Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn
in Bibles to Zephaniah 3:14-17
Zephaniah 3:14 Sing,
Daughter Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with
all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken
away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of
Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
16 On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
17 The Lord your God is
with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great
delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
--
Dorothy Sayers wrote a series of detective novels based on the adventures of
her fictional character Lord Peter Wimsey – in her books, Wimsey is an aristocrat
in England in the 1920s – the younger son of a duke who is trying to find his
purpose and meaning in English society – as the younger son, he does not have
the ability to help with the estate or enter into politics – and he eventually
finds himself in the Great War as an intelligence officer, but is unfortunately
wounded and sent back home
--
finally, while searching for something to do with his life, Wimsey is thrust
into the middle of a mystery and proves adept at solving the crime and helping
the police apprehend the criminal – his adventures continue through several
novels and short stories, which were moderately successful for Sayers
-- despite his success in solving
crime, Wimsey remains an unhappy person as he cannot find someone to love him
for who he is – and Sayers portrays him as an unhappy, broken bachelor,
constantly looking for companionship and more to life than just solving crimes
-- about
halfway through the eleven book series, a new character appears – a woman –
Harriet Vane – a female mystery writer and one of the first women to attend and
graduate from Oxford University – in the books, Harriet and Wimsey fall in love
and his life takes a turn for the better – Harriet’s love heals his broken
spirit and restores his faith in humanity – and together they continue to solve
mysteries as they go through life hand-in-hand
-- people
wondered at the appearance of this new character in the series after Sayers had
had such success with Lord Peter Wimsey as the main character in her books –
who was she? – why was she introduced?
-- in
reviewing the backstory of Harriet Vane, there are interesting parallels
between this fictional character and Sayers herself – like Sayers, Harriet is a
graduate of Oxford University – like Sayers, Harriet is a writer of mystery
novels – like Sayers, Harriet was an enthusiastic believer in the power of love
to heal hearts and souls – and, comparing the two, it became obvious what
Sayers had done
--
looking at the life of the character she had created – Lord Peter Wimsey – and
at his unhappiness and distress, Sayers heart was broken – she fell in love
with her chief character, and didn’t want to see him in this condition – but it
was too late to change his personality or his story, so she did something
remarkable – she put herself in the story in the character of Harriet Vane so
that she could save him through her love1
-- this
is exactly what God did with us – when God created this world, He placed us in
it to enjoy this world and to enjoy our relationship with Him – but when sin
and death entered the world through the fall of man in the garden of Eden, that
relationship was broken and mankind and all creation was damaged – things began
to go wrong
--
rather than being the people of joy and love and hope that He called us to be,
mankind continually turned away from God and followed a path of heartbreak and
despair, with our sins leading to injustice and violence and evil
-- time
after time, God sent His messengers to us to turn us back to Him – to call out
to us to come back to our true love – but we wouldn’t hear – we couldn’t hear –
and mankind continued down its destructive path that destined us for hell and
eternal separation from God
--
finally, God did the unthinkable – He did the only thing that He could do that
might possibly make a difference in our lives – just like Sayers wrote herself
into the Lord Peter Wimsey stories in the character of Harriet Vane, God wrote
Himself into our story in the person of Jesus Christ
-- He
loved us so much that He came on His own, to show us His love and to show us
the way to redemption and deliverance from sin and the path to eternal life
through Him
-- and
now, because of Jesus – because of His death and resurrection – because of His
love – we look forward with hope to the day that He returns and takes us to be
with Him forever as His bride and His church
-- we see
the promise of that day and the love of God for us clearly in this passage from
Zephaniah – and I wanted us to take a moment and to consider this passage today
as we look forward to the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons and rejoice again
in the Savior who came into our story to redeem us from the path that we were
on
II. Scripture
Lesson (Zephaniah 3:14-17)
--
Zephaniah is a book that we rarely turn to in the church, but it is a book that
answers life’s most perplexing questions – Zephaniah is one of the twelve minor
prophets in the Old Testament -- the minor prophets is the term used for the
last twelve prophetic books of the Old Testament -- they are called “minor,”
not in terms of their importance, but because of the length of the book --
these are all small books with few chapters, but it includes such notable
authors as Jonah, Habakkuk, Zechariah, and Micah -- Zephaniah is one of these
authors
--
Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of King Josiah in the nation of Judah –
Josiah was the last godly king in the nation, and it is after his reign that
things start to take a definite negative turn in the kingdom, eventually
leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple by
Nebuchadnezzar, Emperor of Babylon
-- looking
ahead to the trials and tribulations that are to come on the nation of Judah
because of their idolatry and turning away from God, Zephaniah answers the
questions that we all ask during times of trouble and heartbreak – sickness and
death – why is this happening? – and will this ever end?
-- so,
the majority of the Book of Zephaniah – from Zephaniah 1 through the eighth
verse of Chapter 3 – we read about the judgment of God on the nation of Israel
and the world as God ordains the exile of the people of the people of Judah as
a consequence of their sins and proclaims God’s wrath on the nations
surrounding Judah during these final days of the nation
-- this
time of trials and tribulations also foreshadow the coming Great Tribulation
that we see prophesied in the Book of Revelation -- when God’s wrath will be
poured out against all the nations because of their sin and their rejection of
His Son Jesus Christ
-- the
basic premise and warning of the Book of Zephaniah is that judgment is coming
-- that the wrath of God is coming to purge the earth of sin and evil in order
to cleanse and purify the earth in preparation for the second coming of Jesus
-- but
after his dire prophetic pronouncement of God’s wrath and tribulation coming
against the earth, Zephaniah answers that question, “When will it end?”, with
this final section pointing to the restoration of God’s people and our lives
with Him in eternity
-- if
you would, look back with at the Book of Zephaniah – Zephaniah 3:14 – and let’s
consider the end of tribulation – the end of heartbreak and violence – the end
of injustice – when the love of God is made manifest in our lives and in this
world and all of creation is redeemed forever
-- verse
14-16
Zephaniah 3:14 Sing,
Daughter Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with
all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken
away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of
Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
16 On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
--
speaking through the prophet Zephaniah, God calls out to the people of Israel and
tells them to sing and be glad – to rejoice with their whole hearts – because
He has taken away their punishment – He has turned back their enemy
-- keep
in mind, this is written to a people who are about to go into exile in Babylon
– their entire world is about to be destroyed as Jerusalem and Judah are going
to be conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar and as their whole way of life –
economic – social – and religious – is about to be turned on its head
-- in
the future, the people of Israel will weep in the land of their captivity as
they suffer for their sins – as they serve as slaves and servants for Babylon –
as they are far from their homeland
-- we
see this pictured for us in Psalm 137:1-4 – let me read that to you now
Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors
asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of
Zion!”
4 How can we sing the
songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land?
-- this
was the state of the people of God when they were in exile in Babylon – they
wept because of the judgment that had come upon them – their hearts were broken
– and hope was far away – they lived lives of misery and trial and tribulation
– it felt like nothing would ever be right again
-- we
get that – we feel that – because we live in a fallen world that is still
touched by the ravages of sin and death – all around us we see the misery that
continues since the garden of Eden – we see and feel and experience the pain
and the grief of living in this place
-- our
lives are filled with trouble – with trials and tribulations – with natural
disasters and violence – with crime and war – with hatred and injustice and
evil
-- how
do we sing in the midst of a life like this? – how can we find joy living in
this world today?
-- here
in verse 14, God calls out to His people – to the faithful remnant of the
nation of Israel – and tells them to shout and be glad – to rejoice with all
their hearts – to sing once again because of His great victory over their
enemies – because He has taken away their punishment
-- this
verse speaks of the redeeming grace we have through Jesus Christ – for it was
because of His death on the cross in our place – it was because of His body
which was broken for us and His blood which was shed for us – that the penalty
for our sins was paid – our punishment was taken away – and with the
resurrection, Jesus emerged from the grave the victor over sin and death – our
eternal enemies who have stalked us since the fall in the garden of Eden were
defeated and turned back – and we stand in victory with Christ
-- and
so, God tells us to be glad and to rejoice in the victory with our whole hearts
– to lift Him up in honor and glory and worship – to praise His name for what
He had done for us – and to stand on the promise He gives us here that He is
with us – never again will we fear any harm because He is our King and Savior
and Redeemer
-- and
not only has our punishment been taken away and our enemies of sin and death
turned back, but our relationship with God has been restored – notice here that
God calls the people of Israel, “Daughter Zion” and “Daughter Jerusalem” –
pointing to their place in the family of God
-- gone
are their sins – gone are their enemies – and gone is their separation from
their Creator and God and King – they are once again part of His family –
restored through the saving grace of Jesus Christ Himself
-- the
scene we are given in this passage is one of joy and love and exultation and
happiness -- we will finally experience the true meaning of the emotions
expressed in the song, “Oh, Happy Day”:
“Oh, happy day
Oh, happy day
Oh, happy day
When Jesus washed
Oh, when He washed
When Jesus washed
My sins away, yeah
He taught me how, how to watch
How to fight and pray, fight and
pray
And living rejoicing everyday
Oh, happy day
Oh, happy day”2
-- keep
in mind, this is a Jewish prophet speaking to the Jewish people -- this passage
is, first and foremost, concerning the return of the Jewish people to the true
Messiah -- it speaks of the joy they will experience as they come to know Jesus
and see the long-awaited for redemption of Israel
--
however, this passage also speaks to us, because our joy will be made complete
when we are finally joined with our Lord and Savior in the heavenly kingdom --
what Zephaniah says the Jews will experience and do in these verses can
certainly be extended to us, although we can never share the joy they will feel
as they see Jerusalem and Israel redeemed and restored as promised by God to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to the remnant that experienced the exile into
Assyria and Babylon
-- the
scene around the throne proclaimed to us here will be one of exultant praise --
Zephaniah tells us we will sing and rejoice at our salvation made whole --
eternity with Christ will be a time of “unsurpassed joy”3 -- as J.B.
Phillip wrote: “only a redeemed people can truly sing” -- Zephaniah tells us
that the Lord, the King of Israel, would be with us -- we will live with Him
and in Him -- we will truly experience Jesus’ words where He told us He would
never leave us nor forsake us -- and we will truly know Him as Immanuel -- God
with us forever
-- so,
when will this happen? – Zephaniah tells us right here in verse 16 – “On that
day” – what day? – the Day of the Lord
-- the
Day of the Lord is a prophetic term that we see in the Bible – in both the Old
and the New Testaments – referring to the day that Christ will return again –
the time when heaven and earth will be recreated and God will dwell with us and
live with us forever as our King and our God
-- this
will be the time when the prophecy of Philippians 2:9-11 will come to
pass: “Therefore God exalted Him to the
highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name -- that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth
-- and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father”
-- this
will be the time that we read about in Revelation 21, when there will be a new
heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth will have
passed away – and the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, will come down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband – this
will be the time when God’s dwelling place will now be among His people and He
will dwell with them – they will be His people and God Himself will be with
them and be their God – He will wipe every tear from their eyes – there will be
no more death or mourning – crying or pain – for the old order of things will
have passed away
-- this
is our hope -- this is our dream -- this is what the prophets in the Bible
looked for at the coming of the Day of the Lord -- and this is what we look for
when we pray for the return of Christ and pray in the Lord’s prayer, “Thy
kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…”
-- limp
hands here in verse 16 refers to hopelessness – it refers to surrender in the
face of an enemy – and God promises once again here that we will no longer have
to fear any harm – our hands will not have to hang limp – because everything
will be new and our relationship will be fully restored on that day – the Day
of the Lord
-- these
verses are verses of joy and hope for those caught in the midst of the storms
of life -- it is light for those in the darkness -- it is salvation and
redemption from the trials and tribulations of earth
-- as
someone once wrote: “You may be downcast, despairing, depressed, or
disillusioned this day, but look up dear one, for a new day is dawning -- a day
of righteousness and truth and justice in the presence of the Righteous One
Himself, the long awaited and longed for Messiah -- Hasten that glorious day,
Lord God, when our mourning is turned into dancing!”4
-- verse
17
Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord
your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great
delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
-- on
that day – the Day of the Lord – the Day of our redemption and restoration as
the people of God – we will know God as He is in our midst as our God and King
and as the Mighty Warrior who saves – Paradise will be restored – and the
Lord’s prayer will be fulfilled, as God’s Kingdom and will are done on earth as
they are in heaven
--
hidden here in this verse in the Book of Zephaniah is one of the greatest
thoughts in all the Bible – we read here that God takes great delight in us –
He loves us and He likes us – He is filled with love for us – and God will
rejoice over us with singing
-- don’t
miss what that verse is saying – we always talk in the church about how we
should be giving God all the honor and glory and praise – how we should sing in
joy to God for who He is and what He has done – but have you ever thought that
God is so in love with you – He so desires your presence – He so longs to be
with you – that He takes great delight in us and sings over us?
-- on
that day, when we live with God in eternity, He will sing love songs to us –
His love will overflow and fill us with His presence – and we will enjoy His
goodness and His love forever
-- one
final thing I want you to see in this passage -- there is a parallel between
verses 14 and 17 -- look at the similarities between the two:
-- in verse 14, we rejoice in
God and sing to Him – in verse 17, He rejoices in us and sings over us
-- in verse 14, we are glad and
rejoice with all our hearts – in verse 17, God delights in us and rejoices in
our presence
-- and together with God, we
join a heavenly chorus of love and experience true love and belonging for all
eternity – singing a duet with God as we enjoy the perfect relationship that we
were created for in the beginning – God with us and us with God, forever
III. CLOSING
-- in 1
Corinthians 13:12, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For now we see only a reflection as
in a mirror; then we shall see face to face – now I know in part; then I shall
know fully, even as I am fully known”
-- that
is where we are living at this time – in a world that is darkened with sin –
seeing only reflections and glimmers of the hope that await us while still
surrounded by darkness and trials and tribulations
-- the thought of this reminds
me of the story of Fanny Crosby -- Fanny was the author of over 9,000 hymns in
her life – and even though her sight was taken from her as a child as the
result of a medical error, she was able to look past her condition and the
darkness of her world to visualize the light to come and the beauty of Christ’s
blessings – often with more clarity than those around her who could actually
see
-- in
her hymns, Fanny wrote of visions of rapture that burst on her sight – and how
she watched and waited, looking above, for the sight of her Lord and Savior –
and she reminded us in her hymn, “To God Be the Glory,” “[that] purer and
higher and greater will be, our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.”
-- the
message for us in this passage from Zephaniah is that even though things may be
bad right now – even though we may walk through a dark and troubling world –
there is hope on the horizon – and we need to keep our eyes firmly fixed on the
promise that awaits – the blessed hope we have in Christ – the redemption and
restoration and salvation that He has given us
-- the vision that Zephaniah
gives us here in verses 14-17 is a glimpse of our future – a glimpse of the joy
that awaits us on the Day of the Lord, when Christ shall return and all will be
made right again
-- so,
take heart in the Lord – put your faith and trust in Him – and know that – no
matter what trials and troubles you are walking through – no matter what season
you may be in in your life – that God is with you – He takes great delight in
you – He loves you and is rejoicing over you with singing
-- and
one day, we will be in His presence and all will be made right -- and we will
join in the heavenly chorus around His throne as we sing and praise His holy
name with His angels and all creation
-- let us pray
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Adapted from Tim Keller, "Dorothy Sayers
Illustration," (8-17-15)
2 http://www.metrolyrics.com/oh-happy-days-lyrics-aretha-franklin.html
3 NIV Study Bible
4 Precept Austin website:
http://www.preceptaustin.org/zephaniah_3_commentary
No comments:
Post a Comment