Scripture:
Zephaniah 3:14-20 NKJV
[14] Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! [15] The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more. [16] In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. [17] The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” [18] “I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, Who are among you, To whom its reproach is a burden. [19] Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, And gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame In every land where they were put to shame. [20] At that time I will bring you back, Even at the time I gather you; For I will give you fame and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I return your captives before your eyes,” Says the Lord.
Observation:
The book of Zephaniah is a short book, only 3 chapters in all it was written by the great, great, great, great grandson to king Hezekiah, around 640 BC. In the 3 chapters that Zephaniah wrote he goes from one end of the spectrum to the other, starting his writing with a warning of coming judgment and ending with what we had the opportunity to read this morning, but as always my goal is to get you reading your Bible, so I would encourage you to take the time to read this short power packed book. As he begins to bring his book to an end we come to a shift in what is being said. From coming judgment, to a call to repentance, to the LORD being in the midst. What I saw through this book is the love of GOD being spelled out. Like any good Father HE has spoken through the prophet Zephaniah to warn those who would listen yet by the end of HIS warning HE is calling for a calibration of HIS return to them, “Sing O daughter of Zion Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. That certainly sounds like a celebration to me, and the reason to do so comes from the following verse. Judgment has been taken away and the enemy has been cast out. As I read that I feel like I can take a breath. I believe what is being said in those verses is the battle is over and the LORD has won, the enemy has been defeated and the LORD has returned to dwell with HIS people. How encouraging is that? But honestly Zephaniah is not done. Honestly I could stop there and feel like the message would preach, but just like the old commercials say…. But wait there’s more, from verse 15 to the end of his writing, Zephaniah is speaking some of the promises of GOD. These are statements we can stand on. With HIM in the midst of HIS people, HE tells them they will see no more disaster. Just that one promise is enough for me to rejoice over. But again Zephaniah is not done and neither is the LORD. The phrase that is said over and over in the Bible finds its way to this book: do not fear, but it’s also followed by, “Let not your hands be weak. When I read that statement what I hear inside of it is, weak men bring on hard times, and there is just no room for it, especially with the LORD in their midst, as is repeated in verse 17. Now I have always been taught that when you read something in the Bible you should take note of it, when it is said more than once you should write it in your heart. Here in the span of 2 short verses we read the statement, the LORD is in your midst twice. The one whom salvation is found. I believe what is being done is we are being told to have confidence in the LORD, the mighty one “WILL” save, which again is a reason to rejoice with gladness. As I was reading this I was truly encouraged and honestly that’s what I’m hoping you will feel at the end of this SOAP, I mean how could you not, when we read that, “HE will quiet with HIS love.” Zephaniah just doesn’t stop there though. In verses 18 and 19, I see the LORD gathering all who labored over the flock to bring them to an understanding that HE is with them, and dealing with all who tried to afflict them, bringing back the ones who were scattered due to the battle that took place. Bringing them back from captivity and pointing them for praise and fame, in the land that had brought them shame and among all the people of the earth.
Application:
Have you ever been so overwhelmed by the spiritual battle that you have forgotten not only who’s you are, but the fact that HE is right there with you, I have, and sometimes I have had to be reminded, that’s why it’s so important to keep our hearts and minds wrapped around the Bible, we need that steady reminder that HE is in our midst, fighting for us. Everything that has happened every moment of trial has been designed for us to look up, and rejoice that the LORD has never left us. The thing is that’s one of the enemy’s tactics, he wants us to forget that the LORD is with us. I have honestly been in the middle of it and thought I was the one fighting… the only one fighting. It’s easy to think. But more than once the Bible tells us the battle is not ours. The LORD is fighting for us, and redemption is in the midst. We are HIS and HE will never leave us in the battle. In fact if we would just stay fixed on HIM we would never have to fight again. HE has us in the palm of HIS hand, tucked tightly under HIS wing, protected, safe, loved, and all we need to do is look up and stay focused, but we often lose track of who HE is, the enemy is crafty, but HIS promises says no more disaster, HIS redemption plan is forever. What an amazing Father we have. When I think about my daughter and what I would do for her. I can see how the love of GOD shows itself in our lives, there is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect her, nothing I wouldn’t do to make sure she has what she needs. That’s who we are, the LORD is in our midst and all HE wants is our focus. If we would just pay attention to HIM every step we take would be ordered by HIS word. We are HIS, HE has created us and knows our every need.
Prayer:
Father, thank you. That’s honestly all we can say. Thank you for seeing us. I’m honestly not sure what to pray for right now but I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. You are so incredibly amazing, and we just want to thank you. The way you have brought us to this point is astonishing at times. You are truly a good, good father. Every moment of correction has come from a heart of love, and we are so grateful to have you in our midst. You know our needs before we can ask, so all we want to ask for today is your will. Help us to stay focused on what you want and not our selfish desires. We surrender to your will. Help us to see the very next step. That’s all we need. Keep us tucked tightly under your wing. It’s in the mighty team of Jesus we pray amen.