The Pleasure of God in the Good of His People (2024)

The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will be quiet in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

The Setting for the Book of Zephaniah

According to Zephaniah 1:1, "The word of the Lord came toZephaniah the son of Cushi . . . in the days of Josiah the son ofAmon, king of Judah." Josiah had begun to reign in Judah about 80years after the northern kingdom of Israel had been swept away bythe Assyrian invaders.

During those 80 years the southern kingdom of Judah had notlearned the lesson of the northern kingdom, and sank deeper anddeeper into sin and rebellion against the law of God.

In the 18th year of Josiah's reign Hilkiah the priest found inthe temple a copy of the book of the law that had been ignored fordecades. When he read it to the king, Josiah was broken. He humbledhimself before the Lord and rent his clothes and wept (2 Kings22:19).

Over the next 13 years Josiah led an amazing reformationin Judah based on the law of God. He renewed the covenant betweenGod and his people (2 Kings 23:3). He took all the vessels of Baaland Asherah out of the temple and burned them in the fields ofKidron (23:4). He deposed the idolatrous priests (23:5). He brokedown the houses of the male cult prostitutes (23:7). He removed thehorses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun (23:11).And he reinstituted the Passover that had been ignored since thedays of the judges (23:22).

These were the days of Zephaniah according to 1:1. So when weread this little book, we can picture it as part of the call forreformation that Josiah was pursuing. No doubt the prophet and theking teamed up to try to draw the people back to God. How didZephaniah preach? What kind of preaching does God inspire when hispeople are in need of revival and reformation?

A Warning About the Coming Wrath of the Lord

All of chapter 1 is a warning to Jerusalem and a prediction ofthe coming day of the Lord in wrath. Verses 2–4,

"I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth," says the Lord. "I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. I will overthrow the wicked; I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth," says the Lord. "I will stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests."

Why was God's wrath so kindled?

Verse 8: the officials and king's sons were arrayed in foreign attire, wanting to be like the other nations who knew not God.
Verse 9: servants were filling their masters' houses with violence and fraud.
Verse 12: men were thickening upon their lees—they were like the sediment at the bottom of stale wine, saying in their hearts, "The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill." God has ceased to be a practical reality in their lives.

A Call to Repentance

Then in chapter 2 the first warning is followed by an earnestcall for repentance. There may yet be hope, at least for those whor*pent. Verses 1–3:

Come together and hold assembly, O shameless nation, before you are driven away like the drifting chaff, before there comes upon you the fierce anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the wrath of the Lord. Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the wrath of the Lord.

Even if the humble in the land can't avert the final wrath ofGod, they may at least perhaps be hidden themselves when theterrible day of the Lord comes.

A Warning to the Surrounding Nations

Then in 2:4–15 Zephaniah cries out the woes and warnings notjust over Judah and Jerusalem, but also over the surroundingnations of the world.

On the west are the cities of Philistia, Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and the tribe of the Cherethites (vv. 4–7).
On the east are the lands of Moab and Amon (vv. 8–11).
On the south are the Ethiopians (v. 12).
And on the north is the terrible Assyria (vv. 13–15).

Judgment is coming on the whole surrounding world. And verse 10probably sums up best the reason: "This shall be their lot inreturn for their pride, because they scoffed and boasted againstthe people of the Lord of hosts." The root cause of worldwidejudgment is human pride.

One Last Indictment Against Jerusalem

But lest the people in Jerusalem gloat over the judgment of thenations Zephaniah comes back to them and in 3:1–8 gives one lastindictment of Jerusalem. Verses 1–2:

Woe to her that is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city! She listens to no voice, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord, she does not draw near to her God.

An Amazing Shift

Then, at the end of his indictment, as so often in the prophets,comes an amazing shift. Along side the destruction of his wrath, Godputs the re-creating power of his love. It seems that in spite ofthe worldwide outpouring of his wrath, God is going to do two greatacts of mercy described in 3:9–20.

A Brief Look at Ephesians 3:4–6

Now before we look at the spectacular promise of verse 17, let'slook for a moment at Ephesians 3:4–6. The reason for this is thatin the Old Testament the question about how the converts from thenations and the converts in Israel relate to each other is notclearly answered. How do you and I stand as Gentile converts to theGod of Israel? We are sort of johnny-come-lately's in this affair.Do we share in the full blessings of Israel?

Paul calls this a mystery, which means that it was not clearlyrevealed at the first. What is the answer given in Ephesians3:4–6?

When you read this you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

The answer is that through the gospel we Gentiles have come tobelieve on Jesus. And through Jesus we have become full-fledgedmembers of God's people: fellow heirs along with believing Jews ofthe promises of God.

The Spectacular Promise of Zephaniah 3:17

So now we go back to Zephaniah. And when we read 3:17, we knowthat it refers not only to all believing Jews but also to allGentiles who have become heirs of the promise through faith inChrist, the seed of Abraham.

The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love [literally: be silent in his love]
he will exult over you with loud singing.

From this amazing verse I get the title of this morning'smessage: "The Pleasure of God in the Good of His People." God does notdo you good out of some constraint or coercion. He is free! And inhis freedom he overflows in joy to do you good. He exults over youwith loud singing.

What Would Happen If God Sang?

Can you imagine what it would be like if you could hear Godsinging? Remember that it was merely a spoken word that brought theuniverse into existence. What would happen if God lifted up hisvoice and not only spoke but sang! Perhaps a new heaven and a newearth would be created. God says something almost just to thateffect in Isaiah 65:17–18,

Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth . . . I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

When God spoke at the beginning, the heavens and the earth werecreated; perhaps at the end, the new heavens and the new earth willbe created when God exults over his people with loud singing.

When I think of the voice of God singing, I hear the booming ofNiagara Falls mingled with the trickle of a mossy mountain stream.I hear the blast of Mt. St. Helens mingled with a kitten'spurr. I hear the power of an East Coast hurricane and the barelyaudible puff of a night snow in the woods. And I hear theunimaginable roar of the sun 865,000 miles thick, one million threehundred thousand times bigger than the earth, and nothing but fire,1,000,000 degrees centigrade, on the cooler surface of the corona.But I hear this unimaginable roar mingled with the tender, warmcrackling of the living room logs on a cozy winter's night.

And when I hear this singing I stand dumbfounded, staggered,speechless that he is singing over me. He is rejoicing over my goodwith all his heart and with all his soul (cf. Jeremiah 32:41)!

Can You Feel the Wonder of This?

Can you feel the wonder of this today? That God is rejoicingover you with loud singing?

"I Am Too Guilty"

"No," you say, "I can't, because I am too guilty that God shouldrejoice over me."

But will you not believe verse 15: "The Lord has taken away thejudgments against you!"

Can you not, then, feel the wonder that the Lord exults over youwith loud singing today?

"I Am Surrounded by Enemies"

"No," you say, "I can't because I am surrounded by enemies, andobstacles beset me on every side."

But will you not believe verse 17: "The Lord is a warrior whogives victory"; and verse 19: "Behold, at that time I will dealwith your oppressors"; and verse 15: "He has cast out yourenemies"?

Can you not, then, feel the wonder that the Lord exults over youwith loud singing?

"God Feels Too Far Away from Me"

"No," you say, "Still I can't because he is a great a holy Godand I feel like he is far away from me."

But will you not believe verse 15: "The king of Israel, theLord, is in your midst"; and verse 17: "The Lord, your God, is inyour midst"? He is not far from you.

Can you not, then, feel the wonder that the Lord exults over youwith loud singing?

"I Am Enslaved to Shame"

Still you say, "No, because I am enslaved to shame. I have beenendlessly belittled by my parents (cf. 2:8, 10). I have been scoffedat and threatened and manipulated and slandered. Inside this cocoonof shame even the singing of God sounds faint and far away andindecipherable."

But again I ask, Will you not believe the promise at the end ofverse 19: "I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I willchange their shame into praise and renown in all the earth"?

Can you not, then, feel the wonder that the Lord exults over youwith loud singing?

"How Can God's Joy in His Own Name Apply to Me?"

And now you say, "Almost I can let go and feel this unspeakablewonder that God exults over me—even me with loud singing. Butthere remains one obstacle. You have said that God loves his ownglory above all things. You have said that God takes pleasure inhis own name. How then am I to imagine that he should be interestedin me? How does the joy that God has in his own name apply tome?

If that is your last obstacle, then make ready to sing! For theanswer is given clearly in verse 12. If you knew that God delightsin his name above all things, and if you wanted to be folded intothat joy and be a part of the pleasure of God yourself, where wouldyou go? Where would you seek refuge?

Verse 12 gives the answer: The Lord says "For I will leave inthe midst of you a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refugein the name of the Lord." Here is the connection between God'sdelight in his name and his delight in you. When you take refuge inhis name, he exults over you with loud singing.

If you seek your own glory among men, truly you have your rewardon the earth. If you exalt your own name among men, truly you haveyour reward on the earth. If you bank on your own righteousness,truly you have your reward on the earth.

But if you humble yourself and seek the glory of God above allthings, and if you hide your name in the name of God, and if youclothe yourself with the righteousness of his Son, then yourheavenly Father who loves his name above all things will reward youbeyond all imaginings and exult over you with loud singing.

So put aside all pride and boasting in self today. Take refugein the name of God. Bank your hope on the righteousness ofChrist and not your own. And let yourself awaken to the wonder thatthe Lord, the King of kings, rejoices over you with gladness andexults over you with loud singing.

(For further study see Micah 7:18; Psalm 35:27; 149:4; Jeremiah32:37–42; Deuteronomy 30:9; Isaiah 62:5; 65:19.)