Advent 3, 2018
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The nation of Israel was divided…torn into two kingdoms: Judah to the north and Israel to the South. Their rulers despised each other and plotted against one another. Both nations had abandoned faith in the true God for idol worship. The prophets called both nations to repentance and warned of incoming wrath and punishment. The prophet Zephaniah also called the people to repentance and warned of God’s wrath.
Maybe it was ironic that God chose to send Zephaniah, whose name means “Yahweh (God) hides or is hidden” to prophecy to His people. God was not hiding His Word from the people…but warned that He would not be found with them if they did not repent.
At the same time that Zephaniah was prophet…the nations of Judah and Israel were already judged for their wickedness. The enemies were at their gates even as they continued to plot against one another. Their hands became weak under the pressure from their enemies. They groaned and sighed at their fall from grace and prestige and power. They mourned their nation and their loved ones that had been killed or exiled. They were oppressed and lame; outcasts that were shamed and scattered. Their fortunes were lost. They suffered reproach from the nations and people around them. They were mocked and ridiculed.
These words recorded in Lamentations give us a glimpse into the fall of Israel to the Babylonians.
“The Lord has scorned his altar, disowned his sanctuary; he has delivered into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they raised a clamor in the house of the Lord as on the day of festival. The Lord determined to lay in ruins the wall of the daughter of Zion; he stretched out the measuring line; he did not restrain his hand from destroying; he caused rampart and wall to lament; they languished together. “All who pass along the way clap their hands at you; they hiss and wag their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?”
(Lamentations 2:7-8, 15)
We have much in common with these people. Our nation seems is very divided. We have cities and neighborhoods that resemble war torn countries. There are murders on our streets each day. There are rapes, burglaries, shootings, muggings, robberies, and all kinds of heinous crime occurring daily. We have many that promote and give thanks for the right to murder the child in the womb. We celebrate sinfulness despite what Scripture warns us. We have families divided. We have loved ones that continue to mourn. Many feel as if they are oppressed and shamed. The enemy, Satan, is at the gate and we seem to be outcasts with fortunes lost living in shame.
Sin is sin regardless of the era we live in. God hates and condemns sin. Sinners…need to repent. We need to repent. For the wages of sin is death. And sinners deserve nothing but eternal damnation. The prophets of old had warned the people of Israel…even as they continue to warn us.
And yet the prophets also proclaimed something else to the people; to the faithful. Zephaniah proclaimed:
“Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!”
(Zephaniah 3:14)
Sing aloud? Shout? Rejoice? Didn’t you just condemn us? Didn’t you just call us to repentance? Didn’t you call us sinners that deserve nothing more than damnation? What’s there to sing and shout and rejoice about?
“The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.”
(Zephaniah 3:15-20)
Dear people of God: Rejoice! Sing Aloud! Shout! And fear not! Why? Because in the midst of all the problems in this world…your own problems… God proclaims that He has taken away all judgments against you. God proclaims that your sins are forgiven! God is not hiding…but comes to us in the flesh. Jesus is Immanuel…God with us.
And that is wonderful news. That is the news for all ages. Our sins are forgiven…they are forgiven through the babe who’s birth we eagerly await and rejoice at…whose impending death on the cross we mourn…whose resurrection brings life eternal. Jesus was born to pay a debt He didn’t owe. Because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.
Rejoice. Shout. Sing aloud. Not because of the problems we see around us. Not because the world is getting better. Rejoice. Shout. Sing aloud because the Savior is drawing nigh and in Him we have forgiveness and life. In Him we have salvation. In Him we have the promise of a new heaven and new earth free from all the problems sin causes in this world.
Rejoice oh forgiven one…our Lord is coming. He comes to save us. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.
