Zephaniah 3:14-20
In the early part of this book the prophet speaks of the day of the Lord’s wrath; “And on that day all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy for He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth.” Then…..
At the conclusion of the book the prophet speaks of the Lord’s mercy, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy….I will bring you in, gather you together and give you renown and praise. I will restore your fortunes before your eyes.”
If we are trying to compose a song from Zephaniah alone our lyrics may not make sense. It would seem God is at cross purposes with Himself. God is committed to gathering His people together to lavish His affection on them from a spot on the earth where He has just brought a terrifying end to all its inhabitants. See what I mean?
To us it is impossible to comprehend how the same God can go from wrath to mercy; from judgement to restoration in 3 chapters. Our comprehension suffers because it really has no choice. One day, it is true; “we will know as we have been known(by God)”, but until then, our grasp of an eternal God is filtered through the lens of our finite understandings.
Finite interpretations lend themselves to the black and white; the “either / or” as opposed to the more complex, “both / and” kind of understanding. Because we (as humans) cannot simultaneously hold onto wrath and mercy, we assume God can’t either. For many it is hard to worship a God they cannot fully understand; who is so unlike them; who, in His dealings with nations and people, does things, that violate their sense of civility. To them God seems cruel or barbaric.
I confess I too am challenged to get my mind around God’s ways in the OT but I am not going to quit reading it or cower in fear before Him because of what may be confusing to me in the earlier part of the Bible. With the latter part of the Bible, He gave us the New Testament as a lens to better comprehend the deep deep mystery of who He is. I mentioned recently a friend who is so offended by God in the OT that He seems to be boycotting everything except what He prefers to think about Him. I want to take him by the hand (or heart) and say. “let it go. Read this. Here is the good news”;
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and many ways , in these last days has spoken to us in the Son, whom He appointed as heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.
If our songs are composed strictly of OT understandings of a righteous and angry God our music may sound like a chant or a dirge in a minor key. But… after we see in the NT children being welcomed up onto His lap and realize He has become our righteousness and that we too are now invited onto His lap, our songs should change. The songs of sons are different than the songs of servants! Exclamation points replace periods; rejoicing replaces weeping; chants become anthems and crying turns into laughter.
God is not limited emotionally toward us either. While “He will be quiet in His love” He can also “rejoice over us with shouts of joy“. Zeph 3:12 says that God’s people will be a humble people and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord. Humility includes laying down our protests where we do not understand Him and accepting the tremendously good news that; regardless of men’s posture before God in the OT, we (as His children) can now be kept from stumbling and we can stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy!!
That I can even call You Father is utterly amazing! How amazingly good You are! Thank You that exclamation points are replacing the old question marks! Father, for Your Name’s sake, please gather Your family together and restore the fortunes of Your grace right before our eyes and before the eyes of an unbelieving world! Teach us to compose the songs in our hearts out of the clear simple truths You gave us and may we sing of Your goodness as we pay the bills, buy the groceries, deliver the product or whatever high calling You have entrusted to us this day. Amen.