The Heart of God Zephaniah 3:17
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Introduction:
Zephaniah, the prophet of God stood before Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.
Zephaniah declares that what he is about to deliver is not the message of men but the word of the Lord. Zephaniah 1:1
1 The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:
And he ends with the declaration “Says the Lord.”
He can do this because God is a God of revelation, and Zephaniah is his authoritative messenger. The Christian doctrines of revelation and inspiration find direct support in the prophet’s opening words.
Zephaniah’s time was around 635 BC. His message was one of impending doom. It was a message of judgment but it was also a message of hope and encouragement containing three major doctrines.
God is sovereign over all nations. Daniel 7:27
27 ‘Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’
2. The wicked will be punished and the righteous will be vindicated on the day of judgment. Revelation 20:12
12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
3. God blesses those who repent and trust in Him. Acts 2:38
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Zephaniah courageously spoke because he was speaking the “word of the Lord.” He warned the nation that judgement was coming and nothing would stop it. God’s day of judgement which is frequently mentioned in the scriptures is called the “Day of the Lord.”
Although he pronounces coming judgement he also provided hope for the future. A hope that their King, the Messiah, would be in their midst. That time will come when Christ returns to judge the world and redeem it for Himself. At that time He will set up a new heaven and a new earth.
The best known part of this prophecy is chapter 3, verse 17. It is the hope that God provides the faithful in the midst of coming judgement for the wicked.
17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
Transitional Sentence: This verse shows the heart of God for His people and His children.
1. So what is the Heart of God?
God wants to dwell amongst us and have a relationship with us.
a. It all started in the Garden. Genesis 3:8 says:
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
When God created the man and the woman He put them in the garden to care for it and to provide for them. God Himself would walk in the garden so that He might have fellowship with His creation. He was with them in the garden. Until they messed it all up with one simple sin. That one simple sin broke the relationship the same way a simple sin between friends or family members can break up a relationship. A good example is an affair breaking up a marriage. Some marriages survive adultery, but most don’t.
b. As time passed and people spread out over the earth God choose one particular man and told him to go to a foreign land that He would show him. Eventually this man’s descendants will wind up enslaved in Egypt crying out to God for salvation. At the right time God proves Himself a mighty warrior and delivers His people from bondage. As the Hebrews leave Egypt God was in their midst.
He was in their midst because He lead them along the way as a pillar of smoke during the day and a pillar of fire at night. He was in their midst because He dwelt in the Tabernacle and it was set up in the middle of Camp when they stopped along their journey. Later He was in their midst because He was in the Temple in the middle of Jerusalem.
c. As more time passed His presence became scarce and the word of the Lord was not heard for hundreds of years. But then, in the fullness of time God did an amazing thing. He came and dwelt among them. John 1:14 says:
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
He came and dwelt among us. He lived here in physical human form. To show everyone what grace and truth look like and to make a way to be reconciled to God through His shed blood on the cross. This reconciliation brings peace with God and comes only through faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1-2
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
Peace with God allows for adoption into the Kingdom of God. Peace with God allows for a personal relationship once more.
d. That’s when everything changes. That’s when those who believe by faith receive a helper. The Helper was first sent on the day of Pentecost.
HELPER is the NASB translation of parakletos, a distinctive title for the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John. Other versions translate the term “Comforter” “Advocate” or “Counselor”
Helper is one of the names of the Holy Spirit - the living breath of God who lives with us and in us. His presence changed everything. We are no longer alone and separated from God. He is with us, He is with all those who truly believe in the Christ and walk in His ways. But verse 3:17 isn’t talking about the Spirit of God dwelling with us.
e. Verse 3:17 is talking about the return of the Messiah. He has been gone for almost 2,000 years as God patiently waits for all those who will repent and turn to Him. 2 Peter 3:9 says:
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
God is not in a hurry and God knows when the Messiah will return. God is waiting patiently. Peter’s words just before this says that one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day. Time isn’t a problem for God. He can wait, He is patient. Can we be this patient? I don’t think so. The Alliance says: All of Jesus, for all the World, takes all of us. Is God patiently waiting for unbelievers to repent, or for believers to tell the unbelieving about Jesus so they have an opportunity to repent?
Either way the Messiah will return. And when He does everyone will see Him coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. He will judge the nations and separate the sheep from the goats. Then the Lord your God will be in your midst.
2. The second line of verse 3:17 says that God is a victorious warrior.
The Hebrew word here is Gibbor - God ⇔ mighty one — a term referring to the God of Israel with emphasis on his strength or capability.
The Lord your God is a victorious warrior. He is:
a. a powerful warrior a champion for His people. Thinking in human terms think about Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:4 says:
4 Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
He was the champion for the Philistines. He came forward as their champion and challenged the Israelite army to send out their own champion to fight him. None would come forward, none believed they could defeat Goliath. Then a shepherd boy came forward. He came in the name and the power of the true victorious warrior. Because David did not come in his own name or his own strength he defeated Goliath and removed his head from his shoulders. So much for human arrogance. Our God is a victorious warrior.
b. Another way to think of the Victorious Warrior is to think about a gladiator. Gladiators fought and died in the arena for the pleasure of others. Only one gladiator left the arena alive. The victorious gladiator was the one left alive.
The idea of the Messiah being the victorious warrior is that He is capable of defeating all those who stand against Him. He is capable of saving His people and His creation from harm or ruin. There is no one stronger.
3. Verse 3:17 goes on to say that “He will Exult over you with Joy,” - To exult is to express joy and pleasure. Joy is a:
State of delight and well being that results from knowing and serving God. A number of Greek and Hebrew words are used to convey the ideas of joy and rejoicing. We have the same situation in English with such nearly synonymous words as joy, happiness, pleasure, delight, gladness, merriment, felicity, and enjoyment.
In this case it is God who is expressing the delight over His people. He is jumping for joy, clapping and cheering His people on. If the joy we feel comes from knowing and serving God - How much bigger is the joy that God Himself can feel?
Has anyone ever exulted over you with joy? A contest perhaps?
I ran track in high school. In my senior year I made it to the sectional finals in Ohio for the 110 meter high hurdles and the 300 meter low hurdles. The sectional track meet was held at the University of Cincinnati’s Gettler stadium. The stadium seats about 1,400 people. It was packed, and it was nerve racking. Each runner was introduced as we prepared to run the race. People from each school jumped up and cheered for their runner. They exulted over them with joy. The clapping, cheering and whistling filled each of us with energy and excitement as we prepared to compete.
So it is with the Messiah. He exults over His people and His children who are faithful. Those who walk in righteousness and avoid iniquity. Those who have a true relationship with Him. It’s not about the rules, it’s about love. Luke 10:27
27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
Relationship is love, not rules.
4. The next line in the verse is translated different ways and points to different ideas.
One version is the NASB, it says: “He will be quite in His love.” He’s waiting, He’s watching. He wants to see what His children will do. He is watching with great expectation as we follow Him.
This is the point in the race where the “take your marks” for the 110 meter high hurdles has been called. A hush falls over the crowd. We take our places at our starting positions. There’s an expectancy charged by the energy and excitement in the crowd. Everyone is waiting for the “get set” and then the starter’s pistol to fire. The hush is complete. The crowd waits quietly in their love.
The other version is in the NIV. “He will quiet you with His love.” When I think of this I feel the arms of the Messiah wrapped around me after calamity has struck. This is when news of the death of a family member is received, you crash your car or any other possible mess that you can go through in your life. For the people of Judea it was their beloved city of Jerusalem being destroyed and the people being carried off in exile.
For me in the 110 meter high hurdle race it was the point where I was disqualified. They said I jumped the gun. Heartbreaking - all the hard work. That’s when He quieted me with His love. He settled me so I could keep myself present in the moment as I waited for the 300 meter low hurdle race.
5. And then the last line “He rejoices with shouts of joy.” Luke 15:8-10 says:
8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?
9 “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’
10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
When a sinner repents heaven rejoices. Why is that? What’s the big deal? It happens all the time doesn’t it? What happens when a new baby enters the world. Mostly the parents and the family rejoice. We have a new child, a new sibling or a new grandchild. The family has grown. So to is it with the heavenly kingdom. When a sinner repents a new child is born into the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness has lost another member. Rejoice and glorify God for all His great works.
Likewise, when the Messiah is once more in our midst He will rejoice over those who remained faithful. He will rejoice over those who ran the race and were a part of the remnant. A part of the group who stayed faithful to Him through the calamity that will come.
Just like the crowd at the race. As the starter’s pistol fires the crowd rises to their feet, the excitement builds as the competitors race around the track. The 110 meter high hurdles takes only about 12 seconds and it is all over. But the 300 meter low hurdles takes about 40 seconds. As they run the crowd begins to urge on their favorite hometown boy. As they cross the finish line the crowd erupts with joy. Slowly the rejoicing fades for the losers, but those rooting for the one who won; they continue to rejoice over him with shouts of joy. Joy needs to be expressed. Joy needs to be shared.
And so the race is set to begin. The competitors are introduced to the cheers of the crowd as they exult over them joyfully. It has taken a lot to get to this point. For most it will be the last race for the year, maybe even for their life, but for one or two they will move on to the State finals and maybe more.
The crowd quiets as the runners take their places. “Get set,” bang, their off. The excitement builds, the runners are pushing themselves beyond their limits and the crowd can tell. They wait patiently in their love. Waiting for the victorious runner to cross the finish line.
And then they erupt with joy as they cross the finish line. It doesn’t really matter who won. They all ran the race, they all finished as best as they could.
Zephaniah was warning the people of Judea of the coming judgement. They have lived in sin for far to long. God is patient but eventually He had to deal with their sin. He had to act. But God, in His mercy, always leaves a remnant. It’s the remnant that has the hope of coming joy. It is the remnant, those who stay true and faithful to God who will see the Messiah and have Him live in their midst.
The book of Revelation says: Revelation 7:4
4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
There will be a remnant of the Hebrew Nation when Christ returns. But they won’t be the only ones. Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will also see that day and rejoice.
Exit: If you change the names and situations in this prophecy it can be delivered in the pulpit today. The same message of judgement for the wicked and hope for the faithful will stand out. It reminds us that God is offended by the moral and religious sins of His people. God’s people will not escape punishment when they sin willfully. The inevitability of the punishment of wickedness gives comfort in a time when it seems that evil is unbridled and victorious.
We have the freedom to disobey God but not the freedom to escape the consequences of that disobedience. Those who are faithful to God may be relatively few, but He does not forget them.
As you watch and wait for the return of the Lord and the day of judgement remember God’s heart for the remnant, those who are faithful and then take verse 3:17 to heart.
Make it personal.
The Lord my God is with me, He is mighty to save. He takes great delight in me, He quiets me with His love, He rejoices over me with singing.
Is He with you? Do you believe He is able to save? Does He take great delight in you? Does He quiet you with His love? Does He rejoice over you with singing?
Pray:
Benediction: Jude 24-25
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
