Have you noticed that all these guys are starting to sound alike? If I read different passages of each prophet to you, I suspect you would be hard pressed to know which one was which. You start to wonder, did they all sit together in class and copy off each other’s papers? They all seem to give the same picture of a very angry God.

Zephaniah is not the exception. He comes across as a wild-eyed, fire-breathing, take-no-prisoner’s prophet. Writer Kenneth Boa observes that, “Most of his book booms and flashes like a thunderstorm.” It’s true. There are places where you want to hide under the covers or crawl under the bed.

This raises another question: Why is God so angry? All of the Minor Prophets seem to have the same message that sounds like the bumper sticker I saw years ago, “God is back, and boy is He mad.” Along with our analysis of Zephaniah, we’re going to answer that this week. See you on Sunday!