“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. 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. 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.'” Zeph. 3:14-19a
Devotional Thought For The Day
The Lord is relating through the prophet the wonders of His loving grace, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. In that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, there are always legitimate “judgments” against us, and our enemies take delight in pressing whatever they can to plague and afflict us. “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” [1 John 1:8] Chief of these enemies is Satan who is constantly accusing us. However, in His gracious mercy and love, in the gift of His Son, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, God has “taken away the judgments against you; He has cleared away your enemies.” Now, within the fellowship of His people, those who are humble and of a contrite spirit, walking in the light as He is in the light, confessing themselves guilty of all sins as His Word declares us, He also promises and guarantees that “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” [1 John 1:7]
So we rejoice and exult each day that though our sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow. [Is. 1:18] We rejoice that Christ has loved us: He has sanctified us, having cleansed us by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present us to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that we might be holy and without blemish. [Eph. 5:26,27] All of this is by His grace, His mercy, His cleansing, the goodness of His love. So we fear no evil for God is with us, in our midst, “a mighty One Who will save.” What comfort, that though others condemn us and seek our ruin “He will rejoice over you with gladness” – for He has already cleansed us and removed all blemish from us. The arrogant and self-righteous can never understand this, and wonder why their attacks never seem to bear fruit – though they are able to plague and afflict us to some extent. But we trust in God, His gracious love and mercy, and God does indeed quiet us by His love. In fact, despite our sin, our weakness, and our misery God exults over us with loud singing – because we are among those who rejoice in the wondrous gift He has given to us in His Son, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. This is the blessed reality of the life of the church, though there are many who never seem to really get this and understand His love. But for those who do, who truly “walk in the light as He is in the light,” there is fellowship with one another and with God – but only under the cleansing blood of Jesus.
It is quite easy to identify and to point out sin in others. “There is not a just man upon the earth that does good and never sins.” [Eccl. 7:20] Even the wicked know when they have been sinned against – although they hide their own sins, even from themselves, as all hypocrites do. Those who do not understand God’s gracious mercy and love, who take no refuge in His forgiveness and cleansing, consider it a great and “righteous” thing to “expose” and exaggerate the sins of others, like the Scribes and Pharisees loved to do. [Mark 2:23,24] Sadly, many within the “visible church” have infiltrated the fellowship of God’s people for this very purpose. Our sinful nature compels this hypocrisy as well. However, we might want to note that in so oppressing God’s dear people of faith we are acting in direct opposition to what God is doing for His people in Christ, taking away our sin, rejoicing over us, quieting us in His love, and gathering us for His festival [worship], taking away our reproach. Their goal and compulsion is just the opposite of God’s. And so God promises: “I will deal with all your oppressors.” Lord, have mercy! Ultimately these oppressors “expose” themselves – their self-righteous oppression of others is clearly seen as dark rebellion against God, a denial of His gracious love.
The devil is a treacherous foe. It is certain that he tempts and leads people into all manner of sin and vice. It is also certain that he recruits and leads people into grotesque and delusional hypocrisy and sends them into the church to attack, plague, and afflict God’s people of faith, those who are already humbled and repentant, confessing their sins and clinging to God’s gracious forgiveness, mercy, and salvation. Thankfully, the LORD has already resolved to protect His dear people. Our sins are forgiven, our enemies are cleared away, He is comforting and quieting us, He has saved us, He does exult over us, He has gathered us and in the end we will “no longer suffer reproach.” And He will deal with all our oppressors. So let us take care which camp we join – humble believers or self-righteous oppressors. May God bless all of us with the joyful and blessed fellowship of those who take refuge under the blood of Jesus Christ.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, we know the grievous nature of our sin – and we confess that we sin much each day in thought, word, and deed. We recognize that even our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. We confess too our eagerness to point out the sins of others and to oppress them in hypocritical condemnation. Continue to forgive us, to grant us humility and contrition, that we find solace and refuge in Your gracious forgiveness, so that we may be defended by Your power from all our enemies. Grant repentance to our oppressors, and true knowledge of Your love, before You have to deal with them according to their own measure of judgment. Amen.