Hope Against Hope
Notes
Transcript
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; Be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 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. 16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: And to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. 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. 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. 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. 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 was the great great grandson of Hezekiah and prophesied during the time of Nahum and Jeremiah. His theme was The Day of the Lord on Judah and the world.
Hope - The first theme of Advent (I know I’m not following the system - that’s ok maybe next year I’ll do an Advent series)
I have often thought of Paul’s trilogy - Faith Hope and Love (Charity) The greatest is Love
But the hardest is HOPE.
The Psalmist had to remind himself over and over “Hope thou in God”
In our passage we find a great hint at hope:
Look especially at Zeph. 3:15 “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.”
The King of Israel - even the LORD is in the midst of thee - Talk about hope
Adam Clark says this was written when they did not have a King since the death of Zedekiah - and wouldn’t have one till they have the King Messiah to reign among them - This he siays is what this promise refers to.
I’m thankful for hope tonight.
We can hope and trust and keep the faith
They had hope because look at verse Zeph. 3:17 “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.”
God is in the midst of thee - If Clark is correct they were in exile during this time, some others place this during the reign of Josiah. Whenever it was - God was promised to be in the midst of thee
God who is mighty - the prevailing One - the all-conquering Hero.
This same title is given to Christ IN Isaiah 9:6 “6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
He will joy over thee with singing -
I don’t ever remember being what I would call a Mama’s boy - but I loved and can still remember her at night and sometimes even just randomly during the day singing over us.
My sister was prone to even as an pre-teen and maybe teen sit on mom’s lap and she would sing
Now my Mom wasn’t much of a singer you couldn’t hardly get her up to sing at church - but at home she would
I remember she used to sing “He made a way through the wilderness, He made a way through the sea, He made a way through the lion’s den and I know he’ll make a way for me”
She would sometimes sing “Jesus loves the little children” but she would put our names in there for children. It just brought a sense of security of peace of HOPE to a child
But think of this THE MIGHT GOD - THE WARRIOR - THE HERO - rejoicing over and singing over HIS PEOPLE
Talk about inspiring HOPE and courage and strength
There was expectancy, waiting, hoping - and one day HE WAS THERE
Keep HOPING KEEP THE FAITH IT WILL OVERCOME