Sunday Sermon: God's Great Delight
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Text: Zephaniah 3:17
Series: Certain Truth for Uncertain Times
September 13, 2020
Some years ago, two psychologists, Peter Benson and Bernard Spilka, studied descriptions and definitions of God as given by believers and, most importantly, how those definitions related to their self-esteem. What they found was that even though the over 100 people they studied had similar religious upbringing and training, their concepts of God differed remarkably. The researchers found that that people with high self-esteem – in other words, those who liked and trusted themselves – had loving, accepting images of God. But those with low self-esteem – those who harbored guilt and pessimism – had punitive, rejecting images of God (Joan Borysenko, Guilt Is the Teacher, Warner Books, 1990).
What the study showed was that our image of God in many ways forms our own sense of well-being, which is why it is so important that we see God for who the Bible reveals Him to be – a loving, merciful, and benevolent Deity. And it also reminds us why good theology is still important. People who have been raised in an atmosphere of threats of punishment and promises of reward often view God as a cruel tyrant, which is a cheap and tawdry interpretation that keeps them from experiencing the deep healing that God wills to extend to broken and sinful people. But on the other hand, people who have been brought up to understand God as a kind and merciful Redeemer who is always graciously working on their behalf tend to be hopeful about themselves and their future because they live in the confidence that God delights in them and is always on their side.
So, which kind of person are you? And if by chance you discover that your guilt and pessimism stem from your understanding of God, how do you go about changing it so that you might live more confidently and securely? Those are questions that the Old Testament prophet Zephaniah had to answer in his own life.
Zephaniah is considered one of the Old Testament’s minor prophets, but only because of the brevity of his message, not its significance. Zephaniah ministered during the same time as the more prominent prophet Jeremiah. According to the first chapter of his prophecy, Zephaniah was a descendant of Hezekiah, one of the good kings of Judah. So, Zephaniah knew what a good king looked like and was far from pleased at how the kings who had succeeded his ancestor had done.
The first part of Zephaniah’s prophecy is what you’d expect from a prophet who was not happy about the spiritual realities of his day. His main message was to point God’s people to the coming day of the Lord, when God would punish the nations for their disobedience, and would hold his most severe punishment for His faithless people Judah, who were mired in their disobedience to their Maker.
There is little encouragement in the first two and a half chapters of Zephaniah’s prophecy. But in the second part of the third and final chapter, a remarkable thing happens. Zephaniah’s outlook changes dramatically. Instead of pounding the people of Judah with threats of punishment and destruction, Zephaniah moves to a very different vision of the future – one in which God will gather His people unto Himself and restore their fortunes in the eyes of all the nations. It’s a quite staggering reversal of perspective. So, what caused Zephaniah to do such a 180?
Some scholars suggest that by reading between the lines we can see the impact of the reforms King Josiah made after his reforms kicked in following the discovery of the scroll during the renovations he had ordered for the temple in Jerusalem. You’ll remember from your reading of 2 Kings how when the scroll was read in the king’s presence, which many believe to have been what we now know as the book of Deuteronomy, the king was so convicted of the need for religious reform that he immediately instituted a series of changes that abolished idolatrous practices and restored a purity of worship in the land. And so, many scholars contend that Zephaniah’s changed outlook reflects the reforms that King Josiah had brought about.
That’s a plausible suggestion and one that should be taken seriously, especially in light of the time frame for Zephaniah’s ministry. But another suggestion reflects something we see in all the prophets, which is that at some point in every one of their ministries, there is a similar transition from judgment to grace, as the prophets continue to open themselves to fresh discoveries of God’s inscrutable and mysterious ways and come to discover that at the end of the day God does not give up on His people, but instead continues to reach out in His mercy and grace to redeem them and restore them and deliver them from everything that would do them harm.
That certainly seems to have been the discovery Zephaniah made, as in this passage before us this morning, he encourages God’s people to sing and shout and to rejoice with all their hearts, because “the LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.” You are God’s great delight.
What Zephaniah wants us not just to understand but to celebrate is that it’s not enough for us to say that God exists; it’s a deeper expression of our faith to say that He exists for us. He is committed to our salvation. He is not a God who is against us, as if we have to be in constant fear of His wrath. He is instead a God who is for us, and who draws near to us in order to provide for us and to protect us and to shelter us with His mercy and grace. Isn’t this the message God sent Jesus to proclaim – that God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life? As one theologian puts it, while it’s undetermined whether all people believe in the same God, we can be certain that the One God believes in all people. He believes enough in them that He sent Jesus to be the means to their salvation.
Do you see what this means in your life? It means that in times of distress and despair, when your reality looks exceedingly bleak, you don’t need to give in to the anxiety and uncertainty that has crippled so many around you. You can be hopeful about your own future and you can invite others to join you in that spirit of hopefulness because of how our God is with us and is always working on our behalf. The only question is, will we believe enough in God to allow Him to do for us that which He alone can do? Instead of cowering in fear of God’s wrath, can you draw near to Him in gladness and rejoice with all your heart over how in Jesus He has taken great delight in you?
One of the most famous paintings in the world is Michelangelo’s majestic work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel of God reaching down to Adam, the one whom God had formed out of the dust of the earth and in whom He had breathed the very breath of life. Study that painting carefully and you will see that it is God who is doing most of the reaching. God strains with great effort to reach Adam, while Adam, on the other hand, seems rather apathetic about the whole matter and makes only a feeble and weak attempt at reaching back to God.
Perhaps that’s why Zephaniah, upon realizing God’s merciful nature, called upon the people of Jerusalem in reaching back to the God whom he had come to discover was reaching out to him. And that is why I am doing the same this day. God will never give up on you, so don’t you ever give up on God. Trust in Him, look to Him, believe in Him, reverence Him, obey Him. Only then will you be quieted by His love for you in Jesus Christ and find strength in His promise that He wills for you nothing but the very best.