NOTES for Zep 2:3
The Day of the Lord, the day when the Lord would come to His land, to His people, was expected in Israel as a day of triumph over the nations, the day when Israel would reign over all peoples. But the prophets bring a completely different vision of this day: the people of God have sunk into sins; God's holiness and human sin are incompatible; therefore the Day of the Lord is darkness, not light, not a triumph but the Day of wrath, Dies irae. It is worth remembering the famous Requiems of Mozart and Verdi. And no human attempts to fulfill the law will save anyone on that day.
Is there any possibility of salvation? There is, the prophet Zephaniah answers. Seek the Lord, not His law, but Him Himself. Seek righteousness: not the righteousness of human deeds, but the righteousness of God, proceeding from Him Himself. Seek humble wisdom, and this is a remarkable word, paradoxically joining humility and wisdom in itself. It can be understood as "humble wisdom," that is, wisdom that is not proud, not puffed up, but aware of its limits and open to the voice of God's Wisdom. And it can be understood as "wise humility," that is, not humility at any cost, not "abasement worse than pride," but an openness to His world guided by God, growth in relationships of love for God and people.
Where is this day, in the past or in the future? Neither there nor there; it is in the present. For the Lord has come into this world and remains in it until His final victory, and we live in this day, and Zephaniah's words are addressed directly to us.