Podcast: http://redemption-clc.podomatic.com/entry/2015-12-16T11_22_01-08_00
Theme: We Rejoice
because God First Rejoiced Over Us
Zephaniah 3:14-17 Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O
Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15
The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of
Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more. 16 In that
day it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands
be weak. 17 The LORD your God is in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He
will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will
rejoice over you with singing."
Christmas is
about joy, right? We’re told to have a “holly, jolly, Christmas” because it’s
the best time of the year. One of our most beloved hymns in the Christmas
season is “Joy to the World.” People go around and look at Christmas lights,
they drink hot chocolate, and travel across the land to be with friends and
loved ones. It all sounds and looks very joyful doesn’t it, and it’s supposed
to.
Why is it then
that Christmas is also one of the most stressful times of the year? And it’s
not just the month of December, it seems that life in general is in a downward
spiral. Just yesterday I saw a sign along the road that said every day 22
veterans lose the battle with suicide. Last month a newspaper article stated
that the Seattle mayor declared a “state of emergency” because of the city’s
homeless population. Depression and anxiety reign around this time of year as
just about every day is rainy and cloudy.
Sometimes it
seems like the Christmas season is the culprit. We’re conditioned by songs, the
media, and tradition that we need to be happy around Christmas. And if we’re
not, it’s easy to feel like you’re left on the outside. When you add your
individual problems to the equation you really get a recipe for depression.
Some of us have nagging health issues. Some of us are in financial trouble.
Some of have estranged friends or family members. We all have questions and concerns about the future. It sure doesn’t
take long for sin and all of its effects to suck the joy out of Christmas. If
we’re hoping for gifts and presents to fill in the void, we’re going to be
sorely disappointed. In fact, the clamoring of earthly possessions only spirals
our attitudes further downward.
In many ways,
Zephaniah’s short prophecy is a microcosm of the Christmas season. There’s a
lot of doom and gloom on the surface but the overall meaning behind it all is
joy. If you read the book of Zephaniah, and it doesn’t take long it’s only 3
chapters, it’s almost entirely a message of judgment on God’s people of Judah.
You might wonder where the hope and joy is that we come to know well in the
Words of Scripture. Our few verses for review today come right at the end, and
they’re just about the only verses that relay any hope.
As we examine this
truth about Zephaniah’s prophecy, we might just throw up our hands and consider
the book worthless and depressing. But that’s not the only way to look at it,
and certainly not the right way. Sometimes God comes to us in life when things
seem the bleakest because He knows that in that moment He can offer the
greatest comfort. Take this picture as an example: If you never fall,
you begin to forget the blessing of standing on solid ground. If you fall once,
you remember for a short time. But if your entire life is a struggle, you begin
to hunger and thirst desperately for deliverance and when you get it, you
appreciate it.
God’s Law
works the same way in our lives. Sometimes God needs to hammer at our stubborn,
sinful hearts with the Law again and again to teach us a valuable lesson. The
more the Law is present in our lives, the more we will be confronted with the
impending curse that comes along with it because of sin. We naturally resist
this because no one likes pain, discomfort, or knowing deep inside that you are
helpless. When we’re confronted with harsh reality of our sins and the “wages
of death” which we have earned through them; it’s the opposite of joy.
This is the
same lesson that stands out so clearly amidst all the thoughts of joy around
Christmas. When the homeless man struggles with sorrow and loneliness, it’s the
same sin that is to blame, but it’s more apparent when others are having such a
wonderful time. If you have a rift in the family, it’s going to feel more
painful than it really is because Christmas is a time for the family. So the
same is true for just about every problem. The holidays accentuate the ailment
of sin because the holidays are meant to be joyful.
Of course, in
many ways these problems are our own fault. On several fronts the general
purpose and substance of the Christmas season has been taken hostage by greed
and materialism. People set up expectations for themselves and others that joy
comes from earthly things like: money, and gifts, and packing the most fun into
my day. When the veteran contemplates ending it all, he does so partly because
he feels worthless because he can’t live up to the many of the expectations for
joy that are thrust upon him by secular society. Because he, and others like
him, feel like they don’t fit the mold they look for ways to get out of the
system.
What a painful
web of wickedness is spun when the sinful heart gains control of life. We see a
similar parallel in the life of God’s people roughly 650 years before the
Savior would be born. They lived on their whims of their own hearts without a
clue of the truth. They redefined God’s righteous commandments to fit their
immoral ways. They committed spiritual adultery in the heart by blending into
the world around them, instead of standing out as lights to the dark world. And
they paid the price.
Not just the
price of captivity, that would indeed come later at the hands of the
Babylonians. No, the price we’re talking about is the same one that is present
so abundantly at this time of year in our land – the lack of true joy.
The somewhat depressing tone of Zephaniah’s book was not God’s doing. His
judgment was meant as a cleansing, as He so often had to do with His people,
and as He has had to do with us many times. The lack of true joy came from the
peoples’ sins. It’s the same place all pain, hardship, depression, and the like
have originated from the beginning of the Fall.
Think of how easy
it would have been for Zephaniah and his people to give up at the prospect of
their sins. They had no Savior yet, to their understanding. The majority had
given up on using God’s Word and receiving His blessings on the regular Sabbath
worship. Judgment was upon them right now, and a captivity was coming in the
future. Think of God’s prophet in particular. Not only had the people gone
astray, they didn’t want to listen to the direct revelation of truth given from
God. Zephaniah captured the mood pretty well with these words from chapter 1: The great day of the LORD is near; It is
near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; There the
mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and
distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and
gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness (Zephaniah 1:14-15). Pretty
easy to have a low sense of self-esteem in such a setting. And pretty easy to
give up any hope of joy.
And yet, God’s
final message to Zephaniah and His people is to “Shout with joy!” All
throughout the book, the reader is led to despair. Think how much more the
actual people involved in it were! And yet, the final emphasis is hope and joy.
And the reason matters too. Tell anyone who is struggling that you can
offer hope and joy and they’ll ask how. Simply saying it over and over again
isn’t good enough. Judah’s hope centered on the Lord. He would be among them.
He would quiet them with His love, and He would rejoice over them. There you
have the answer to the question of true joy. It starts and stays with God. Just
as we learn in the simple passage the “We
love God because He first love us,” so also we see that we rejoice
because God rejoices over us first.
The depth of
the disaster that would befall Judah made an impact, as it needed to. But that
was all part of God’s almighty plan. It’s not that God desires to see His
people suffer, rather it’s that He is able to use even that to produce a good
result. The good result for Judah was a lesson learned once again. There is no
hope for those who are independent of God. The world’s allures and temptations
of joy and pleasure are hollow. Life with God is in His Word. To be brought
closer to those truths, to build the trust of faith in God alone is the best
result for anyone’s life, no matter how it comes to pass. And it’s the only
source of joy that lasts.
For us, the
same lesson must be learned, and therefore the hardships will come our way. Even
though the majority of our lives may feel like they’re filled with sadness and
disappointment, the only thing that matters is the end. We repeat with Judah
the eternal refrain of joyful worship in the Lord’s presence. But the really
special thing is this: the singing and the rejoicing can begin now. We
don’t have to wait any longer than Judah did the moment Zephaniah spoke these
words from God. Yes, captivity under sin looms on the horizon just like
captivity from Babylon. Yes, there will be days when the gloom and doom of sin
fills the majority of our thoughts, just as the majority of Zephaniah’s book
was about judgment.
But the source
of our joy is the same. It’s found in God’s presence among us, even if it is as
small as an infant in a manger. We suffer from the same things Judah suffered
from, but we also rejoice in the same One – Jesus; our Immanuel, “God with us.”
That is the true joy of Christmas. It’s kind of like the story of the Grinch.
Christmas joy is not trimmings and packages, boxes or bags. It’s not even in the
rare, “Roast Beast.” But it’s not about holding hands together and just singing
about joy either, as the famous story ends. Our song as Christians rings much
louder and for much longer, because our song of victory is in Jesus.
That’s the joy
we rejoice in and the joy we share; and nothing can take it away. Not the
weather, not the hollow expectations of the season, not loneliness, not
depression, not even rifts between brother or sister or parent and child. The
world and the sin that ensnares it no longer dictates what you must be or how
you must feel. “The LORD has taken away
your judgments, and He has cast out your enemy.” You are safe, you are
loved, and your God rejoices over you.
Amen.
The peace of
God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus. Amen.
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