She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the LORD; she does not draw near to her God.
Zephaniah preached while Josiah was king of Judah. It was a time of national reform, yet the prophet's word to Jerusalem is a "woe" — and this verse names four things the city would not do, each one a refusal of God Himself.
Woe Spoken to God's Own City
The chapters before this one announce judgment on foreign nations. Here he turns to Jerusalem. One writer notes where God's most serious words always land.
William KellyThis is not Nineveh, but Jerusalem. The most solemn word of God is always reserved for His own people, city, and sanctuary. Judgment must begin at His house. The words of condemnation may end with it, but judgment starts there... So the failure is first towards the LORD, and then towards everyone else — cruel oppression, and they kept it up.
Reform on the Surface, Nothing Underneath
Josiah was a good king who cleaned up the nation's public religion. Zephaniah's book behaves as if that reform had never happened.
Leslie M. GrantZephaniah ("Treasured of the LORD") prophesied in the days of Josiah. Josiah was a godly king, and his faith and energy had produced a marked revival in the outward state of Israel. But this book takes no notice of that revival. It moves straight into a declaration of God's sweeping judgment... The revival was only on the surface. At heart the nation stayed the same as before, and this became clear as soon as Josiah died.
Another writer describes what that looked like inside the city:
The Christian's FriendIn chapter 3, he turns again to Jerusalem in her sad state and condition during Josiah's reign. He shows how the most debasing moral corruption could exist side by side with the professed service of the LORD.
The Voice She Would Not Hear
The first charge is that she would not listen. One writer warns what happens to anyone who refuses a voice they know is God's.
Frederick W GrantThe call to God's people of old remains for us as much as for them: "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." All truth speaks with an authority that those who are true recognise. And the more precious the truth is, the sadder the result of refusing it in practice. To trifle with any truth is dangerous, and hardening of heart is the necessary result. How many people have a conscience paralysed in one spot, because they refused something in which they once recognised the voice of God.
What Refusing Correction Claims
The second charge is that she accepted no correction. One writer draws out what that refusal claims.
F. B. Hole...we find the same spirit among the people in Jerusalem just before Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it. Those who refuse "correction" are thereby claiming to be all they should be... and the same thing meets us in Revelation 3. Laodicea is so rich that she needs nothing, and so she needs no correction. So again we have to remind ourselves of our danger here. It grows sharper as we draw near to the end of the church's history.
No Trust, No Drawing Near
The last two charges are also Godward: she did not trust the LORD, and she did not come near Him. He had not moved away from her.
The Christian's FriendWhat a solemn list of charges!... And yet the LORD still had His dwelling-place in the middle of the city. He worked to bring His people to a sense of their shameful condition... Their case was hopeless, despite the yearning, pleading voice of their God. They would keep up their careless, stubborn rebellion and turning away from God until He poured out His wrath on them, and there would be no remedy. Patience and longsuffering have limits in God's government.
Privilege, Guilt, and Mercy
Her privileges are what made her case so serious. Yet the book does not end in judgment.
William Kelly...none should escape the day of the LORD — least of all she that was filthy and polluted, the oppressing city, dressed in privilege and so much the guiltier: Jerusalem! He ends with the richest comfort for the godly remnant. They are to wait on the LORD until He carries out His sentence on the gathered kingdoms. Then He delivers His people, now poor and meek. He rejoices over Zion, rests in His love, and makes them a name and a praise among all people of the earth.
Summary
- Voice. She would not listen. Refusing a voice you once knew was God's hardens the heart and can leave the conscience paralysed in that one spot.
- Correction. She would not take correction. To refuse it is to claim you are already all you should be — the spirit of Laodicea in Revelation 3.
- Trust. She would not lean on the LORD. The failure is Godward first, and the cruelty towards people grows out of it.
- Nearness. She would not come close, though God was still living in the middle of her city and still pleading with her.
- Mercy. His patience has limits in government. Yet the book ends with Him resting in His love over a restored people, a name and a praise in all the earth.