Can we believe that God is carrying on a war against all sinners? He is, of course, according to the scriptures. Jeremiah gives us pictures of God attacking his sinful people in the form of that mysterious Foe from the North (Jeremiah chapters 4-6). Ezekiel declares that there is a breach in our wall of defense, caused by our sin, and that the role of a true prophet is to go up into that breach and by sacrifice and intercession, turn aside God's attack (Ezekiel 13:5). Earlier in Zephaniah, the prophet portrays the Day of the Lord when God the Warrior attacks all the sinful inhabitants of earth (Zephaniah 1:14-18). And in the New Testament, we are told that Christ is "destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:24-26). God hates sin, according to the scriptures, and he wars against every sinner.
To announce salvation to Israel therefore, Second Isaiah declares to her that "her warfare is ended" (Isaiah 40:2), that is, her warfare with God. And so too here in our Zephaniah text, the battle has been stilled, because God has cast out all of his enemies and left for himself a faithful and humble remnant (Zephaniah 3:11-13). The fourth line of verse 17 reads in the Hebrew, "He will hold his peace in his love," and the reference is to the war cry of God in 1:14. No longer does he shout as he enters into battle with his foes. The shouts and clang of battle have been stilled and there is peace, because God has defeated his enemies.
That is a picture of the future in Zephaniah, a time that will come "on that day" (v. 16). That phrase is found in most of the prophetic writings, and it always refers to an indefinite time in God's future, when he completes his work on earth and brings in his universal rule.
Further, says the Hebrew text of 17b, on that day God will be in the midst of his people, "a Mighty Man to save." No longer will he come to us in war, but his presence with us will be as a God of salvation, as a God of peace, who resides in the midst of his faithful folk.
Surely that is a cause of the rejoicing for which our text calls in 3:14. No longer will God be against us, but we will have peace with God -- peace that passes all understanding and that the world can neither give nor ever take away. That is a cause for singing and rejoicing and exulting, because we are totally dependent on God. Zephaniah 1:12 quotes those people who say that God does nothing, but to the contrary, our very lives are in God's hands.
God is our Creator who breathed the breath of life into our nostrils in the first place, and who now sustains the regular pumping of our lungs in and out. God is the Maker who set the creation into order and who now sustains its every process by his faithfulness. Were he to leave the universe alone, it would collapse into chaos. God is he who gives us all the good gifts of life, of food and clothing, teaches Jesus, and even of our ability to have children and our families, adds Hosea (9:11-14). God is the Lord of love, who accompanies us daily, who constantly forgives us and guides us and strengthens us on our way. He keeps us from falling into temptation and constantly points out the way to life abundant. He draws near to us when we are in distress, and carries us in his everlasting arms. When we rely on his loving action in our lives, he sometimes gives us the power to soar up on wings like eagles and to run and not be weary. But always he gives us the ability to walk steadfastly forward, day by day. In his loving action, we find our security, and in his promises we have our hope for the future, knowing that nothing in all creation and not even death can separate us from the love he has for us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, for all of these reasons, we rejoice and exult because God is present in our midst in peace, coming to us not as an enemy but as our everlastingly faithful Friend.
Not only do we rejoice over God's peaceful presence in our midst, however. Our text from Zephaniah also tells us that the Lord rejoices over us, celebrating because he can be in our company. That is an almost unimaginable thought that Zephaniah gives us in verse 17 -- that God exults and sings because he can be with us. Can you imagine that? The God who rules the universe is glad that he can be with you! The King of all the ages is made happy by his fellowship with us! Us! You and me, little incidents in the span of time, a cause for the eternal God to rejoice!
Could it be that is what God has wanted all along? That he created us in the first place for no reason at all except that his love produced us? And that he has desired nothing else except to make us into his people -- a faithful people with whom he could enter into covenant fellowship; a trusting people to whom he could pour out good gifts; a loving people who would answer to his love with our own love for him?
When we look at the Son of God in the New Testament we find that all that is true. For Christ is the one who has given us peace with God, isn't he? He is the one who has defeated our enemies, our sin and death. By his death on the cross and his resurrection, he has given us back our lives, stilled God's warfare against us and made us new creatures. Christ is now the Son of God who dwells in our midst, in whom we find our joy and sure hope for the future.
To be sure, the full promise of this Zephaniah text awaits its fulfillment. We still flirt with sin every day and cause our Lord to grieve rather than to rejoice. We forget that he has conquered sin and that we could be rid of it. We still fear our death and the death of those whom we love, forgetting that the Lord Christ has conquered death and that in faith we can share his eternity. The remnants of evil still haunt our world, and many do not rejoice. Many even do not welcome the presence of Jesus Christ in their midst.
But the full promise comes, good Christians. It surely comes. Zephaniah gives us a picture of what that time will be like, and Jesus Christ has guaranteed its coming. So already, now, in this interim time, we can share in the gladness, knowing that in the Kingdom of God, this is the joy that lies out there ahead of us.