The LORD will be awesome against them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations.
The judgment on Moab and Ammon opens out here to the whole earth. Commentators read the verse as a picture of what follows the day of the Lord: God starves out the false gods, and worship spreads far beyond one city.
Idols starved out by judgment
The verse says God will "famish" the gods of the earth — starve them out. One writer ties the end of idolatry to God's judgment, and points out that idolatry is still going on:
William KellyThe great change for the earth — the full putting down of idolatry — awaits the execution of divine judgment. This is plain everywhere. We can plainly see that idolatry goes on, and in its worst forms inside the Christian world itself. Nothing is so bad as idolatry among people who name Christ.
Older translations say the Lord will be "terrible" to them, where the ESV says "awesome." The "them" is the nations just named — and what God empties, He also fills:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe Lord, in that day, will be terrible to all these nations. The idol gods will all be abolished. In their place people will worship Him alone. All the isles of the nations will turn in worship to Him.
Worship "each in its place"
The verse has each nation bowing down in its own place. Kelly holds two truths together here — a centre in Jerusalem, and real worship far outside it:
William KellyBesides the great centre of earthly worship for all in Jerusalem, real offerings are foretold here from all the Gentiles in every place… The coming age will be marked by this: every nation will openly own the name of Jehovah, and not simply bear witness to it… Israel will form the inner circle for the earth, but that will not shut out real worship that God accepts everywhere among the Gentiles.
How far the promise reaches
Zephaniah 2 names Israel's near neighbours — Philistia, Moab, Ammon — and then this verse reaches past them. Barker takes the older wording "isles of the heathen" (ESV: "all the lands of the nations") to mean the far edges of the world:
H. P. BarkerJust as there will be a spared remnant of Judah, so some will be spared from among the Gentiles to share the blessing of Christ's Kingdom. Idolatry will be completely destroyed. But "the isles of the heathen" — the far-off parts of the earth, in contrast to the countries right around Judah — will come into blessing. Men will worship the Lord, each one from his place in all these outlying regions.
Not yet fulfilled
Did the return from exile fulfil this? One writer answers no, and points to Moab and Ammon still troubling God's people long afterwards:
C. E. StuartNo one can say that all this has been fulfilled. Nehemiah must have felt sharply that it was not. Tobiah the Ammonite fought the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, and men of the returned remnant had married wives of Ashdod, of Moab, and of Ammon. Zephaniah looks on to the future, to the time of Israel's full restoration and triumph over the nations.
Worship then and worship now
This future worship is not Christian worship. Kelly points out that Zephaniah's scene does not yet set aside holy places:
William KellyIn the time Zephaniah has in view, special places and outward show are not wiped out. In Christianity they are — as we now know, or ought to know, from John 4:21-24. So there is no sentence of death, as it were, on the ancient city of solemn feasts. Instead, as in Malachi 1:11, worship opens up elsewhere as well, "each from his place," even all the isles of the nations.
Worldwide homage is not worldwide conversion. One writer draws the line by looking back at the worship God received before the cross:
The Christian's FriendAs the Creator and as Jehovah, God was worshipped before the cross; and as such He will be worshipped again. So in the past unconverted people could worship Him… Not all people in that day will be converted, but all will worship God.
Summary
- Judgment first. The gods of the earth are not argued away or outgrown. God starves them out when He acts in judgment.
- God fills. What idolatry leaves empty, God fills — He alone receives worship where images once stood.
- Reach widens. The promise runs past Israel's neighbours to the farthest lands. There spared Gentiles come into the blessing of Christ's kingdom.
- Place changes. Each worships from his own place. Jerusalem is still the centre, yet worship reaches far outside it.
- Limit noted. Worldwide worship is not worldwide conversion. People can worship without being converted, which is why Christian worship, according to John 4:21-24, stands apart.