How we cite our quotes:
Quote #7
The seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah, on which they shall pasture, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the LORD their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes. (NRSV Zephaniah 2:7)
And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity. (KJV Zephaniah 2:7)
Lying down and exploiting your fellow countrymen is bad. Lying down after decades of exile is fine, especially if you invite your poor, foreign, widowed or orphaned neighbors to stop by to watch Arrested Development on your 72-inch screen. This passage really conveys what it would be like for Judah to return home after the long period of exile, especially to beachfront property.
Quote #8
I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD. (NRSV Zephaniah 3:18-20)
I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD. (KJV Zephaniah 3:18-20)
This vision of an ingathering of the exiles to Judah has always had enormous emotional resonance for the Jewish nation, which is why the early Zionists, dispersed among many countries, nixed proposals to establish a Jewish homeland in Uganda or Sitka, Alaska—two of several proposed sites. From God’s vantage point in eternity, he can see the whole world go into a slow clap after his people get back home.
Quote #9
Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say, Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts, according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you; do not fear. (NRSV Haggai 2:2-5)
Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. (KJV Haggai 2:2-5)
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest …. And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God. (KJV Zechariah 6:9-11, 15)
Using former exiles freshly off the chariot from Babylon to establish the authority of the new high priest and governor of Judah makes for a powerful scene—and it’s not a bad strategy for uniting the community too. It’s a lot like a commemorative ceremony for 9/11 or the Boston bombing with representatives from the victims and their families.