Some observations:

• One good king does not guarantee the next one will be good. The generational faithfulness God stressed back in Deuteronomy is hard to accomplish.
• No matter how bad a king was, if they turned to the Lord, he showed them mercy. Manasseh is a case in point.
• Josiah’s example of repentance delayed the judgment of God for a time. And he continued in his reforms and his faithfulness to God all the while knowing that God’s judgment on Judah would come after he died.
• I am again struck by the intensity of language used to describe God’s judgment in Zephaniah. But again, that intensity of language is used in describing his desire to do good to his people.

“On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: ‘Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.'” Zephaniah 3:16-17

The mighty one who will come in judgment is also the mighty one who saves.