The King of Israel

Zephaniah 3:14-20 Since Wilbur Sohn’s funeral this will be the third sermon I have preached on the Spirit’s gift of joy-- which is three more than I have ever preached in my life.  And I have to say that it is has been good for me.

I suppose that I am, to use Garrison Keilor’s terminology, one of those dark Lutherans.  I actually enjoy confessing that I am a poor miserable sinner who deserves God’s temporal and eternal punishment.  Lent is my favorite time of the church year and I think that Advent ought to be a lot more penitential like it was when I was a kid.  My favorite hymn is, “Chief of Sinners Though I Be.”

In other words, joy does not come easily or naturally to me.  But what has been impressed upon me by the Holy Spirit as I have preached on these texts is that joy is an integral part of the life of a child of God—and why not?!

Our King has died and been raised for us to forgive our sins and give us eternal life.  Our King abides with us throughout our life, tenderly providing what we need.  And our King rules over every moment of our lives for our eternal good.  That is why the Bible says:

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. 

            Let’s deal with that word “exult” first.  It means to have an overwhelming feeling of elation and jubilation.  It’s the picture of an Olympic gymnast or figure skater who knows that they had a great routine and then sees a perfect score. Their joy is overwhelming and all-encompassing.

That is the feeling that we are to have as the children of God, knowing that God has delivered us from our enemies. 

When Zephaniah spoke these words, that day was still to come---but it would come!  God would set them free from exile.  He would bring them home.  Once again they would worship in the presence of God in the land he had given them as a promise.

But there was even more.  Zephaniah promised that ALL of God’s judgments would be taken away—that ALL the enemies of the people of God would be destroyed—that God himself would dwell in the midst of ALL his people—both Jew and Gentile.

Those promises were fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  The judgments of God in time and eternity against his sinful people fell upon the Lord Jesus Christ who took our place under God’s wrath, and suffered God’s judgment, and was abandoned by his Father-- so that would never happen to us.  Death and the devil were utterly defeated by Christ’s resurrection.

And from the moment that the second person of the Holy Trinity took upon himself the flesh of humanity, God himself, our Immanuel has abided with mankind. 

Dear friends in Christ, there is simply nothing for us to fear in this life or the next! 

The vast, vast majority of our lives are filled to overflowing with the abundant blessings of God and even when we have to go through some hardship, or face some trial, we have the King’s own promise that in that moment he is working all things for our good—that having already given us Jesus Christ he will withhold no good thing from us.

Hearing this Good News of the King’s victory, why on earth would we not sing aloud and shout for joy and exult with all our heart!?  How can the darkness of living in a dying world overwhelm the light of salvation we have in the Lord Jesus Christ who rejoices over us?!  The Bible says:

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:  “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.  The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.   

For me, the most remarkable part of this text is that the very thing that the Lord desires from his people (singing and exultation and rejoicing over his goodness and mercy and enduring presence) is just exactly his attitude towards us!

Just think about that for a moment!  The Lord rejoices over you with gladness!  The Lord exults over you with loud singing!  We could never imagine such a thing and yet it is true!  This is God’s attitude over you right now! Joy and exultation and singing! 

How is this possible?  How did it come to be that the one, true and living God of the universe even knows that we exist-- to say nothing of this attitude of joy on account of us?

It is all because of the King.  The judgments of God have been taken away!  Our enemies have been destroyed!  We have been reconciled to God! And we have been re-created to be what God intended us to be in the very beginning:  the very pinnacle of his creation and his own dearly loved children.

That is what the King has done for us in his saving work.  He has reconciled us to himself.  He has redeemed us from our enemies.  He has renewed us and restored our fortunes and such is his love for us that he rejoices in our renewal and redemption and reconciliation. 

And so then, if you ever wonder in the midst of some hardship or difficulty or trial what God’s attitude is towards you in that moment, remember these words! lay hold of these words! believe these words! that the living God of the universes loves you beyond anything that you can even begin to imagine and there is no reason whatsoever for you to be discouraged or downcast.

That is what those words, “do not let your hands grow weak” mean—it is a picture of someone who is so overwhelmed that their shoulders are hunched over and their head is bowed down and they no longer even have the strength to lift their hands.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is nothing and no one in this world that has that power over you because you have an eternal Savior king who rejoices over you with gladness and exults over you with loud singing and will quiet your troubled heart with his love.  The Bible says:

I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach.  Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors.  And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. 

            These words of prophecy and promise were spoken during days of exile.  God’s people were separated from all that they knew and loved and held dear.  Their lives in that moment were not everything that they hoped for and they had to look forward and trust in the goodnesss of the King to make things right.

We are very much in the same place-- and oddly enough these festival days at Christmas impress that upon us all the more. 

Often times we are separated from those we love.  There is a dearly loved husband or wife or grandparent who will not be at the table with us this year.  There are family members we are alienated from and that pain is profound.  The reality of our celebrations this year will be very different than what we remember from years past.

But I want you to hear the promise of God:  you will no longer suffer reproach!  You will no longer suffer reproach!  The season of Advent is a season of hope—a season of looking forward with faith and believing the promises of God even when we cannot see how they will be fulfilled.

 And yet they will be fulfilled!  They will!  There is not one thing that that the child of God has ever lost that will not be restored.  There is not one thing that the child of God has ever lacked that will not be given.  There is not one enemy who has ever oppressed the people of God who will not be destroyed by the King in his glory when he stands upon the earth of the Last Day.  The Bible says that:

At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.

            These words were spoken and these promises were made when the Israelites exiled far from home.  They lived in the midst of a culture that did not share their values.  They were surrounded by people who worshiped false gods and persecuted those who believed in the true God.

But the Lord promised that it would not always be that way.  He said that there was a day to come when he would gather his people to himself and that every promise he had ever made would be fulfilled in their midst with blessings overflowing and everlasting.

That promise is made to us too.  We are far, far from our heavenly home.  We are a pilgrim people who are aliens and strangers to a world that does not share our values and our faith.  And yet it will not always be this way.

  On the last day our Savior King will stand upon this earth and call us from our resting places and we will live with him forever in the home that Jesus has prepared for us—a new heaven and a new earth that us unbroken by sin and unburdened by death.  And so then…

Singing and rejoicing and exultation are entirely appropriate to the child of God for we have in the Lord Jesus Christ a King who has defeated our enemies and take away his judgments—a King who abides with us and provides for us—a King who rules all things in heaven and on earth for our good.

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion: shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart.  Amen.