What is the meaning of Zephaniah 2:10? This they shall have Scripture is clear that judgment is never arbitrary. Just one verse earlier the LORD declares, “Surely Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah” (Zephaniah 2:9). The phrase “this they shall have” points to a definite, imminent consequence: • God always recompenses sin (Romans 2:6; Obadiah 15). • What is coming cannot be bargained away; it is the certain harvest of what the nations have sown (Galatians 6:7). in return Divine recompense is righteous, not retaliatory in a human sense. The LORD repays “in return” because His perfect justice demands it (Jeremiah 50:29; Hebrews 10:30). • Every act meets its match in God’s courtroom. • The wording underscores the covenant principle that actions toward God’s people draw an answer from God Himself (Genesis 12:3). for their pride Pride sits at the root of most rebellion. Here it fuels national arrogance: Moab and Ammon thought themselves untouchable. Yet “Pride goes before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18). • The LORD “brings down the proud and haughty” (Isaiah 2:11–12). • He “gives grace to the humble” but “opposes the proud” (James 4:6). The judgment therefore targets the attitude that exalted self above God. for taunting and mocking Taunting God’s people is tantamount to taunting God (Acts 9:4). The chronic contempt these nations voiced echoes earlier patterns: • “They kept mocking the messengers of God” until “there was no remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:16). • “He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker” (Proverbs 17:5). By ridiculing Judah in her distress, Moab and Ammon showed both cruelty and disbelief in God’s covenant promises. the people of the LORD of Hosts The title “LORD of Hosts” highlights God as Commander of angelic armies; His people are under that mighty protection (Psalm 46:7). • Whoever touches Israel “touches the apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8). • Jesus later applies the same principle to all who belong to Him: “Whatever you did to one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did to Me” (Matthew 25:40). To mock God’s covenant community is to pick a fight with the LORD Himself—a conflict no nation can win. summary Zephaniah 2:10 teaches that Moab and Ammon will receive a precise, deserved judgment for their arrogant derision of God’s people. The LORD repays pride and mockery in kind, defending His covenant community with absolute justice. The verse stands as a sober reminder: what we do with God’s people reveals what we think of God, and He will always settle that account. |
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