In the sentence following his introduction, Zephaniah prophecies annihilation. After providing two and half chapters of vivid detail of this erasure of life, God apparently sends out a change order on the prophetic bandwidth Zephaniah is monitoring. That is where our passage begins. However to appreciate the magnitude of the change, allow me to offer some highlights of God’s previous prophetic communique …

“I will completely remove all things from the face of the earth. I will remove man and beast; I will cut off man from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord. God has consecrated His guests (with punishment)… I will punish (them) … (I repeat) I will punish (them) … There will be a cry, a wail and a loud crash. (They) will be silenced. A day of clouds and thick darkness, wrath, trouble, distress, destruction, desolation, darkness and gloom (is imminent). (Let me repeat myself) God will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth. (parenthesis mine)

When I came to Christ the only crash I was aware of was His Love literally crashing into my heart with a resounding pronouncement of His love for me as my Father. My heart had known darkness. When I met Christ, I may have even been close to gnashing my teeth. He invaded my darkness, undermining my gloom. He rescued me out of self destruction. My desolation had ended. My adoption and sonship had begun. I had become a son of God. The Living God had become my Father.

You see, my conception of God was never flavored by the ancient Jewish mindset. In fact, in my gentile audacity, I have presumed that 100% of that fiery wrath (which I no doubt deserved) was absorbed in Jesus Christ upon the cross.

100% means I will not be looking back to the Old Testament to modify my definition of Father or alter the way in which I relate to Him. I see no representative in the New Testament doing this. Why should I? I’m blown away that even while I was a gentile sinner Christ died for me. I’m not looking back. Christ is the fulfillment of the Law for me. What the Jews celebrate in feasts and festivals, I have in each successive moment in Christ. Christ alone is my sufficiency. He has completely overfilled my cup and in every way I am satisfied in Him, alone.

As a believer (only a few months old) I had a revelation of the majesty of the Lord’s name and when I heard it (and boy did I hear it) it was; “Jesus…Jesus…Jesus” – not Yeshua. The Spirit took into account my gentile-ness and let me hear my Savior’s name in my dialect. Understandably, He will always be “Jesus” to me.

Knowing Jesus, I’m sure he will greet me in heaven and say, “Hi. I’m Yeshua.” And I will reply, “And I am  Snimuc Ybar (That is an inside joke. Only Daneille, Kent, Rob and Jesus will get it. That’s ok.)

While the words of Zephaniah 3:14-20 were not spoken directly to me, I know they still apply because I know my Father’s heart. Here are a few highlights from our passage which resonate on my Father- frequency. If I do not hear the “Father” (by my definition) in the communique, I disregard the transmission.

Shout for joy! Shout in triumph!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart. The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. Do not be afraid. Do not let your hands fall limp. The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. 

At the same time, I do not believe for a moment that God has replaced Israel (people of Jewish linage? People with Israeli citizenship?) with gentiles. While I do not know the timing, I believe the above verses and the balance of our passage apply to the blessed nation of Israel (whoever they are).

“I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts – They came from you, O Zion; the reproach of exile is a burden on them. Behold, I am going to deal at that time with all your oppressors, I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will turn their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. 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 peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.

Father, I look forward to the day when all your various notes find their chords and all those chords find their place in Your symphony. Until then, may we love each other in way that might validate our claims of Your Life in us. Amen.

 

 

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