“And maybe, just maybe, there is hope, after all.”
These words, written by Kirthi Jayakumar, an activist and author, echo the aspirations of Zephaniah, a Jerusalem prophet living 2,700 years ago. He is moving between terrorizing the people with future fears - and giving them a bit of hope of survival despite the grim prospects.
Like other prophets, Zephaniah protests the people’s lavish lifestyle and neglect of morality; he threatens them with horrors as the consequences of their greed and faithlessness - hoping that fear of the future will get them to change.
Will they listen and prevent the ‘Day of Wrath’ that will befall them unless they repent?
He’s realistic - maybe yes and maybe not. So little has changed..
He also makes no guarantees that the people will survive the pending disasters, even if they do decide to turn aside from evil.
He’s honest enough to say it’s possible -- that ‘maybe’ is as good as it gets.
How bad will it be?? He describes what feels like familiar sci-fi dystopias - cities in rubble as nature takes over, wars decimating populations, exile, and loss. He is not just talking about Jerusalem, either - he’s warning the entire region - including the neighboring cities of the other nations.
Some of the names of the Philistine coastal towns he names, so familiar today, are particularly chilling:
כִּ֤י עַזָּה֙ עֲזוּבָ֣ה תִֽהְיֶ֔ה וְאַשְׁקְל֖וֹן לִשְׁמָמָ֑ה אַשְׁדּ֗וֹד בַּֽצׇּהֳרַ֙יִם֙ יְגָ֣רְשׁ֔וּהָ וְעֶקְר֖וֹן תֵּעָקֵֽר׃
“Indeed, Gaza shall be deserted
And Ashkelon desolate;
Ashdod’s people shall be expelled in broad daylight,
And Ekron shall be uprooted.”
Zephaniah 2:4
This is a harsh future. But is there any way to avoid the destruction? The prophet can’t make promises but does offer one possible path towards redemption: Humility + full atonement:
בַּקְּשׁ֤וּ אֶת־יְהֹוָה֙ כׇּל־עַנְוֵ֣י הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִשְׁפָּט֖וֹ פָּעָ֑לוּ בַּקְּשׁוּ־צֶ֙דֶק֙ בַּקְּשׁ֣וּ עֲנָוָ֔ה אוּלַי֙ תִּסָּ֣תְר֔וּ בְּי֖וֹם אַף־יְהֹוָֽה׃
“Seek GOD,
All you humble of the land
Who have fulfilled God’s law;
Seek righteousness,
Seek humility.
Perhaps you will find shelter
On the day of divine anger.”
Zephaniah 2:3
Perhaps. Since the process is already in motion - who’s to know what it may take to flip the script and to survive? The best he’s got for us is that we can do our best to find shelter in faith, in honest living, and in moral high ground. We know too well that history proves otherwise: Even the most pious perish, and justice is rarely dealt in accordance with intentions.
There was a Talmudic sage who read this verse some 1,500 years ago and broke into tears. Tractate Hagigah in the Babylonian Talmud explores different theological dilemmas and includes this story:
“When Rabbi Ami reached this verse, he cried: “Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you shall be hidden on the day of the Lord’s anger”(Zephaniah 2:3). He said: All of this is expected of each individual, and only perhaps God’s anger may be hidden?”
Perhaps this is the best we got and this prophetic chapter is a reality check and reminder that the future is unknown and that hope is a choice - and the way we show up is the best and only way to make sure we have some agency over our choices, and maybe, perhaps, here’s hoping -- some ability to impact the future for better, for all?
It’s 50/50 but it’s as good as it gets. Perhaps.
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