1. Zephaniah 3:13 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What imagery is described by “None shall make them afraid”?

Zephaniah 3:13 (ESV)

13 those who are left in Israel; they shall do no injustice and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.”

This same phrase is used also by Jeremiah and Ezekiel to picture Israel’s status after their return from exile (Jeremiah 30:10; Jeremiah 46:27; Ezekiel 34:28; Ezekiel 39:26). With the removal of sin and guilt, there is also the removal of fear. Everyone will live in peace under his own vine and his own fig tree (Micah 4:4; 1 Kings 4:25). This promise actually originated in the covenant promises announced to Israel in the wilderness. They were told they would eat all they wanted, would dwell securely in the land, would sleep in peace, and none would make afraid (Leviticus 26:5–6; see also Deuteronomy 28:26; Jeremiah 7:33).1 For the remnant, who are facing captivity to Babylon, this is a remarkable thing to say, a reference to something beyond anything experienced on earth. This promise of lying down and being unafraid certainly did not reach its fulfillment in the return from exile. Rather, it begins to see its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd of the flock (John 10:14–15). In Christ sins are purged, and the chief shepherd has become a guarantor of the covenant promises of our eternal inheritance (Hebrews 7:22).2