Zephaniah 3:14-20
Zephaniah, the prophet speaking to Judea, is announcing imminent destruction and ultimate glory. He is declaring judgement on the masses and mercy on a remnant. Our portion of his message is focused more on the future glory.
“At that time I will bring you in, even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise among all the people of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.
As the One gathering, I can envision the Lord, as a master weaver who is drawing many threads together, creating a grand and majestic tapestry. There are so many threads that appear so dissimilar, so unrelated and even incompatible, that we struggle to embrace the idea or the hope that there is any intentionality of design. And, even if we do, what does it have to do with us?
So many threads. There are nations and individuals. There is evil and good, rich and poor, weeping and rejoicing, the sovereignty of God and the will of man. There are judgements and restorations, attacks and testings, time and eternity and the list goes on to include innumerable religions and philosophies. Zephaniah and scripture declare that God is weaving all of these and more into something that will ultimately cause unprecedented celebration.
“Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!”
Two major threads of the tapestry are the nation of Israel and the Church. God began by claiming a people out of the desert and introducing Himself to them through the Law of Moses. The weaving of this people and their Law into the tapestry, though not forgotten, has been delayed until He gathers all the individual living threads of His saints into the fabric, who by faith, have also become sons of Abraham and will be a part, I believe, of the rejoicing Zephaniah is foretelling.
I believe that a catalyst for this “kingdom of God” tapestry will be the ones Zephaniah identifies in verse 18, “those who grieve about the appointed feasts“. There are those around me who are working to restore the rhythms of life and the blessings associated with the Jewish feasts and calendar. There are also those who grieve that the church is not partaking of the feast that has already been set (Ps 23:5). This group is unique in that they at least have acknowledged that a tapestry is being woven. Their grieving arises because it seems, at times, as though someone is pulling on the threads, instead of gathering them. The presence of evil, the delay of righteousness is a burden to them.
The petitions and prayers of this humble caring remnant who have been willing to look beyond the immediate affairs of man to the ultimate intentions of God; to even carry some of God’s yearnings in their heart, will be leading threads that God will make use of in His tapestry. He will use their story of Him taking away His judgements against them and clearing away their enemies to awaken and attract the nation He first called His own. He will use their advance celebration and their joy in relationship to Christ to provoke jealousy and ultimately produce faith.
Father, even if it only appears now to us to be a crude net with gaping holes, permit more and more of your children to see Your intention and even the indescribable and incomprehensible artistry of the inevitable completed tapestry. Grant that our individual lives may be the living threads they need to be and that our eyes might soon see the awakening of Your original chosen ones and Your glory resting upon her as never before. Amen.