In the OT, Zephaniah is the Savior’s Summons to Satisfaction. Here the OT prophet pleads for the Lord’s people to patiently pursue God in community––to seek the Lord together (Zeph 2:1, 3) in order to avoid punishment and to wait on the Lord (Zeph 3:8) in order to enjoy a satisfying salvation.
Writing in the wake of Judah’s darkest days, Zephaniah is one of the few prophets that never explicitly mentions the Messiah. His intent in the silence is probably to stress how near the day of God’s wrath is and how dim Judah’s hope looks. Yet Peter declared that “all the prophets” foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (Acts 3:18, 24; 10:43), and Zephaniah clearly makes his contribution to messianic hope and the message that God is glorified by saving a satisfied people through the sacrifice of his Son.
Two years ago I had the chance to write the notes on “Zephaniah” for the new NIV Zondervan Study Bible, and during my recent sabbatical I completed the volume on “Zephaniah” for the forthcoming 12-volume ESV Bible Expository Commentary. With these projects, I continue to work on Zephaniah for the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament.
Building off my work on this amazing book, I have been teaching Zephaniah this fall to my adult Sunday School class at Bethlehem Baptist Church. In these 15 weeks of expository messages I overview the God’s triumphant call to tireless trust, promising both new creation and celebration to all who endure through the day of the Lord. Below are the audio recordings and PowerPoints from my teachings. The Lord has met me in amazing ways in my own study, and I pray that as you listen you too will increasingly grow to savor our Savior, whose cross-event has secured our atonement and inaugurated the new creation and multi-ethnic community of worshipers for which Zephaniah longed.
AUDIO/POWERPOINT
Download All Audio Clips using these Zip Files (Weeks 1–6, Weeks 7–11, Weeks 12–15)
Week 2 – Zeph 1:2–6 (Audio/PP)
Week 3 – Zeph 1:7–13 (Audio/PP)
Week 4 – Zeph 1:14–18 (Audio/PP)
Week 5 – Zeph 2:1–4 (Audio/PP)
Week 6 – Zeph 2:5–15, Pt 1 (Audio/PP)
Week 7 – Zeph 2:5–15, Pt 2 (Audio/PP)
Week 8 – Zeph 3:1–7 (Audio/PP)
Week 9 – Zeph 3:8–10, Pt 1 (Audio/PP)
Week 10 – Zeph 3:8–10, Pt 2 (Audio/PP)
Week 11 – Zeph 3:11–13 (Audio/PP)
Week 12 – Zeph 3:14–15 (PP)
No Audio Available
Week 13 – Zeph 3:16–20, Pt1 (Audio/PP)
Week 14 – Zeph 3:16–20, Pt 2 (Audio/PP)
Week 15 – Zeph 3:16–20, Pt 3 (Audio/PP)
