It has been a long time since I read the book of Zephaniah. When I did so some weeks ago, I found this beautiful verse that God, in his love, will give his people new life. One can hardly believe that God will sing and be joyful over the people who have forsaken him. To understand why this is so, we need to know something about the era and circumstances in which the prophet operated.

 

According to the first verse of this book, Zephaniah received his calling in the time when Josiah was king, approximately 640 B.C. It was probably at the very beginning of Josiah’s reign and before he started his big reforms of all religious practices. Josiah’s father, Amon, and his grandfather, Manasseh, brought idolatry into Israel. This was the reason that God wanted to destroy everything and this was the message that Zephaniah had to bring to the people of Judah.

 

Fortunately, this was not the whole message. God will not completely destroy his people. He is planning a new dispensation for a remnant of Israel, for those who will turn away from idolatry and come back to the Lord. In our verse from today, God made a promise that his power will give them victory. He is actually pictured as a warrior who will save them from destruction.

 

The translation of this verse is not easy. Other translations, instead of saying God in his love will give them new life, say that God will quiet them with his love. I have read different Bible commentaries on this verse and to me, the most satisfying explanation is that God loves them so much that he will take away their fear when the time of danger arrives and after that, he will give them new life. I see in my mind’s eye a picture of a Father who is holding the hand of his little child when danger threatens and walking forward to a new life when the danger has passed.

 

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that I can walk hand in hand with you in times of danger. Amen