Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.
Zephaniah has just named the Philistine cities for ruin. Now the woe falls on the whole coast, and the verse raises three questions: who these seacoast people were, why God calls their land "Canaan," and how complete the ruin will be.
Judgment Reaching Outward
Chapter 1 fell on Jerusalem; chapter 2 spreads the same storm to the neighbours. One writer explains why the judgment begins at home.
William KellyIf the Lord must judge His people, all the world must bow, no nation can escape. What Nebuchadnezzar did was only the first instalment of a great and complete judgment. Yet the Lord had to begin with His land, His people, and His city, as in Zephaniah 1.
The Seacoast Nation
Zephaniah names the Cherethites as though everyone knew them. They lived at the southern end of Philistine country, and their roots lay overseas.
Morrish Bible DictionaryInhabitants of the southern parts of Philistia. 1 Samuel 30:14; Ezekiel 25:16; Zephaniah 2:5. In the last two passages, the Septuagint reads "Cretans." Many suppose they were people from Crete who had settled on the coast of Palestine.
The Philistines themselves were long settled on that coast. Their cities sat on the road between Egypt and Syria.
Morrish Bible DictionaryThey were living in the south-west of Palestine when Abraham went to stay at Gerar, Genesis 20… Their five cities commanded the coast road from Egypt to Syria.
Why God Calls It Canaan
The verse addresses them as "Canaan," not as owners. They held ground that was never theirs.
Samuel RidoutIt is the land of the Philistines, as you might say, and yet they had no right to it. They were intruders, or, as their name suggests, "wanderers," people who had no right there at all. They had wandered in and had settled down along the sea coast, where there was an easy way of getting into the land. This was a road God refused outright to lead His people along, because they needed the training that conflict and hardship would give them. They also needed to be examples for all time, showing that the only true way into God's heritage is through death and resurrection.
The Word of the LORD Against Them
The verse names no army. God's own word stands against this coast, and Philistia is judged with its neighbours for what they did to God's people.
W. T. P. WolstonAmmon, Moab, Edom, and the Philistines are all set before us as objects of God's prophetic dealing… They were allies in opposing God's chosen people. So these four nations are now marked out as special objects of divine vengeance, for if you touch God's people, you touch Him.
Ezekiel brings the same charge against these people, and another writer weighs how heavy the threat is.
William KellyHere the threat of divine judgments is intensely strong. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God when He avenges His people on their proud and spiteful foes.
Destroyed Till None Remains
One writer, commenting on a psalm about the nations, reads the threat plainly. Nobody is left there, and the land changes hands.
Numerical Bible NotesPhilistia is also threatened with destruction until no inhabitant is left (Zephaniah 2:5; Amos 1:8), and Judah is to take over her land. This is another witness that the psalmist does not prophesy the conversion of these nations to God.
Commentators differ here. Another writer finds room for survivors among these very cities.
Edward DennettThe careful reader will notice that the whole prophecy has not been fulfilled. It speaks of a spared remnant from the Philistines who shall be "for our God." This must be future… the Lord will stain all the pride of their glory, and at the same time He will restore a remnant for blessing.
Still Waiting
Philistia has been ravaged more than once, yet the promise attached to the ruin has not yet come true.
William KellyThen we have the warning of what will take place in the day of the Lord's anger, which no doubt has been partly fulfilled, and will be yet more… "And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed on it" — which clearly has not yet been fulfilled to the full.
The emptied coastland is promised to a people who must first turn back to God. That is why the chapter opens with a call to seek Him.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinVerse seven ties this back to the opening message of the chapter, the call to repentance… The remnant is to own this territory when Philistia is judged, so they ought to repent and seek the Lord. It is plain that this has still not happened. It was not fulfilled in the remnant who returned from the Babylonian captivity.
Summary
- Order — God begins with His own city. Then no nation escapes, and Philistia is the first neighbour the storm reaches.
- Identity — the seacoast nation is the Cherethites. Many take them for settlers from Crete, living at the southern end of Philistia.
- Charge — God calls them "Canaan." They were intruders on land that was never theirs, and they laid hands on His people.
- Weapon — no army is named. The word of the LORD stands against them, and it is a fearful thing to fall into God's hands.
- Outcome — the land is emptied so a repentant remnant of Judah may graze there. Commentators differ on whether any Philistines are spared.