Sheltered by the Savior

As I read through the minor prophets, I see God rebuking His people for their sin, reminding them of who He is, warning them that the cost of their trespasses is destruction, and providing them with ample opportunities for repentance and obedience. If we look at Zephaniah, we see clear examples of this. Zephaniah served under King Josiah, who reigned from 641 to 609 BC. Josiah initiated a reform around 629 BC, but scholars believe Zephaniah wrote this book before the reforms began. The people of Judah were very wicked idolaters who were worshipping gods such as Molech, Baal, and Milcom and participating in child sacrifices, astrology, and sacred prostitution. Zephaniah warned the people of Judah and invited them to repentance and restoration because if they did not, God would use His enemies as an agent of judgment against His own people. He tells them that if they repent, they will find shelter in the midst of judgment. 

In this short book, the word refuge appears only once, but I aim to show that Zephaniah wrote to the people of God with the Lord as our refuge in mind. Let’s look more closely at Zephaniah and see how it applies to us and how we can find refuge in God. In Zephaniah 1:1–18, God declares that He will destroy the whole world because of the evil being done and the idols that have become stumbling blocks for His people. His people are apostates, morally and ethically corrupt. When we think of those that are of such a nature, we dismiss them as different than we are. We may not be apostates, and we may try to live our lives within moral and ethical boundaries, but we still allow idolatry and sin to rule our hearts at times. Good things—such as our marriages, children, careers, and comfort—often tempt us to abandon what is best. Also, in our fast-paced world, we often live through our own power, self-sufficient to the extreme, diminishing what we think of God and defaming His name to the nations.

In 2:1-3 we see a slight, short shift in focus. Zephaniah calls the people of God to gather before God unleashes His fierce anger on them. God invites them to humbly repent and seek righteousness, and in return, He may give them shelter on the day of His anger. Adam Howell, in the blog post from July 16, 2025, defines refuge as shelter in the time of danger. I think that this is what we see in verse 3, the offer of a refuge. I also see an element of refuge in verses 6-7. Zephaniah says that God is going to turn the land by the sea into pastures for the remnant of His people to shepherd their flocks. He will give over the houses of their enemies as a place to lie safely at night, where God would care for them. There is refuge to be found by the sheep in their shepherd, and there is also refuge to be found in God caring for His people as they sleep soundly in the houses of their enemies.

As we read through verses 8-15, we see the decimation that God promises to the nations north, south, east, and west of Judah. The use of all four cardinal directions should help us to understand that God is saying that He is going to destroy all of the nations. He is destroying them because of their taunts and insults against His people, their worship of false gods, and their pride. We must acknowledge our own sins of pride. Throughout our society, we are faced with challenges and force-fed slop of self. People tell us to have more self-confidence, self-esteem, self-care, and self-love. Society celebrates our self-centeredness and pursues self-fulfillment at the expense of our souls. Pride leading to self-sufficiency ends in nothing less than self-worship. Our hearts can only worship at one altar. If we are worshipping at the altar of self, we too are worshipping false gods.

As we start chapter 3, we see that He has set His sights on Jerusalem, His own people. His people are defiled because they are rebellious. His discipline of His people has not persuaded them to obey. Their disobedience comes from a lack of trust. As I read about Jerusalem, I ponder: Do I always listen to His voice? Do I accept correction from the Lord? Do I trust in God in everything, or do I try to take care of things in my own power? Do I always draw near to Him? Let’s continue. Though His people are rebellious and their officials and prophets are treacherous and unprincipled, God is not. God is faithful, just, righteous, and immutable. His character is never-changing. It is in His grace and abundant mercy that He wanted to use the destruction to discipline His people and call them back to Him. Yet they did not turn back to Him, and their place of refuge was destroyed. His fierce anger and wrath was poured out (and will be poured out.)

Zephaniah 3:9-20 is such great news. God has done and will do what He says He will do. He makes a way for the restoration of His people. He will remove the evil people from the midst of His people. There will be no impurity of speech, shame, arrogance, or deceit. He has taken away the punishment of His people. How fitting that after the mass destruction, God has come and rescued them, and they will once again find their refuge in Him.

The entirety of the book of Zephaniah can be read with a sense of already, but not yet. It leaves me with great hope and anticipation of Christ coming again. I think that it is appropriate to say that Jesus Christ, the Lord, the King of Israel, is with us and has fulfilled this prophecy. When Christ came and died in our place, He took upon Himself all of our sins. God unleashed the wrath that was meant for us upon Christ. In return, He imputed to us His righteousness. When the Father looks upon us, He sees Christ’s goodness. He is our Advocate and our Defense. Christ’s righteousness is a clear example of true refuge. If we are in Christ and He is in us, there is no condemnation for our sins. We are no longer slaves to the sin that once ruled our lives. He is our refuge from ourselves and our sinful hearts, from the world and the false messages that we receive, and from the enemy that is prowling around, waiting to devour us. “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zeph 3:17) Because of who Christ is, we have a safe place to shelter if we rest in Him alone.

-Kim Schroeder

Kim Schroeder and her husband, Jim, have been attending NAOBC for the last two years and Kim co-teaches the senior ladies BFG, co-leads a Discipleship Group and they both greet together on Sunday mornings. Kim is currently in a doctoral program at SBTS and focusing on raising up the church to better counsel those that suffer in the sin of alcohol and drug abuse.