Zephaniah Chapter Three, Comforting Zion

Zephaniah 3:16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. [17] The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

The celebratory lauding reaches crescendo at this point. We are still speaking of the Day of the Lord in this passage, clearly illuminated by the prophet, when he says, “In that day.” Moses reminds us that a thousand years to God is not unlike the passing of a single day from human perspective, Psalm 90:4.

In that day, which includes the Tribulation period and the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ on earth, the Jews will no longer fear. Why? Twice in three verses (15 and 17) God informs Israel that He will be in their midst. As God once walked in the Garden of Eden and spoke face to face with Adam, God’s presence on earth will again be clearly on display in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ will return in glory. This phrase means so much more than the deeds our Lord will perform while on earth again. No, it means that every thing about our Lord will be glorious. David describes this scenario vividly when he writes, “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory,” Psalm 24:7-10.

Christ will return triumphant from His victory over the Antichrist and his coalition of nations. He will deliver Israel out of the expectations of their enemies. The Jews will see Him and mourn, and then rejoice in their Messiah. Christ will sit on the throne of David and, with His promised rod of iron, rule the nations from Jerusalem. God will be in their midst.

It is worth noting that Zephaniah uses the title Mighty One here, rather than the Almighty. This title is used twice in Isaiah, prefixed by another important title, the Redeemer. We read, “All flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob,” Isaiah 49:26. And again, “You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles, and milk the breast of kings; you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob,” Isaiah 60:16. God expresses to physical Israel, the Jewish nation, that all flesh (read in: the entire world) will know that Yahweh is Israel’s Redeemer and Savior. Furthermore, He informs the Jews that they will drink the milk of the Gentiles and their kings, meaning that the Gentiles will be subservient to the Jewish nation, which will be the head because from it Christ rules, see Amos 9:11, 12. He is the Mighty One, but He is the Mighty One of Jacob, the original name of the man God renamed to Israel, Genesis 32:28.

The prophet declares God’s gladness for the fulfillment of this prophecy. God will rejoice over Israel’s restoration. Paul embraced this truth and likened it to global resurrection, Romans 11:15. Christians should pray for the restoration of Israel and its peace. We should long for what God desires for the Jews and the land He gave them. God will quiet, or comfort, the Jewish people with His love. His love is undying; it is not bestowed upon a recipient because of their inherent loveliness. That is the lie of religion. We were not worth the price God paid; He did not get a bargain by choosing Israel, or redeeming the church. God loves despite our unloveliness; that is the moral core of the sin nature and the gospel of grace. Moses told Israel, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all people,” Deuteronomy 7:6, 7. God’s choosing is within His own prerogative and entirely apart from human effort or intention, see John 1:13. What this ultimately means is that God chooses to reach out to people apart from their supposed merit or worth, which would only testify against them in the end. But when God does choose, it cannot be annulled. Like His word, it is settled forever, Psalm 119:89.

God will sing in this celebratory moment. He will sing over Israel’s beautification and reunion with Him. The adulterous wife, like in Hosea’s time, has been brought back and loved again, despite what she has done, not because of it.