ProtestantBankie
Puritan Board Freshman
Hoping to get some views on the board for reading through Zepheniah, there seems a disagreement as to whether he spoke before or after Josiah's reformation and whether there was much overlap between the two. I'd like to get some views on the board and why you think it - just to help a young Christian out. The question is not crucial, but I do think it will have an impact on how we view certain portions of the book - and I've included a quote by Matthew Henry to back me up there.
Did Zepheniah's ministry begin to take place before the 8th (or at least before the 12th year) of the Reign of Josiah, King of Judah? Or was his ministry more focussed in the post-12th year when Josiah's reforms had begun?
The Expositors Bible Commentary dates his ministry from 625 making him an immediate contemporary of Jeremiah (but twice admits this is speculation). The Pulpit Commentary has him preaching before and after the Reformation.
"it does not appear whether Zephaniah prophesied in the beginning of his reign; if so, we may suppose his prophesying had a great and good influence on that reformation. When he, as God's messenger, reproved the idolatries of Jerusalem, Josiah, as God's vice-regent, removed them; and reformation is likely to go on and prosper when both magistrates and ministers do their part towards it. If it were towards the latter end of his reign that he prophesied, we sadly see how a corrupt people relapse into their former distempers. The idolatries Josiah had abolished, it should seem, returned in his own time, when the heat of the reformation began a little to abate and wear off. What good can the best reformers do with a people that hate to be reformed, as if they longed to be ruined?" - Henry
Did Zepheniah's ministry begin to take place before the 8th (or at least before the 12th year) of the Reign of Josiah, King of Judah? Or was his ministry more focussed in the post-12th year when Josiah's reforms had begun?
The Expositors Bible Commentary dates his ministry from 625 making him an immediate contemporary of Jeremiah (but twice admits this is speculation). The Pulpit Commentary has him preaching before and after the Reformation.
"it does not appear whether Zephaniah prophesied in the beginning of his reign; if so, we may suppose his prophesying had a great and good influence on that reformation. When he, as God's messenger, reproved the idolatries of Jerusalem, Josiah, as God's vice-regent, removed them; and reformation is likely to go on and prosper when both magistrates and ministers do their part towards it. If it were towards the latter end of his reign that he prophesied, we sadly see how a corrupt people relapse into their former distempers. The idolatries Josiah had abolished, it should seem, returned in his own time, when the heat of the reformation began a little to abate and wear off. What good can the best reformers do with a people that hate to be reformed, as if they longed to be ruined?" - Henry
