(June 03, 2024) Brian Bell encourages…

For this my second meditation from the Old Testament prophecy of Zephaniah, I am sharing several additional thoughts from chapter 3.

God’s Prerogative  
In my May article we shared how Zephaniah’s messages had brought a stern rebuke to a spiritually cold or backslidden people.

However we also saw how God in His grace gave Zephaniah a word of encouragement as he reminded the wayward people of the certainty of God’s presence telling them ‘… the Lord is still there in the city and He does no wrong’ (Zephaniah 3:5NLT).

As we come to look at verse 16 there is no rebuke, indeed quite the opposite as we read, ‘Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid.’

It’s important to remember there is no contradiction here, it is a matter of context, a holy God exercising His prerogative –

• God hates sin! But He loves the sinner;
• God will judge unrepentant sin and that will have eternal consequences;
• God is not willing that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance;
• God laid the sin of the world on Jesus: at Calvary He bore the punishment that I deserve;
• God’s only Son, Jesus, paid the penalty that I, indeed none of us, could never pay.

God’s righteous holiness and His wrath in bringing justice against sin does not contradict or violate the mercy and grace He offers to us by faith in Christ alone.

So against that background, let’s look at Zephaniah 3:17NLT – ‘For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty Saviour. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song.’

God’s Presence
‘God has arrived to live among you’ are a stronger version of the words in verse 5 quoted above and reinforce the message about God’s presence.

Throughout their history the often wayward children of Israel knew what it was to know God’s presence. When they were led from Egypt God was present by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Later in their history God’s presence was symbolised by the Ark of the Covenant.

When the prophet Elijah was in a deep spiritual depression, God came to him and spoke in a still small voice. Last night at our mid-week Bible study, the speaker shared how one day after he finished his personal devotional time and was leaving the room, he heard the Lord speak to him – not in an audible voice but as Elijah experienced – saying, ‘I’ve been listening to you, now I want to speak to you.’

God is sovereign and may choose to speak to anyone of us in different ways, including dreams.

(i) Primarily His presence today is the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers. God’s Holy Spirit helps us know Him through His word, and to see His presence outworking in our lives.

(ii) And Jesus, our risen Saviour, is always with us by and through the power of His name! When we call on that name in prayer, His presence is made available to us and while we should not only use His name to make ‘emergency calls’ we can certainly do so in times of…

• Failing God.
• Feeling overwhelmed.
• Forlornness due to sicknesses.
• Frightening financial difficulties.
• Frustrations!

God’s Protection
‘He is a mighty Saviour’ reminds us that every day we seek to live for Him there is a spiritual battle always ongoing and we are not wrestling against mere flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).

Sometimes when temptation comes to us we may lose a battle, but ultimately the war has been won because Jesus is a mighty Saviour who has overcome our enemy!

Perhaps like me you can recall a specific time(s) in your life when you knew God had His hand on you; some situation in which you look back and see how His protection was applied to you.

Zephaniah encouraged Israel to know that their God was a mighty deliverer. We who have accepted God’s Son as deliverer from sin know that Jesus is still a mighty Saviour.

God’s Peace
‘He will calm all your fears’ is encouraging in that God knows we have fears and or anxieties. Notice that He does not criticise or condemn us for these feelings but says that He will calm us.

The Lord knows how our minds and emotions can react. For example when we sit with a medical doctor or specialist and hear the word ‘cancer’ it can throw us… but our God is with us and can give us peace! He knows how to bring us through the darkest of fearful times – and somehow will, as we trust Him!

Isaiah 43:2NLT is also a welcome encouragement – ‘When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression you will not be burned up the flames will not consume you.’

The Lord asks us to keep trusting Him and His word. Keep doing the right thing and seek to make good decisions, keep leaning on Him the One who will calm all our fears.

God’s Praise
‘He will exult over you by singing a happy song.’ Are you are a child of God? If so, can you believe that Almighty God is singing a happy song about you?

Remember the stories Jesus told about the prodigal son and the lost coin, both highlighting the resultant rejoicing when that which was lost was found. Have you ever lost a precious possession only to find it again?

In one of my notebooks I have recorded a little quotation – ‘The Lord knows the imperfections of those who are His, who try to follow and serve Him and that is why works won’t save us’ (Source unknown).

God’s happy song is for fallen humanity who have accepted Christ as Saviour. Luke 15:10 tells that ‘There is joy in the presence of the angels when even one sinner repents.’

Is that your experience… have you repented of sin and failings? Is God able to sing a happy song about you?

God’s Promise
To finish I share some words from the song Praise the Mighty name of Jesus, which is sung in different versions by various Christian musicians although my favourite version is sung by Jocelyn Brown…

My troubled soul, why so cast down, you were not made to bear this heavy load;
Cast all your burdens upon the Lord, Jesus cares, He cares for you.

Jesus cares, He cares for you and all your worrying won’t help you make it through;
Cast all your burdens on the Lord and trust again in the promise of His love.

I will praise the mighty name of Jesus, praise the Lord the lifter of my head;
Praise the rock of my salvation all my days are in His faithful hands.

Acts 1:11 tells that ‘Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday, just as you saw Him go, He will return.’ A day is coming when we will see Jesus just as His early disciples saw Him! Meantime know that –

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Brian Bell is a diaconate member, Christ Church (Congregational) Abbots Cross, Northern Ireland. Brian describes himself as ‘grateful for the privilege and opportunity given me to serve my Lord.’
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