Zephaniah: The Great Day of the Lord

Zephaniah was of royal blood.  His great, great, grandfather was the king Hezekiah, When Hezekiah died, his son Manasseh succeeded him.  Would Hezekiah's son, Amariah, who was Zephaniah's great grand father, been a better king than Manasseh?  Who knows?  Was it power that corrupted Manasseh and his descendants while Amariah's sons and grandsons still followed after God?  Who knows?  Only God, and he knew that Zephaniah would hear his voice so he gave him a message for all those who thought they were in power.

God told Zephaniah that:  he was going to stretch out his hand against Judah, the Philistines would be destroyed, Moab and Ammon would receive justice for insulting the people of the Lord, Cush and Assyria would be destroyed by God's hand, Jerusalem would meet it's end, and even the whole earth would be consumed by the fire of God's jealous anger.  
 "The great day of the LORD is near—
       near and coming quickly.
       Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter,
       the shouting of the warrior there.
  That day will be a day of wrath,
       a day of distress and anguish,
       a day of trouble and ruin,
       a day of darkness and gloom,
       a day of clouds and blackness,
  a day of trumpet and battle cry
       against the fortified cities
       and against the corner towers.
  I will bring distress on the people
       and they will walk like blind men,
       because they have sinned against the LORD.
       Their blood will be poured out like dust
       and their entrails like filth.
  Neither their silver nor their gold
       will be able to save them
       on the day of the LORD's wrath.
       In the fire of his jealousy
       the whole world will be consumed,
       for he will make a sudden end
       of all who live in the earth." - Zeph. 1:14-18 NIV

At the same time God issued this warning to all those in power, he gave a promise to those who fear him, the meek and humble,  who trust in the name of the LORD.
   The LORD your God is with you,
       he is mighty to save.
       He will take great delight in you,
       he will quiet you with his love,
       he will rejoice over you with singing."  - Zeph. 3:17 NIV

God is in the midst of those who love him.  He rejoices over them with singing, he quiets them with his love.