Delighting - Now
“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.
I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,
so that you will no longer suffer reproach.
Behold, at that time I will deal
with all your oppressors.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth" (Zeph. 3:16-19 ESV).
A nation threatened by outsiders, on its last legs, yet still blind in their rebellion and apathy (see Zeph. 1)--this was the context of the Israel that Zephaniah spoke to. Zephaniah's words still speak to us sinners who are caught in their ways, to Diane caught in addiction, Maggie in her repeated cycles of bad choices... It speaks to us, saints, who are seeking the Lord, thirsting for righteousness, still seeking humility (Zeph. 2:3)... It speaks to us sufferers, who are threatened by our enemies of the flesh, the world, and the devil, who are ridden with cancer, awaiting news on biopsies, who have to wake up and face another day of draining anxiety.
Fear not.
Do not grow weak--because I, the Lord, am with you. It is my presence that saves (Zeph. 3:16; Ps. 44:3).
His word comes to them in their sinfulness, in their seeking, in their suffering. The chief promise--the Lord himself. His presence, his joy, his delight. In short, it was a promise of Christ. The context of the book is the Day of the Lord, the day that poured out judgment on Christ on the cross, the day of blood and darkness and wrath and judgment.
But resurrection light. And now, now, wonders of wonders, we are in the beloved. The Father's delight over his perfect Son is ours. In union, we are delighted over, sung over, quieted with his love. The perfect love of the Father is ours. Now.
Now, in our weakness. It is not for the super-Christian. It is not for the one who has their act all together. It is not for some future date after this pain, suffering, flesh-struggle is gone. Now.
Fear not.
Do not grow weak--because I, the Lord, am with you. It is my presence that saves (Zeph. 3:16; Ps. 44:3).
His word comes to them in their sinfulness, in their seeking, in their suffering. The chief promise--the Lord himself. His presence, his joy, his delight. In short, it was a promise of Christ. The context of the book is the Day of the Lord, the day that poured out judgment on Christ on the cross, the day of blood and darkness and wrath and judgment.
But resurrection light. And now, now, wonders of wonders, we are in the beloved. The Father's delight over his perfect Son is ours. In union, we are delighted over, sung over, quieted with his love. The perfect love of the Father is ours. Now.
Now, in our weakness. It is not for the super-Christian. It is not for the one who has their act all together. It is not for some future date after this pain, suffering, flesh-struggle is gone. Now.
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