Princeton Presbyterian Church

Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1654

September 15, 2024

Zephaniah 3.14-20                 Click here for audio worship.

Dr. Ed Pettus

(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)

 

“God in Our Midst”

 

¹⁴Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! ¹⁵The 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. ¹⁶On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. ¹⁷The 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. ¹⁸I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. ¹⁹Behold, 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. ²⁰At 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.

 

• Rejoice in the Lord

 

Zephaniah begins with declaring the future judgment to come upon Judah and Jerusalem for their idolatry even though King Josiah had tried to eliminate their evil practices. Once again, God’s people were indicted for their sinful practices. There is a promise in Zephaniah 2.3 for those who seek the Lord, that they will be spared from the judgment to come. What follows is the declaration of the judgment to come to the nations around Israel. It looks like most of the prophets we have been examining had indictments for Israel and Judah, but also included all the nations that were around them. Corruption and sin was not limited to one group of people and certainly not just to Israel who had God’s commandments. God sees all and saw all the sins of all the nations.

But there is hope. The prophets bring messages of judgment, but also messages of hope. In Zephaniah 3.8-10 God intends, through His judgment, to purify a people through fire to restoration and also to restore the city of Jerusalem. This leads into our text for today (3.14-20). The restoration leads to rejoicing, the promise of God's presence, and even God's own rejoicing over His people (3.17).

Zephaniah 3.14 begins with celebration: sing, shout, rejoice, exult. These words express the joy of the Lord in our hearts and the proper response to what God has done. I hope everyone hearing this today has experiences of utter joy in life that cause us to shout and rejoice, at least brighten one’s day or bring a smile. But there is something about realizing God’s goodness that wells up something like a spring of water in our being, an explosion of joy in the form of singing and shouting, rejoicing and exulting in God.

As we have been going through all the minor prophets, we have considered how the prophets point us to Jesus Christ and the themes of the New Testament, and we will do that today as well! The apostle Paul teaches us that we are to rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4.4). Does that mean we always have a smile on our face or that we are always happy about things? No, but what it does mean is that because God is, because of what God has done, because of Jesus Christ and the salvation we have in Him, there will be joy after sorrow. There will be joy after pain. There will be joy in the morning (Psalm 30.5). Israel has had no reason for joy in God’s judgment through the beginning of Zephaniah’s prophecy, but now that God has cleared the way, joy ensues.

 

 

• God has Cleared the Deck

 

The reason given for all the joy is Zephaniah 3.15, ¹⁵The 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. No judgment, no enemies, God with us, no fear. That is reason upon reason to sing to God, to give thanks to God, to rejoice in Him daily. Whether we look at this passage as already accomplished in Christ or as a promise of what is to come, there is reason for joy. It was certainly reason for Israel and still reason for all who believe today.

In Christ we have victory over our enemies. In Christ we will not face the wrath of God in judgment. In Christ we have God with us. In Christ we need not fear. Therefore, we rejoice.

But, we still have enemies in this world. We still are convicted of sin. We still have our fears. While we always have Christ with us in the Spirit, not all fears, not all enemies are cleared away completely. And yet, we still rejoice in what we have in Christ and in what is yet to come. In the time of Zephaniah, God had cleared the deck through His mercy and grace. In our time, God has cleared the deck through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. Our sins are wiped away and we are no longer under God’s wrath. There are two places in the New Testament where we learn this truth about God’s wrath. If we can put to memory the chapter and verse of 5.9, then all we have to remember is Romans and 1 Thessalonians.

Romans 5.9 – Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

1 Thessalonians 5.9 – For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are indeed cleared of our enemies of sin, death, and the devil. These have no power over us. Christ has won the victory and we will spend eternity in praise and rejoicing for what God has done in Christ our Savior and Lord.

 

• Fear Not

 

Zephaniah summons God’s people to fear not.

 

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. ¹⁶On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. ¹⁷The Lord your God is in your midst,

 

Notice the common phrase in these verses. The Lord “in your midst” appears twice and with that assurance of presence comes the confidence and summons for no fear. That the Lord is with us is reason enough not to fear. Hear again a theme from the prophets that points to the New Testament good news of the gospel.

 

Matthew 10.26-33, “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. ²⁸And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. ³²So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

 

Jesus tells the disciples to have no fear of human enemies who will one day be exposed for what they are. And do not fear those who may kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Enemies may take a life, but they cannot take eternal life. The only One to fear is God who can take body and soul as He chooses. That fear is awe and reverence (with a touch of being afraid!) for God. That fear is that which will keep us in God’s way and away from sin as we seek to live in the righteousness of God, to honor His name, and to walk humbly with Him.

 

• God in Our Midst

 

The promise of “God in our midst” is perhaps the greatest connection to Jesus in the book of Zephaniah. We all know that name in the New Testament, Immanuel, God with us. Jesus Christ is God with us. The promised Messiah is God with us. The Holy Spirit is now God with us. God has been with His chosen people and continues to be with us through all our life. 1 John 3.24, “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” God in our midst is God with us and in us by His Spirit. 1 John goes on to expand on this teaching and includes the “no fear” aspect.

 

1 John 4.13-19, ¹³“By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us.

 

Zephaniah ends with this verse:

 

²⁰At 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.

In the days of Zephaniah the promise was clear, the God in their midst would gather them and restore their fortunes. God exercised justice and love that was ultimately expressed to bring people back to restoration in relationship with Him. This is the blessing of Christ as well, as we see in 2 Corinthians 5.17-21, ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

What God had done in Zephaniah’s day, what God had done time and time again in the Old Testament, to forgive and deliver His people, He has ultimately and completely done in full and in the fullness of time through Jesus Christ. That is the good news that is foreshadowed in all the prophets and throughout the Old Testament witness. That is the good news we have in Jesus in whom we rejoice, in whom we have sinned washed away, and by whom we have no need to fear. God is with us, in our midst...good news! Good news! Rejoice! Amen.