Prophesying Restoration
Unit 3: Called to God's Work of Justice • Sermon • Submitted
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Key Verse
Key Verse
19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee:
And I will save her that halteth,
And gather her that was driven out;
And I will get them praise and fame
In every land where they have been put to shame.
Introduction
Introduction
Zephaniah was a prophet in the southern kingom of Judah in the seventh century BC.
Zephaniah understood the importance of leadership and what its absence could do to a nation. He likely wrote in the late 620s BC before King Josiahs spiritual reforms.
The prophet is primarily concerned with Judah’s continued rebellion against God.
Milestones
Milestones
Judah Judged
Judah Judged
God's good, ordered world is descending into disorder. A great army will judge, devastate and ruin corrupt, violent and arrogant Jerusalem, Israel and surrounding nations.
Faithful Remnant
Faithful Remnant
Anyone in Jerusalem who seeks the Lord, repents from sin, obeys Him and humbles themselves before Him will be spared. They are God's faithful remnant.
God's Burning Fire
God's Burning Fire
God's final judgment is a consuming fire that devours evil from Jerusalem and all the nations. The burning fire of God's judgment purifies the world.
Hope for All
Hope for All
After God purifies the world, the people will repent and call on Him. They are transformed into a unified family, fulfilling God's promise to Abraham.
Remnant Restored
Remnant Restored
The book of Zephaniah concludes with a picture of restored Jerusalem where God's mercy transforms the faithful remnant, and He celebrates them with joyful songs.
God performs this act of justice because He's passionate about protecting and rescuing His world from evil. He loves us so much that He must purify us. Only then can He bring restoration where He removes evil forever and creates a New Jerusalem for His faithful remnant from all nations to gather and flourish in peace and praise Him. Together, God's justice and love give the world future hope.
The Lord promises that the “afflicted and poor”…shall trust in the name of the Lord” (3:12), untroubled by those who are proud and haughty.
The remnant can freely celebrate captivity’s end.
I. Celebration (Zephaniah 3:14-15)
I. Celebration (Zephaniah 3:14-15)
A. How to Praise (v.14)
A. How to Praise (v.14)
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel;
Be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
Having been told why the remnant should celebrate, the people are told how: they are encouraged to sing,…be glad and rejoice.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee:
I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord:
Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
How are you reminded to express gratitude to the Lord?
The designation Zion originally referred to “the city of David”
7 Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.
Eventually Zion came to include the temple area just to the north.
12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field,
And Jerusalem shall become heaps,
And the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
Zion often parallels (stand for) Jerusalem as a whole in poetry and that is the case here.
5 The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion:
And thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem
All the days of thy life.
The prophets frquently refer to Jerusalem and/or Zion in terms of daughter
22 This is the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning him;
The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn;
The daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
This is a literary technique known as personification, in which the writer assigns the qualities of a person to something that isn't human.
Since Jerusalem is the location of the Temple, this imagery emphasizes the value of God’s covenant people.
The word Israel can designate different things depending on historical context. Here the word refers to the faithful remnant, as do the uses of daughter of.
B. Whom to Praise (v. 15)
B. Whom to Praise (v. 15)
15 The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy:
The king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee:
Thou shalt not see evil any more.
After the prophesied day of the Lord and the judgements that Characterised it, God will step into the situation in a new way.
Although the nation of Judah as a whole has disobeyed and turned its back on Him, God will not abandone the faithfull amoung His covenant people.
The anger regarding Judahs sin will subside.
After God uses Babylon as His agent to discipline His people, He will then defeat Babylon ending the oppression Judau faced during that time.
Judah will face consequences but God will not allow it to completley destroy them.
THE FAITHFUL RENMANT WILL SUFFER ALONG WITH THE UNFAITHFUL MAJORITY.
But when the time comes for God to cast out the enemy, He will bring the fullness of His presence to bear in rescuing His remnant.
The nature of the excile may suggest God’s complete abandonment. But that is never true for those who remain faithful.
18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
15 The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy:
The king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee:
Thou shalt not see evil any more.
In the Ancient Near East the presence of a King was essential to the well being of his people.
An absentee ruler cannot judge disputes. People begin to think while the cats away the mice come out to play.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
A ruler who is present and active is expected to provide some degree of protection and justice.
So, when Zephania describes God as a king present in the midst of His people, the prophet is telling a powerful story of God’s protective rule.
14 In righteousness shalt thou be established:
Thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear:
And from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
God’s Promise to dwell with His people was fulfilled in JEsus. As the Incarnate Word, He pysically lived amoung His people.
Before He ascended
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Then we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
15 The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy:
The king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee:
Thou shalt not see evil any more.
The promise restoration in general and this verse in particular is no way suggest that God will exempt his people from experiencing the natural consequences of their choices.
The context, rather, is that of God's removal of those who instigate evil against the remnant.
The promise of God's restoration, with the peace and protection he gives, offers hope to God's people in the midst of judgment against the rebellious.
5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life:
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
The promise of restoration does not even with Zephaniah’s prophecies are pre-exilic Judah that is to become the post-exilic remnant.
In the Lord's prayer Jesus teaches his disciples to pray for restoration in terms of God's Kingdom coming and God's will being done.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
As Jesus proclaims that coming Kingdom during his time on the earth, he does not consider the restoration to be accomplished fully during his earthly ministry.
Just before his ascension, his disciples asked
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Jesus response, coming on the heels of three years of proclamation that the Kingdom of God is at hand
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
This shows that the disciple’s expectation of an immediate physical political fulfillment misses the point.
Instead, restoration and the establishment of the Kingdom of God are inaugurated.
Fulfillment is in some sense both “now” and “not yet.”
Full restoration in terms of new life in Christ is consummated at his return.
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the meantime, we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us daily
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
II. Promise (Zephaniah 3:16-18)
II. Promise (Zephaniah 3:16-18)
A. In That Day (vv. 16-18)
A. In That Day (vv. 16-18)
16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not:
And to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.
Zephaniah's phrasing makes clear that the promise of restoration is certain even though the exact timing is unrevealed.
That day points to a real occasion while leaving the timing wide open.
Although people may fervently desire to know exactly when restoration is to calm, God's fervent desire is that people be confident that the promise of the restoration is certain.
What is to happen on the day mentioned here is the opposite of what will happen on that day of Zephaniah 1:15
16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not:
And to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.
It is no coincidence that there is no occasion for fear in God's restored Kingdom.
When the Kingdom of creation is fully present, peace and justice hold sway in his realm.
The Bible imagery of hands can express strength or symbolized power
9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries,
And all thine enemies shall be cut off.
Imagery of weak or in capable hands can indicate a feeling of helplessness or hopelessness in situations characterized by fear.
3 Strengthen ye the weak hands,
And confirm the feeble knees.
4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart,
Be strong, fear not:
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
Even God with a recompence;
He will come and save you.
Thus if hands be slack after this pronunciation, it indicates the presence of unwarranted fear.
That, in turn, indicates lack of faith.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty;
He will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy;
He will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
Zephaniah again presents a state of the future, followed by attendant results.
The reason the people are not to fear is because the Lord is mighty and present with him.
The image Zephaniah paints is a victorious King.
Having defeated his enemy, God's entire focus shift to his utter joy over once again being with his people, providing and caring for them.
4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken;
Neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate:
But thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah,
And thy land Beulah:
For the Lord delighteth in thee,
And thy land shall be married.
The phrase he will rest in his love should be understood as Gods shifting from a mode of active wrath to one of steady love.
In that mode, the Lord would no longer punish the people.
4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely:
For mine anger is turned away from him.
The cycle of joy is hereby complete: as God's people celebrate their restored relationship with him, God celebrates being present with them.
18 I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee,
To whom the reproach of it was a burden.
This verse suggests potentially two thoughts.
1. That the solemn assembly that was instituted (whether part of an annual festival or a Sabbath observance) as an expression of faith has become a matter of shame instead.
2. Another possibility is that because God has called the people to rejoice, he will remove those who choose to continue to wallow in sorrow they will not be allowed to prevent others from expressing their joy.
18 I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee,
To whom the reproach of it was a burden.
The word reproach brings another dimension to the promise of restoration.
The same word is translated shame elsewhere look at
3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
Yes, your shame will be seen;
I will take vengeance,
And I will not arbitrate with a man.”
Shame and honor are more than simply matters of hurt feelings in the ancient near East.
Rather those concepts speak to how people identify and value themselves.
To be cast into exile will result in the Judean’s no longer understanding who they are as a people.
This burden will be lifted when God reclaims his remnant.
Restored Relationship means Restored Identity.
God brings the joy of identity with him in the place of the shame of his rejection.
B. At That Time (vv. 19,20)
B. At That Time (vv. 19,20)
19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee:
And I will save her that halteth,
And gather her that was driven out;
And I will get them praise and fame
In every land where they have been put to shame.
The phrase at this time links this promise to the previous verses.
The people are to experience restoration identity and more.
The consequences to be suffered will come to an end as God removes the agents of judgment.
Judah will no longer be known as the people who abandoned their God.
18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,
Wasting nor destruction within thy borders;
But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation,
And thy gates Praise.
In the ancient near East, physical handicaps often are considered evidence of a deity's judgment.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
The older English word halteth refers to a disability related to walking (that is being lame).
Similarly, enslavement by a hostile nation is thought to prove the inability of both King and deity to protect a people.
Restored relationship with God removes and heals these purported signs of abandonment.
Crippling helplessness and insufficiency would disappear in the face of God's power at work.
The language of Shane emerges again to highlight the remnant remnants restored sense of identity as God's people.
The remnant's inability to protect themselves is to be negated as God exercises his own power to restore and reclaim.
Those willing to affirm allegiance to God alone, rejecting idolatry are promised God's care in his plan to restore his people to wholeness.
6 God setteth the solitary in families:
He bringeth out those which are bound with chains:
But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you:
For I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth,
When I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.
Zephaniah again refers to that time, reinforcing the link between these promises.
Gods restoration of familial relationships goes hand in hand with restoring a sense of identity as God's covenant people.
God's care is demonstrated in this renewed relationship and rediscovered identity.
The phrase when I turned back your captivity should re-emphasize to us that the terrible judgments of the Day of the Lord are yet to occur from the perspective of the original reader.
And as the decade pass until those occur, it will be easy to forget or outright dismiss the prediction of exile and return.
Could there be anything sadder than to fail to be restored to relationship to God almighty himself?
You to can Celebrate the present and future reality of restored relationship to God.