Zephaniah 3.20a-The Future Restoration of the Future Remnant of Israel to the Land Promised to Them By God Under the Abrahamic covenant
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday September 28, 2016
Zephaniah: Zephaniah 3:20a-The Future Restoration of the Future Remnant of Israel to the Land Promised to Them Under Abrahamic Covenant
Lesson # 95
Zephaniah 3:20 “At that time I will bring you in, even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the LORD. (NASB95)
“At that time” is composed of the following: (1) preposition b (בְּ), “at” (2) articular common singular noun ʿēt (עֵת), “time” (3) definite article ha- which is not translated (4) third person feminine singular pronominal suffix hîʾ (הִיא), “that.”
The noun ʿēt means “period of time” referring to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ which is indicated through a comparison of the assertions in Zephaniah 3:20 with the prophecies in Scripture related to the Second Advent.
The noun ʿēṯ is the object of the preposition b, which means “during” since it indicates that something occurs during the time indicated by its object.
“I will bring you in” is composed of the following: (1) first person singular hiphil active imperfect form of the verb bôʾ (בּוֹא), “I will bring in” (2) object marker ʾēt (אֵת), which is not translated (3) second person masculine plural pronominal suffix ʾattem (אַתֶּם), “you.”
The verb bôʾ is in the hiphil stem and means “to transport” since the word pertains to the transfer of someone or something from one place to another.
The second person masculine plural pronominal suffix ʾattem means “each and every one of you” referring to the remnant of Israel as a corporate unit and is used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.
“Even at the time when I gather you together” is epexegetical meaning it defines specifically for the reader when God will transport this future remnant of Israel.
Zephaniah 3:20 “During this specific period of time in the future, I will cause each and every one of you to be transported. Specifically, during this specific period of time, I myself will cause each and every one of you in the future to be gathered in one place. Indeed, I will cause each and every one of you to receive honor as well as praise among each and every one of the nations of the earth when I myself restore your prosperity before your eyes,” says the Lord. (My translation)
The prophet Zephaniah is once again quoting the God of Israel in Zephaniah 3:20 directly rather than speaking on His behalf as His representative to the Jewish people.
The first prophetic declaration quotes the God of Israel as predicting that during a specific period of time in the future, He will cause each and every member of the remnant of Israel to be transported.
He then specifies with the second prophetic declaration what He means by this by asserting that during this specific period of time, He will Himself cause each and every member of this remnant of Israel to be gathered into one place.
Therefore, these two prophetic declarations are referring to God restoring a remnant of the Jewish people to the land He promised to them under the Abrahamic and Palestinian covenants.
As we noted, the third and fourth prophetic declarations advance upon and intensify the first two prophecies.
They assert that the God of Israel will cause each and every member of the remnant of Israel to receive honor as well as praise among each and every one of the Gentile nations of the earth when He Himself restores their prosperity before their eyes.
None of these predictions in Zephaniah 3:20 have been fulfilled in history since nothing in the past or up to this point in history has fulfilled them.
Yes, a remnant returned from Babylon in the sixth century B.C. and a remnant of Jews has returned to the land of Palestine after being dispersed throughout the earth for almost two thousand years.
However, at no time in history has a remnant of Israelites been transported by the Lord and gathered together in one place and then have received honor as well as praise from every nation on earth.
The remnant returning from Babylon was mistreated when they attempted to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.
In 1948, the Jews were attacked immediately by her Arabs neighbors when she became a nation again.
However, according to both Old and New Testament prophecies, the first two prophetic declarations in Zephaniah 3:20 will be fulfilled at Christ’s Second Advent.
The third and fourth will be fulfilled during the Lord’s subsequent millennial reign.
The first two prophecies in Zephaniah 3:20 speak of the Lord transporting a remnant of Jews and gathering them into one place.
This regathering of this exiled remnant of Jews will occur when Jesus Christ at His Second Advent orders the elect angels to bring them back to the land promised to them and their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The “Second Advent” of Jesus Christ is taught in both the Old and New Testaments (Deuteronomy 30:3; Psalm 2:1-9; 24:7-10; 96:10-13; 110; Isaiah 9:6-7; 63:1-6; Jeremiah 23:1-8; Daniel 2:44-45; 7:18-27; Zechariah 12; 14:1-9; Matthew 19:28; 24:27-31; Mark 13:24-30; Luke 12:35-40; 17:24-37; 18:8; 21:25-28; Acts 1:10-11; 15:16-18; Romans 11:25-27; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; 2:8; 2 Peter 3:3-4; Jude 14-15; Revelation 1:7-8; 2:25-28; 16:15; 19:11-21).
This restoration of a future remnant of Israel to the land promised to them under the Abrahamic and Palestinian covenants is echoed in Amos 9:14-15 and Ezekiel 36:34-37.
This restoration of a future regenerate remnant of Israel will fulfill the unconditional promises of the Abrahamic and Palestinian covenants and specifically, it will fulfill the unconditional promise of land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (aka Israel) and their descendants who like them exercised faith in the Lord.
The “Palestinian” covenant is in fact an extension of the “Abrahamic” covenant, which is recorded in Genesis 12:1-3 and was “unconditional” meaning that its fulfillment was totally and completely dependent upon the Lord’s faithfulness.
The Lord’s promise of land to Abram and his descendants in Genesis 13:14-17 is an “extension” upon His promise to Abram in Genesis 12:1 and is thus related to the “Abrahamic” covenant.
The “Palestinian” covenant was a confirmation and enlargement of the original “Abrahamic” covenant and amplified the land features of the “Abrahamic” covenant (Gen. 13:14-15; 15:18).
The “Palestinian” covenant was confirmed to Isaac (Gen. 26:3-4) and Jacob (Gen. 35:12), reiterated to Moses (Ex. 6:2-8) who described the geographical boundaries of the land in Numbers 34:1-12 and who prophesied the fulfillment of this covenant during the millennium in Deuteronomy 30:1-9.
The land grant under the “Palestinian” covenant: (1) Most of the land in Turkey (2) Most of East Africa (3) Saudi Arabia (4) Yemen (5) Oman and Red Sea (6) Syria (7) Iraq (8) Jordan.
The land grant has boundaries on the Mediterranean, on Aegean Sea, on Euphrates River and the Nile River.
Deuteronomy 30:1-10 describes seven features of the “Palestinian” covenant: (1) The nation will be plucked off the land for its unfaithfulness (Deut. 28:63-68; 30:1-3). (2) There will be a future repentance of Israel (Deut. 28:63-68; 30:1-3). (3) Israel’s Messiah will return (Deut. 30:3-6). (4) Israel will be restored to the land (Deut. 30:5). (5) Israel will be converted as a nation (Deut. 30:4-8; cf. Rm. 11:26-27). (6) Israel’s enemies will be judged (Deut. 30:7). (7) The nation will then receive her full blessing (Deut. 30:9).
The Lord promises that this land would be given to Abram’s descendants and this promise was fulfilled to a certain extent by Israel under Joshua (Josh. 21:43-45; cf. 13:1-7) and David and Solomon (1 Kgs. 4:20-25; Neh. 9:8).
The prophets of Israel prophesied of the “Palestinian” covenant’s literal and ultimate fulfillment during the millennial reign of Christ (Isa. 11:11-12; Jer. 16:14-16; 23:3-8; 31:8, 31-37; Ezek. 11:17-21; 20:33-38; 34:11-16; 39:25-29; Hos. 1:10-11; Joel 3:17-21; Amos 9:11-15; Micah 4:6-7; Zeph. 3:14-20; Zech. 8:4-8).
During the millennial reign of Christ, the northern boundary of Israel will extend from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River (47:15-17), incorporating much of modern Lebanon and Syria.
The eastern border will extend south from the Euphrates River, incorporating the Golan Heights and portions of Syria almost up to Damascus, and continue south to where the Jordan River leaves the Sea of Galilee.
The river will be the eastern border to the Dead Sea’s southern end (47:18).
From there the southern border will go westward, incorporating the Negev and parts of Sinai all the way along the Brook of Egypt (the modern Wadi-el-Arish) to the point where it reaches the Mediterranean Sea (47:19), the western border (47:20).
Although the land will have twelve tribal divisions, these subdivisions will differ from those in the Book of Joshua.
Ezekiel 48:1-7 describes the northern subdivisions for seven of the twelve tribes.
From the north to the south they will be: (1) Dan (48:1) (2) Asher (48:2) (3) Naphtali (48:3) (4) Manasseh (48:4) (5) Ephraim (48:5) (6) Reuben (48:6) (7) Judah (48:7).
Ezekiel 48:8-22 describes the holy mountain, which will be south of Judah and north of Benjamin, separating the northern and the southern tribes.
Ezekiel 48:23-29 describes the subdivisions of the remaining five tribes in the south.
From north to south, they will be: (1) Benjamin (48:23) (2) Simeon (48:24) (3) Issachar (48:25) (4) Zebulun (48:26) (5) Gad (48:27) next to the southern border.