Fragments of a Song: Zephaniah 3:17
Fragments of a Song: Zephaniah 3:17
Every now and then, I catch the echoes of a song I cannot quite make out. It is a haunting melody with wonderful lyrics, like a song heard in a dream.
Sometimes, in fact, I do hear it in my dreams. More often, I hear it when I am fully awake. Unfortunately, I am rarely fully awake.
Whenever I read Zephaniah 3:17, I realize that this is the song I’m hearing, but that only deepens the mystery.
“ 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.” (NIV)
The Old Testament prophet Zephaniah lived during difficult times for the tiny Kingdom of Judah. There were threats from outside, and oppression from within. He was a descendant of King Hezekiah of Judah, but he was also likely of African descent. (He is described as a “Son of Cush,” which may well mean that he was a black Jew.) The troubled times, and possibly his ethnicity as well, likely made his life difficult. Being royalty is not always good news, particularly in troubled times.
So, it is not surprising that the book of Zephaniah is full of darkness. After the introduction, comes these sweeping words:
“I will sweep everything
from the face of the earth.” (NIV)
The book gets darker and more explicit after that.
Yet the promise of a new dawn comes at the end of the book. And at that new dawn, Zephaniah hears a song, a song of great delight, a song of a mighty warrior. No! It is a song of the Mighty Warrior!
Yet, it is not a song of victory, or a song to taunt a defeated enemy. Rather, it is a love song for exiles, for the oppressed. It is a song of great joy.
Sometimes I hear this melody in a sermon, in a poem, in a song. Sometimes I hear it in an achingly beautiful morning such as this one. Sometimes I hear it when I read, when I study, when I write. Sometimes I hear it when I am trying to obey God. Sometimes I hear it when I have disobeyed, and need to know that I am loved with a “nevertheless” kind of love. I am slowly going deaf, but I still hear snatches of this song.
Every now and then, I catch the echoes of a song I cannot quite make out. It is a haunting melody with wonderful lyrics, like a song heard in a dream.
DTEB
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