Daily Devotional Friday 18th December 2020
by William Moody
Zephaniah 3:14–20
Israel’s Joy and Restoration
14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
17 The LORD your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
18 I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,
so that you will no longer suffer reproach.1
19 Behold, at that time I will deal
with all your oppressors.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.
20 At that time I will bring you in,
at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes,” says the LORD.Footnotes
[1] 3:18
The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain (ESV)
Here we see the great purpose of this prophesy of judgment, it is to bring restoration and not condemnation (v14-15). God’s people are encouraged to be strong in the Lord (v16). It is by delighting in God’s love that strength comes to the people of God.
Verse 17 is amazing, the idea of God rejoicing over His people with singing. This is what God works in His people’s lives to produce. God wants to take delight in you, in your life in what you do.
God brings His people through days of trial to bring them out as a people rejoicing in His love and mercy (v18-19). God is sanctifying a people that the world will see and pause to take note of (v20).
God should be exalted in the lives of His people. The world should see that believers are different. How does your life speak to the unsaved? Does your life bring to God the glory He deserves? Is your life being moulded in the circumstances of life to bring to God the honour He deserves?
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