CRITICAL NOTES.]
Zephaniah 2:13.) The prophet dwells longer on the heathen power of the north, the Assyrian kingdom with its capital, Nineveh, because Assyria was then the imperial power, seeking to destroy the kingdom of Judah. This explains the announcement, in the form of a wish, as the use of the contracted forms, yet and yâsçm, clearly shows. Assyria was north-east, but invaded Palestine from the north, hence regarded as situated thus [Keil].
Zephaniah 2:14. Cormorant and bittern] or pelican and porcupine (cf. Isaiah 34:11), from whence the words are adopted [Wordsworth]. Lintels] or knops of pillars (Amos 9:1). “The capitals of the pillars do not lie on the ground, but now stand unattached, after the roofs and doors, which rested upon them, are thrown down” [Hitzig].
Zephaniah 2:15.] This city, proud and haughty, sheltered behind defences of water, would become a lair of beasts, a desolate waste, a hissing to men. All would exult in its ruins, wave the hand, and declare that “she richly deserved her fate.”
THE JUDGMENT UPON ASSYRIA.—Zephaniah 2:13-15
The prophet dwells upon the kingdom of Assyria with its splendid capital, Nineveh. It was the imperial power then seeking to destroy Judah, But the sentence of Jonah and Nahum was to be executed. No opportunity of repentance now. The most populous and ambitious kingdom of Eastern races has to be entirely laid waste.
I. Its capital would become a heap of ruins. God will stretch out his hand “and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation.” Nineveh, strongly built and splendidly adorned, secure in its streams and impregnable in its defences, would become an arid waste. “Dry like a wilderness.”
II. Its ruins would be complete. They would become—
1. A lair of wild beasts. “Herds crouch were once ran broad streets, loud with the wheels of traffic or the tramp of armies. Wild beasts wander and climb about the fallen stones, seeking a prey or finding a covert within its dismantled walls. Pelicans from the neighbouring marshes, and hedgehogs from the adjacent fields, make their homes in the sculptured capitals of her fallen columns.”
2. A home of unclean birds. Birds perch and sing on the lintels of broken windows, joyous in existence amid extensive ruins. The music of the palace, men-singers and women-singers, have ceased to be; but the song of the bird startles the spectator in the lonely scene.
3. A heap of desolation. “Desolation shall be in the thresholds.” On spots where porters watched and multitudes thronged, heaps of rubbish stand. The thresholds of house and temple, mart and palace, are covered with dust. “The sands carried by winds from the desert, have buried the wreck of former grandeur, and hid every trace of its magnificence.”
III. Its ruins would become a derision to travellers. “Every one that passeth by her shall hiss and wag his hand.” He shall hiss with scorn, and motion with the hand in detestation, not in joy (Nahum 3:19). The desolation would astonish, and the ruin of the immense and stately city would be a source of joy. “The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Zephaniah 2:13. Desolation. No desolation is like that of decayed luxury. It preaches the nothingness of man, the fruitlessness of his toils, the fleetingness of his hopes and enjoyments. Grass in a court or on a beaten road, much more in a town, speaks of the passing away of what has been; that man, wont to be there, is not there now. It leaves the feeling of void and forsakenness [Pusey].
Zephaniah 2:15. “I am,” &c. Pride will fall. The more selfish and secure in sin, the greater the human shame and the Divine indignation. This was the language of—
1. Pride. Deification of its own might.
2. Selfishness. I alone, and no other that I care for.
3. Defiance. I am, who dare touch me? No security in worldly strength and prosperity.
4. Self-deception. Judgments from God humble the most haughty, and turn the most mirthful into mourning. Thus Divine retribution
“Falls most sure
On wicked men, when they are most secure.”
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 2
Zephaniah 2:13-15. This doom on Nineveh was carried out to the very letter. It was not simply the largest city of the ancient world. In the mouth of the Hebrew prophets it was the name of a district, 25 miles long, by 15 broad, which included four large cities, besides villages and forts, within its protecting walls. About six centuries B. C., this vast populous district was conquered and destroyed by the Medes (under Cyaxares), and the Chaldeans (under Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar). So complete was the destruction, that with startling abruptness the great city vanished from the face of the earth, and its very ruins were hidden from the eyes of men. In A. D. 1766, Niebuhr, the great historian, stood on the eastern bank, which he took to be acclivities wrought by the hand of nature. It was not till A. D. 1842 that Layard, Rawlinson, and Botta dug into these mounds, exhumed and interpreted the remains which tell the story of the city’s greatness, luxury, and culture with a power beyond that of words [S. Cox].
“I am.” Indulged sin thrives and strengthens in character. Germs of evil gather round the accursed root, until judgments from heaven cut it down.
“When we in our viciousness
Grow hard, the wise gods seal our eyes,
In our own slime drop our clear judgments,
Make us adore our errors, and thus
We strut to our destruction.”