God delights in us

The book of Zephaniah is a relatively short book found near the end of the Old Testament. It holds beautiful promises of God’s coming restoration for His people, yet it can easily be overlooked by readers. Here, we see glimpses of how much God delights in us, along with His deep love and desire for all people to come to Him.

Who is Zephaniah?

The author of this short book, Zephaniah, is one of the 12 Minor Prophets from the Old Testament. Zephaniah was one of several who warned the people of Judah of God’s coming wrath against sin and wickedness that dominated the culture of this time. Yet this isn’t Zephaniah’s only message. He also exhorts the people to seek the Lord as a shelter in the midst of such judgement, and to cling to Him for salvation.

Zephaniah’s Message

Coming Judgement

In chapters 1 and 2, Zephaniah warns the people of a coming day of judgement and destruction against all wickedness, both on Judah and Judah’s enemies. Zephaniah does start off rather intense, as He boldly speaks of God’s judgement towards all ungodliness and sin.

Here, it is clear, that the people of Judah and their enemies have sinned greatly against the Lord, and God will address this sin and wickedness in a way that embodies and upholds His justice and holiness. And perhaps we, too, come from places of darkness and transgression, in need of God to discipline us so that we might turn away from any evil ways.

In reality, we’ve all messed up and fallen short. We’ve all done things we wish we hadn’t, and acted in ways that weren’t the best. We fall short of perfection, every single time, and our bodies, minds, and relationships often fall prey to the inherent brokenness of our world, and the poor decisions that we can make.

But thankfully, this isn’t the whole story. This isn’t the end for us, nor is it the end for the people of Israel. For the best part comes next…

Words of Hope and Restoration

In Zephaniah 3 we see a glorious picture of God’s coming divine restoration. Following the words of judgement, Zephaniah transitions his message into a praise proclaiming,

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

    shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

    O daughter of Jerusalem!

The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

    he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

    you shall never again fear evil.

 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 3:14-17

Here, Zephaniah tells the people of Israel that they can rejoice and be glad, for their punishment will be taken away, and they will be free from places of darkness, sin, and decay. No longer do they have to fear judgement or punishment, even if they do “technically” deserve it.

The basis of this rejoicing comes from the fact that the Messiah, the King of Israel, is coming and will be in the people’s midst. Zephaniah speaks to glimpses of Christ coming to take away the sins of the world in the near future.

Zephaniah tells the people to rejoice, for their Savior and King is coming!

And for us, as we read this message many years later, we also have reason to rejoice and be glad. For we, too, experience this same freedom and pardon from our own failures, sins, and shortcomings through the work of Jesus. Unlike Zephaniah’s primary audience, we’ve already seen initial work of Jesus in his life, death, and resurrection, and we look forward to the day when He fully returns for good.

God delights in us

In addition to this hope and freedom found in Christ, we also see the Lord’s true heart towards us. In Zephaniah 3:17, we read again,

“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.”

That’s right — the Lord Himself rejoices over us in gladness and He longs to quiet us by His love.

He exalts over us with loud singing (yes — loud singing — not just the quiet, awkward, mumbling kind)

Can you imagine the Lord singing over you? Loudly?

What an amazing picture this is — that our Lord, the God of the universe, delights in us so, that He rejoices over us, and expresses His deep love for us in song. A loud, joyful song that perhaps eternally echoes through the Heavens and beyond.

Today — this moment — may we set aside any thoughts or images of God as always being displeased or angry with us, and embrace this picture of Him welling up in song for us, His beloved, whom He has saved.

May we, too, respond in songs of praise and adoration when our hearts feel so full and thankful, and our words are few. May we remember the sheer goodness of God and His deep, pure love for us all.