Zephaniah lived during the final decades of the southern kingdom of Judah, at the time when King Josiah had tried to bring about real change in the land. However the nation was too far gone: idolatry was deeply ingrained in their lives. Eventually Josiah's pride leads to his death on the battlefield (2 Chronicles 35) as he set Jerusalem on a collision course with Babylon. Zephaniah had seen all this coming and the book is his message of judgment, but also the future hope, for Jerusalem and the nations.