Zephaniah 1:7

In view of the inevitability of coming judgment for idolatry, it was appropriate for the Judeans to be quiet before sovereign Yahweh (cf. Habakkuk 2:20).

"This is a call to the people of Judah to cease every manner of opposition to God’s word and will, to bow down in submissive obedience, in unconditional surrender, in loving service, to their Covenant God." [Note: T. Laetsch, The Minor Prophets, p. 358.]

This is Zephaniah’s first reference to the day of the Lord, to which he referred 24 times in this book. [Note: For a brief excursus on the day of the Lord, see Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "A Theology of the Minor Prophets," in A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, pp. 417-18.]

The day of the Lord was a time when God works, in contrast to man’s day in which he works.

"As employed by the prophets, the Day of the Lord is that time when for His glory and in accordance with His purposes God intervenes in human affairs in judgment against sin or for the deliverance of His own." [Note: Patterson, p. 310.]

Here the prophet announced that the Lord’s day was near; He was about to intervene in human history (e.g., the Flood). The Lord had prepared a sacrifice, namely, Judah (cf. Isaiah 34:6; Jeremiah 46:10), and He had set apart "guests" to eat it, namely, the Babylonians (cf. Jeremiah 10:25; Habakkuk 1:6). Another view is that the invited guests were the Judeans who, ironically, would also serve as the sacrifice. [Note: Baker, p. 95.]