly assured us that in Every prophetical book of the Old Testament Scriptures are confined predictions relative to the Gospel dispensation. See Act 3:24.

At that time - First, when the seventy years of the Babylonish captivity shall terminate. "I will bring you again" to your own land; and this restoration shall be a type of their redemption from sin and iniquity; and at this time, and at this only, will they have a name and praise among all the people of the earth, not only among the Jews, but the Gentiles. Before your eyes - Some read before Their eyes; that is, the eyes of all people. On their conversion to Christianity, they shall become as eminent as they ever were in the most illustrious days of their history, Lord, hasten the conversion of Israel! Amen.

RESUMPTION OF THE DENUNCIATION OF JERUSALEM, AS BEING UNREFORMED BY THE PUNISHMENT OF OTHER NATIONS: AFTER HER CHASTISEMENT JEHOVAH WILL INTERPOSE FOR HER AGAINST HER FOES; HIS WORSHIP SHALL FLOURISH IN ALL LANDS, BEGINNING AT JERUSALEM, WHERE HE SHALL BE IN THE MIDST OF HIS PEOPLE, AND SHALL MAKE THEM A PRAISE IN ALL THE EARTH. (Zep. 3:1-20) filthy--MAURER translates from a different root, "rebellious," "contumacious." But the following term, "polluted," refers rather to her inward moral filth, in spite of her outward ceremonial purity [CALVIN]. GROTIUS says, the Hebrew is used of women who have prostituted their virtue. There is in the Hebrew Moreah; a play on the name Moriah, the hill on which the temple was built; implying the glaring contrast between their filthiness and the holiness of the worship on Moriah in which they professed to have a share. oppressing--namely, the poor, weak, widows, orphans and strangers (Jer 22:3).

make you a name . . . praise--make you to become celebrated and praised. turn back your captivity--bring back your captives [MAURER]. The Hebrew is plural, "captivities"; to express the captivities of different ages of their history, as well as the diversity of places in which they were and are dispersed. before your eyes--Incredible as the event may seem, your own eyes with delight shall see it. You will scarcely believe it for joy, but the testimony of your own eyes shall convince you of the delightful reality (compare Luk 24:41). Next: Haggai Introduction

To give still greater emphasis to his exhortation to repentance, the prophet turns to Jerusalem again, that he may once more hold up before the hardened sinners the abominations of this city, in which Jehovah daily proclaims His right, and shows the necessity for the judgment, as the only way that is left by which to secure salvation for Israel and for the whole world. Zep 3:1. "Woe to the refractory and polluted one, the oppressive city! Zep 3:2. She has not hearkened to the voice; not accepted discipline; not trusted in Jehovah; not drawn near to her God. Zep 3:3. Her princes are roaring lions in the midst of her; her judges evening wolves, who spare not for the morning. Zep 3:4. Her prophets boasters, men of treacheries: her priests desecrate that which is holy, to violence to the law." The woe applies to the city of Jerusalem. That this is intended in Zep 3:1 is indisputably evident from the explanation which follows in Zep 3:2-4 of the predicates applied to the city addressed in Zep 3:1. By the position of the indeterminate predicates מוראה and נגאלה before the subject to which the hōi refers, the threat acquires greater emphasis. מוראה is not formed from the hophal of ראה (ἐπιφανής, lxx, Cyr., Cocc.), but is the participle kal of מרא = מרה or מרר, to straighten one's self, and hold one's self against a person, hence to be rebellious (see Delitzsch on Job, on Job 33:2, note). נגאלה, stained with sins and abominations (cf. Isa 59:3). Yōnâh does not mean columba, but oppressive (as in Jer 46:16; Jer 50:16, and Jer 25:38)), as a participle of yânâh to oppress (cf. Jer 22:3). These predicates are explained and vindicated in Zep 3:2-4, viz., first of all מוראה in Zep 3:2. She gives no heed to the voice, sc. of God in the law and in the words of the prophets (compare Jer 7:28, where קול יהוה occurs in the repetition of the first hemistich). The same thing is affirmed in the second clause, "she accepts no chastisement." These two clauses describe the attitude assumed towards the legal contents of the word of God, the next two the attitude assumed towards its evangelical contents, i.e., the divine promises. Jerusalem has no faith in these, and does not allow them to draw her to her God. The whole city is the same, i.e., the whole of the population of the city. Her civil and spiritual rulers are no better. Their conduct shows that the city is oppressive and polluted (Zep 3:3 and Zep 3:4). Compare with this the description of the leaders in Mic 3:1-12. The princes are lions, which rush with roaring upon the poor and lowly, to tear them in pieces and destroy them (Pro 28:15; Eze 19:2; Nah 2:12). The judges resemble evening wolves (see at Hab 1:8), as insatiable as wolves, which leave not a single bone till the following morning, of the prey they have caught in the evening. The verb gâram is a denom. from gerem, to gnaw a bone, piel to crush them (Num 24:8); to gnaw a bone for the morning, is the same as to leave it to be gnawed in the morning. Gâram has not in itself the meaning to reserve or lay up (Ges. Lex.). The prophets, i.e., those who carry on their prophesying without a call from God (see Mic 2:11; Mic 3:5, Mic 3:11), are pōchăzı̄m, vainglorious, boasting, from pâchaz, to boil up or boil over, and when applied to speaking, to overflow with frivolous words. Men of treacheries, bōgedōth, a subst. verb, from bâgad, the classical word for faithless adultery or apostasy from God. The prophets proved themselves to be so by speaking the thoughts of their own hearts to the people as revelations from God, and thereby strengthening it in its apostasy from the Lord. The priests profane that which is holy (qoodesh, every holy thing or act), and do violence to the law, namely, by treating what is holy as profane, and perverting the precepts of the law concerning holy and unholy (cf. Eze 22:26).