Zephaniah 3:17 NIV
[17] The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
The verse above follows a different direction from the verses that come before it. God had indicated that He would punish Jerusalem for its sins of rebellion and disobedience to His instructions. Check out the words of God in the earlier verses, and you will know that sin carries huge consequences. We have a God who hates sin but loves the sinner, but it has to be noted that if the sinner persists and dies in sin, it is the sinner who personally receives the punishment for sin, which is eternal separation from God. When I consider what God has provided as the solution to sin, I know that it is my responsibility to take hold of the solution and make Him my Lord and Saviour.
When I have submitted to Him, then the words of today's verse make sense. When the Lord is in charge of my life, He brings me into victory over all that would overpower me. He is called the Mighty Warrior here, which gives a picture of warfare and victory. He does not lose, even if I persist in my own error. He will not abide where there is sin, but He will save to the uttermost all who put their trust in Him. He will take great delight in all who so trust Him, because it means that they recognize His power and grace. Sin brings rebuke and reproach, but why persist in it and end up eternally separated from God, when He has given me a way out? Why remain in sin, when I know where it ends?
When I have surrendered to Him, there is no more rebuke or reproach. His heart rejoices when I surrender all to Him and His love for those who call Him Father knows no limits. That is why the bible refers to the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. The verse above even says that God will rejoice over me with singing. Picture the God of the universe rejoicing this much over His creation, and you get the picture of the value He places on me. He will not let go until the end, or if I reject Him until the end. The message is clear: in God, I have forgiveness and redemption, as well as hope of eternal life. Away from him is endless pain. The choice is clear; He waits for you and I. God's time of favour is here.
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