The prophet Zephaniah received a word from the Lord concerning a coming destruction, so he prophesied accordingly. His warning covered Judah, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Cush and Assyria, as well as he spoke about the corruptness of Jerusalem and its future as the city of God. We can clearly see God's heart and character in chapter 3 when He says that Jerusalem had turned into a city of oppressors, that its officials and rulers were like roaring lions and evening wolves, that its prophets were arrogant and treacherous and that its priets were profaning the sanctuary (verses 1 through 4), and YET, after saying all this, the Lord declared:
"The LORD within her is righteous; He does no wrong." (verse 5)
It's always like that - we are living in a corrupt world where even the saints of the Most High have left the high standards of righteousness and justice and are living with such low morals, sometimes being caught in sins even uglier of the ones the sinners do. YET, the Lord is Righteous. Later in the same chapter 3, the Lord is prophesying about His righteousness and how He will lift up His people as a standard for His holiness and truth. So, we can definitely see the Lord here, as the Lord our Righteousness.
In the first two chapters of Zephaniah though, we can also see the Lord as the Jealous God and as the Executor of God's wrath. His Righteousness is always connected with His Justice and His jealousy and zeal, as well as with His mercy.
You see, whenever we look at the Lord's Righteousness, we will always see the above components, which make the Lord so unique and adequate every time and in every situation. His jealousy and zeal will always straighten us out and His mercy and grace will always prophesy of hope and future for us.
