Here is Zephaniah’s vision of “God with us”
Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 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. – Zephaniah 3:14-15 (ESV)
Zephaniah calls for rejoicing and singing when God comes to be among his people. The birth of our Savior is about God becoming flesh and dwelling among us us. What does it look like when God comes? The prophet says, ” he has cleared away your enemies.” This is more than a birthday – it is the day of God’s victory over our enemies. Our enemies of evil and death were destroyed through the death and resurrection of our Lord.
Because our enemies have been defeated, we have no need to fear evil, for the King of Israel, the Lord, is in our midst. We our not a people to be caught up with the media driven fear mongering, for we have the Prince of Peace as our Lord. We do not rush to our guns for our security – we remember that God is with us through the power of the Holy Spirit. As the Psalmist says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”
But also, “he has taken away the judgments against you.” What judgments? Earlier in the passage, the prophet rails against unfaithful Israel, calling her rebellious and defiled, “she listens to no voice, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the LORD; she does not draw near to her God.” The prophet calls for repentance and humility or else judgement: “I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain.” When God come to be with his people, he will forgive the sins of the humble, and remove the judgment against them and will leave a contrite people that will “seek refuge in the name of the LORD.”
So sing aloud and rejoice this week, God has come and he is in our midst!
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