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| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) |
ZEPHANIAH 3:9-20
(Scripture: Romans 11:1-24; Zephaniah 3:1-20)
The Good News!
Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ…
Last week we ended with some very bad news for Judah.
As we read in the verses 1 till 8, she had been exposed as a most terribly corrupt society.
Every part of the nation’s leadership was shown up as being involved in the very opposite of what it should have been doing.
The only one who did what he was supposed to do was the Lord himself!
He was the only truly just one.
It is because of who God is that he calls all his people and all people everywhere to account for what they’ve done.
Thus verse 8 ends speaking of the whole world being consumed by the fire of the Lord’s jealous anger.
That was the bad news.
And now for the good news.
Because at the end of his prophecy Zephaniah opens us up to the most incredible scene of peace in contrast to that previous punishment!
Not that there haven’t been glimmers of grace before this in Zephaniah, mind you.
But that’s all they really were – glimmers.
For while they indicated a remnant would remain, and that remnant would be blessed in a special way, it’s here that the good news becomes the brightest light!
This is indeed ‘The Good News’!
For what is it that comes shining through here but the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ?
He who six hundred years after this would declare himself ‘The Light of the World’ is blazing out here.
You think about it, dear believer.
Thus far in Zephaniah what have we seen of the Lord’s character?
Well, we have certainly seen his holiness, his justice, his righteousness, and his intolerance of sin.
So we have seen him most definitely as the Judge.
But his character also includes grace, love, and forgiveness.
And that is what is vividly seen here!
This is where we meet him as the Saviour!
Congregation, we will see this in the three parts to our text this afternoon.
And this begins, first of all, with the verses 9 till 13.
Here we see that … GOD DECLARES HE WILL PURIFY HIS PEOPLE.
That God will purify his people is self-evident with the word itself appearing at the beginning of verse 9.
“For at that time I will change the speech of the people to a pure speech,” the Lord says of that coming Day when he will wrap up this world as we know it.
In an obvious reference to those who would come to faith from all over the world, the Lord says they will call on his Name and serve him altogether.
But let’s reflect a little further here.
For what comes to mind when we think of ‘speech’?
Isn’t this what we speak with our lips – so our language?
And where has the whole issue about language played such a prominent role?
Ah, here we might think of the story of the Tower of Babel.
There was the time when men were united together in their language and also, sadly, in their motivation to challenge God himself through that great monument to themselves.
I’m sure you know the story in Genesis 11.
The Lord punished them by confusing their languages.
But the word for “speech” here isn’t tying in with what was said but where it is said from.
For these words express the inward thoughts.
And so those who invoke the names of idols are called those who have unclean lips.
However, those whose hearts have been purified call upon the Lord with clean lips – “a pure speech” - because their thoughts were clean.
And this is what the Lord means here, as he is says that these people will be able to call upon his Name.
It is with such a motivation that there is a true unity amongst God’s people.
Thus it is they can be described next as serving him “with one accord”, because they are equally joined together as members of the Body of Christ.
It’s in verse 10 where we come to see who these peoples are.
You see, some commentators would say the reference to Cush here is to picture how far the Lord will go to bring his scattered ethnic Israel back to Himself.
One said that the reference to Cush is regarding the Falashas of western Ethiopia who claim Jewish descent.
That doesn’t tie in with the flow in chapter 3 from verse 8, however.
For its clear the Lord is speaking here regarding the whole world.
Just as the punishment will be universal so also the peace will be universal.
While Israel has failed to be the witness she was meant to be to the covenant God in this world, it only means that God himself will make that to be.
This is what we find in such passages as Psalm 87.
There the verses 3 and 4 sing out, “Glorious things are said of you, O city of God: “I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me – Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush – and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’””
The fact that verse 10 says they will bring offerings shows how sincere this is.
It’s a theme also found in the last chapter of Isaiah, chapter 66, verse 20.
And it’s also what we read of in Romans 11.
There the apostle shows how the Gentiles have been brought into spiritual Jerusalem.
Indeed, this is such a revival that all within Zion will be cleansed and sanctified by the Lord from every sinful thing.
Verse 11 details what it will be like then at the Day of the Lord.
Congregation, here we very much realise that this cannot be referring to the return from exile.
While prophesy was fulfilled then, there is no way anyone could say that all those returning to Israel were pure of heart.
There were still those who were proud then.
This is where verse 12 makes it clear it is about the end of this age.
The final harvest has come, as Jesus describes in the parable of Matthew 13.
The weeds have been winnowed out and burned by the Lord.
And what’s left is the wheat.
That will be gathered into the Lord’s barn.
Note the hallmark of genuine piety in these folk.
They seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
Their’s is a true faith – and don’t they show it!
Verse 13 makes this absolutely clear.
For here the remnant shares characteristics with the Lord himself.
Indeed, can’t you hear an echo here, congregation?
Where else do you read one who had done no violence and who had no deceit in his mouth?
Ah, it’s in Isaiah 53, the wonderful chapter about the suffering and the glory of the Saviour Himself!
And then to declare that they will eat and lie down and not be afraid certainly cannot be describing a scene from this fallen world!
Again, the rich imagery of the future paradise rings through here.
This prophetic announcement refers to the time of perfection.
This is the age which started with Christ’s first coming and will be completely fulfilled at his second coming.
This is the age described of in 1st John 3 where the apostle pictures those who are born of God as those who don’t sin.
In response to this marvellous declaration of the Lord in the verses 9 till 13, ZEPHANIAH CALLS GOD’S PEOPLE TO REJOICE.
This is our second aspect.
And this takes in the verses 14 till 17.
Verse 14 calls the covenant people to rejoice.
“Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel!”
Putting himself in that future age following the ultimate blessing, Zephaniah summons believers to delight in it.
And thus it’s no surprise this takes the form of a psalm.
A song which not only commands praise for what the Lord has done, or for what the Lord will do, but celebrates that the Lord is right then and there amongst them!
It’s certainly a covenantal psalm as it responds to God’s grace given to them.
And so it’s a psalm that continues the theme of God’s persevering presence in Zion, the city of David.
This is what was promised by him in 2nd Samuel 7, and was subsequently reaffirmed in Isaiah and the psalms.
Congregation, this kingship of God is a constantly recurring image in the Old Testament.
And it’s also how the New Testament begins as well.
When Christ was born into this world, there was definite certainty that he is this King.
Even before he was born, the angel Gabriel declared to Mary in Luke 1, “He will great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
“The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end (v32f).”
The Magi knew of this too.
When they came they were asking, as Matthew 2:2 records, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”
And doesn’t the Bible end with this also?
The book of Revelation clearly declares that the Lamb is the Lion!
As a true psalm this is full of the reign of the Lord.
He has delivered them as verse 15 sings – even taking away all fear from them.
So we have seen the call to this joy in verse 14 and the cause of this joy in verse 15.
But then in the verses 16 and 17, there is the chorus to this joy.
You see, it’s like other voices chip in here.
They remind God’s people of who God is to them.
And especially they remind the believers of where God is.
Because he is right here with them!
While we know he was never apart from them, this describes the Lord as the heroic Saviour.
He is the Divine Warrior who led Israel out of bondage and who conquered the Promised Land.
That’s the same power still there for Israel’s need.
And certainly it is still there for we of New Testament Israel.
Congregation, what is happening here is so fulfilling of biblical prophesy that verse 17 even describes the Lord taking great delight in his people.
Like the father in Luke 15 rejoiced to see his prodigal son return so our loving Heavenly Father is absolutely thrilled on this day.
And here we come to an interesting phrase.
For after describing the great delight the Lord takes his own then, the prophet says, “he will quiet you by his love.”
This means it is the most tremendous love.
This is felt deep down and comes with thoughtfulness and admiration.
The Hebrew word for love here helps us see this.
Because it is not the word for covenant love – rather, it is the word for electing love.
This is not the love which continues the covenant – this is the love which made the covenant.
This is the great plan of the Lord God for his people made from time immemorial!
Dear believer, when you reflect on that aren’t you stilled?
Doesn’t your heart then skip a beat?
The joy of the Lord here over his own is confirmed at the end of verse 17.
To say “he will exult over you with loud singing” is to really bring home to us the picture of the groom reunited with his bride.
Well, if this is true at the end of this time, isn’t it already known by us in this last time?
Of our Lord Jesus Christ, it was specifically said in John 13:1 that he loved his own to the end.
Then in John 17:24 it says that he prayed that his loved ones might be with him to behold his glory.
And Hebrews 2:12 speaks of when he will sing praise to God in the presence of the congregation.
And yet there is still more to ‘The Good News’.
The verses 18 till 20 don’t leave this prophecy with the people’s joyful response to God’s goodness but with further blessings promised by the Lord.
Thus it is that this part is entitled, THE LORD’S FUTURE PROMISE FOR HIS PEOPLE.
The verses 18 till 20 describe the third aspect to this text.
Now, verse 18 is not so straight forward as you may have it in your Bible version.
There is some obscurity in the original Hebrew, with the different historical versions being quite diverse.
What we can discern, though, is the change in the voice used here.
We are back to God speaking.
Indeed right throughout the verses 18 till 20 the first person singular appears at least seven times.
With the first of these in verse 18, the Lord is speaking to those who are worried they haven’t been able to join in the set festivals of the law.
It hasn’t been possible for them to be at the temple then because they’ve been banished into foreign lands.
But the Lord will take that burden and reproach away from them.
In fact, he is showing them here that their sorrow over this is a good thing.
The wicked ones don’t worry about such things.
Yet the faithful do miss not doing what they know pleases God.
I mean, don’t you feel a loss if you haven’t been able to go to church on the Lord’s Day?
Doesn’t it weigh on you if you miss your regular prayer and Bible reading?
Here the Lord assures his own there will be no such regrets in the future age to come.
How could there be?
They will be with him in the fullest possible way.
The next time ‘I’ appears the Lord says he will deal with all those who had oppressed them.
The enemy will be comprehensively put out of the way.
Then he will be suffering the consequences for all the evil he has done.
And those the oppressor has been harshest against will be given their own special place!
The “lame” represent those disadvantaged physically and the “outcast” are those geographically or socially or officially dispossessed.
And here they receive the care they need or the restoration they need.
In fact, their situation will be completely reversed!
The Lord promises them praise and honour where previously they had suffered so much the opposite!
And it’s all of the Lord!
You see, those who are lame or who have been scattered don’t have a right to his help.
There’s no one who can demand this of the Lord.
Only he, out of sheer grace, gives it.
Now, again we can see a partial fulfilment with the return from exile.
But that was only a minority of the Jews as a whole.
And we cannot say that goes anywhere near the intent of what is meant here.
Because here paradise itself will be restored!
The only place where there will be true justice is the Kingdom where the Lord is completely King!
This holy promise reaches far beyond the physical Jerusalem.
The allusions to Pentecost already appearing in the verses 9 and 10 are even more evident in the verses 19 and 20.
So this can only be about the Jerusalem from above.
This is the gathering together of all those who are citizens of that city.
These last verses declare to us how the New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed.
For it won’t become clear until the New Testament.
Then we can say that the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.
But it is there alright!
The apostles came to see and declare it, as we read in the book of Acts.
Congregation, the complete fulfilment of God’s people being given honour and praise among the peoples of the earth comes with the groom having made his bride perfectly ready.
In the words of John Carson, “Finally, the Bridegroom brings home his bride and she sees at last with her own eyes all that her Lover and Lord has done for her.
“And lest for us, the Bride of Christ, the tarrying of the vision should provoke any lingering doubt of the promise, Zephaniah ends his prophecy with words which provide a divine countersignature upon its authority and a shout of triumphant assurance echoing out of his heart and into ours: ‘The Lord has said it.’”
It was with these words the prophet began this prophecy.
And now he ends it the same way.
Congregation, the blessings he declares here are sure.
His promises can and will be fulfilled.
He is the Lord himself – the covenant-keeping God.
He has said it so it will be!
Dear friend, what then can you say?
Amen.
PRAYER:
Let’s pray…
O Mighty & Marvellous God…
In the light of this wonderful knowledge we are so deeply humbled.
We see again our own pitiful and miserable state – and your most glorious and powerful nature.
But we have yet met you as the Saviour in Jesus Christ.
We are among those professing faith in your Son, our Lord.
Do so help us to keep doing only this.
In Jesus’ saving Name, we pray, Amen.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Sjirk Bajema, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2019, Rev. Sjirk Bajema
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