Can You Hear God Singing?

When you see a mother holding and singing to her child, you are witness to the deep love and bond that is being formed between them.  Often the child responds to the safety, peace, joy and love of being in its mothers arms and the sound of her singing by smiling, making joyful sounds and looking up at her with pure love. The prophet Zephaniah (in Zephaniah 3:14-20) called God's people to sing, shout and rejoice with all their heart.  At the time of this message, Israel and Judah were experiencing the oppression and humiliation of captivity and exile because of their sin.  But Zephaniah's prophetic message from God was that the enemy would be defeated and they would no longer live in fear, because God the mighty warrior and King would be present among His people.  And not only would His people sing and rejoice, but God would also rejoice and delight in His people.  And in His love for His people, He would sing!  I pray this week that in His agape love for you, the LORD will delight in you and He will sing over you as you dwell in His presence. Amen

Listen to Tasha Cobbs Leonard as she sings “I’d Do It Again”

Sing, Daughter Zion;

shout aloud, Israel!

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,

Daughter Jerusalem!

The LORD has taken away your punishment,

he has turned back your enemy.

The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;

never again will you fear any harm.  (Zeph. 3:14-15)

After pronouncing God's judgments on Judah and surrounding nations:(Zeph. chapters 1 & 2), the prophet Zephaniah ends the book with a message of joy (Zeph. 3:14-20).  Zephaniah begins these verses by telling Israel and Jerusalem to sing, shout aloud and rejoice with all their heart.  He calls them into a complete exultation and celebration.  Why?  Because the Lord has redeemed them from sin and they will no longer suffer the calamities of its effects on them.  As a result, they no longer need to fear any harm.  And the most important sign of their peace and salvation is that the LORD is with them.  His presence is among them and He is in communion with them.  Go ahead.  You can sing, shout and rejoice because God is with you!

On that day

they will say to Jerusalem,

“Do not fear, Zion;

do not let your hands hang limp.

The LORD your God is with you,

the Mighty Warrior who saves.

He will take great delight in you;

in his love he will no longer rebuke you,

but will rejoice over you with singing.”  (Zeph. 3:16-17)

Zephaniah emphasizes in these verses that the Lord is with His people.  Not only has the LORD saved them, but He takes great delight in them.  In fact, He rejoices over them to the point where He sings!  Not only are God's people rejoicing, shouting and singing to show their love and joy in the LORD and His presence among them, but the LORD is also rejoicing and singing because of His great love and delight in being among His people!  God loves you completely and delights in you.  His heart sings and He rejoices over being with you! 

“I will remove from you

all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,

which is a burden and reproach for you.

At that time I will deal

with all who oppressed you.

I will rescue the lame;

I will gather the exiles.

I will give them praise and honor

in every land where they have suffered shame.

At that time I will gather you;

at that time I will bring you home.

I will give you honor and praise

among all the peoples of the earth

when I restore your fortunes

before your very eyes,”

says the LORD.  (Zeph. 3:19-20)

In these verses, the LORD speaks through Zephaniah.  He promises that He will gather His people from whatever desolate places they have been exiled to and bring them to be with Him.  No longer will they mourn.  No longer will they suffer oppression,  No longer will they suffer shame.  No longer will they be crippled by sin (lame).  He will make them to be an honored and praised people.  And He will restore to His people all that the enemy took from them.  God will restore what the enemy took from you!

What a message of joy and exultation Zephaniah leaves with God's people.  After all of God's judgements and rebuke outlined throughout the book of Zephaniah, God (through Zephaniah) ends with God's people living in overwhelming joy, peace, redemption, salvation and love.  We will sing, shout, rejoice as we live without fear, in peace with God.  We will no longer be oppressed, scattered and crippled by sin, but we will live together with God, honored and praised.  And our God, who loves us deeply, will be so joyous over His people being with Him that He will sing!  We look forward to that day that Zephaniah tells us about, but we don't have to wait until then to experience the joy, peace, redemption and love of God.  We can rejoice, sing and shout because God is already present with us and in us.  We can live without fear knowing that our God is a mighty warrior, and when we look to Him, we can testify that He is an ever present help in the time of trouble.  And He has already brought us back from the exile of being lost in sin, living apart from Him, because through His grace we are saved.  No, we are not living in the fullness of Zephaniah's prophetic vision yet.  But we don't have to wait until the battle is over, we can shout now!  For we are the redeemed of the LORD, who are already experiencing the goodness of God.  And when we listen closely... We can hear the Lord singing in His joy and delight over us!

Blessings,

Rev. Glenn