Wednesday: God’s Greatest Delight
“‘The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.
Image © Steve Creitz from GoodSalt.com
He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.’” (Zeph. 3:17, NIV).
In the closing section of his book (Zeph. 3:9-20), Zephaniah turns from a theme of anger to one of restoration. Beyond the judgment, we come to God’s ultimate goals. When the nations have been disciplined, they will together call on the Lord and serve Him cordially. The lips of the people will be purified so that all may worship and praise the Lord by serving Him. A small yet humble and faithful remnant will survive in Judah and will take the place of the proud leaders.
Most important, God will dwell among His people and He will make past wrongs right. No longer will they need to live in fear because the Lord will be with His people, dwelling in the midst of them. He will be their Deliverer and Savior. “‘They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid’” (Zeph. 3:13, NIV).
Such blessings would normally cause God’s people to rejoice over Him, but the prophet declares that God will rejoice over them. His love and joy for His people will be so great that He will shout over them with jubilation.
How did the prophet Isaiah describe God’s joy over His redeemed people? Isa. 62:5, 65:19.
The great King, the divine Warrior, will protect and vindicate His people. He will grant them all the benefits of His victory, the one that He won for us at the cross. He will exalt the humble and turn disgrace, suffering, and alienation into an experience of honor, blessings, and His own presence. Prominence will be given to the lame and the outcast, a theme that lies at the heart of the message proclaimed by Jesus Christ.
Even amid such dire warnings, the Lord offered His people hope. How can we, as Seventh-day Adventists, trusting in the promise of the Second Coming, learn to live day by day with that hope? How can we learn to keep that hope alive, especially in times of trouble when the world offers us nothing but sorrow?
With respect to today’s lesson: Zeph 3:17. Just imagine God singing! I cannot imagine how His voice sounds but I know it will be beautiful and like no other voice I have ever heard! I really wouldn’t want to miss this for anything. How about you?
If we stop speaking things coming out forth from our lips and repent our sins, then our Creator will be with us always.
God is Amazing. In every, problem, disaster, He has a promise for it. In every promise, there’s a purpose. God is slow to anger and he delights in mercy.
I will bless the Lord at all times His praises shall continually be in my mouth. I wanted to do my lesson earlier but I keep doing other things on the computer. But when I finally got to it, there are the promises that I needed to hear. Our God will fight for us. He will be among us, praises be to our God.
We can live with that hope through any situation by praying more, reading more of the word, doing more evangelistic work to those who need the knowledge of Christ. For we were made to glorify God and that is what should be on our lips everyday until He comes. We should pray that when He descends He will say “Well done you faithful servants!” Our only hope is Jesus Christ, for nothing in this world bears more explanation than His word…the spirit-inspired Bible that He gave us is the evidence of that. Prayer being the most vital tools that we have! God Bless
Universal Remnant Restoration
As to the remnant in the book of Zephaniah I should like to add some observations: The prophet Zephaniah, it seems to me, stands in the prophetic tradition of universal restoration, including a remnant of Israel and a remnant of nations, as the latter are joining the former to constitute one church (Isaiah 2:2; 11:10; 49:6; 56:7; Micah 4:1-2; Jeremiah 3:17-18; Zephaniah 3:9-10.12.13). At the heart of that universal restoration is heart cleansing with the result of purified language, thinking and habits (Zephaniah 3:9; Psalm 51:10).
The remnant motif is taken up in the context of the three angels messages (Revelation 12:17; 14:12). Those called out of endtime Babylon (Revelation 18:4) are joining the endtime remnant to become one remnant church serving the Lord with one accord (Zephaniah 3:9).
The main point of restoration is a change of heart and mind (Ezekiel 36:26). This inner, invisible change is follwed by all the other visible marks of the remnant, such as keeping the commandments of God and having the patience of the saints (Revelation 12:17; 14:12). Such a restoration is an ever growing present need, climaxing at the second coming of Christ.
Winfried Stolpmann
I long to see God singing- because you know, when you sing,it might be in praise of some one.
Will God be singing to praise us? What will it be like, The most High praising us in a song, the creator of the universe, not just speaking but singing and probably dancing to praise us.
How can we learn to keep that hope alive, especially in times of trouble when the world offers us nothing but sorrow?
— Recognize every night the blessings God has bestowed upon you that day. Be sure to give God the glory for those blessings. Don’t take God’s blessings for granted. Stand in awe of what He has done.
— Keep a journal of how God has answered or blessed you. Use it to remind yourself during times of trouble (as God admonished the Israelites to remember what He did for them.) Some have suggested at least 5 items/day.
— Remember the instruction of the “minor” prophets (and rest of His Word): do justly, love mercy, walk humbly before God, seek righteousness, follow His commands, love . . . etc. Ask God to daily help you, live Christ’s example.
— Pray in all things.