God's Joy Over You

Zephaniah 3:17 says, "The LORD your God 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." Though this was written with Israel in mind, Zephaniah 3:17 refers to the Millennial Kingdom and easily carries over to all of God's people. In fact, verse 17 is apparently spoken to them by the Gentile believers: "In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: 'Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak'" (v. 16). Instead, they are to lift their hands in triumph because the Lord is with them.

Know first of all, that God is with you: "The LORD your God in your midst" (v. 17a). The Lord God is here referred to as "The Mighty One" (v. 17b). He is indeed mighty. He is all-powerful. He is the Savior, the One who "will save" (v. 17b). As God's people, you can rejoice because the Lord destroys the wicked, and in so doing, He saves the righteous.

As your all-powerful Savior, "He will rejoice over you with gladness" (v. 17c). The Lord God delights in His people. All of God's people are the object of His great love, not His wrath. The millennium will be a time of peace for God's people. They will rejoice! But more than that, God will rejoice over you His people, because you are His heart's delight.

Also, the Lord God "will quiet you with His love" (v. 17d), or "in his love he will no longer rebuke you" (NIV). This carries the idea of God being silent as to your faults, not imputing them against you, It is that calm silent joy that you experience when in the presence of the one you love. That is how the Lord your God feels toward you.

This great love God has for you gives way to singing: "He will rejoice over you with singing" (v. 17e). God's joy, expressed in His singing over you, comes straight from His delight that you His chosen people are with Him in that land because you are under His blessing.

Throughout this verse, we respond to God. We rejoice with singing because He first rejoiced over us with singing. This is the only place where God is mentioned as singing, except when Jesus sang a hymn with His disciples after dinner the night He was betrayed. The message is: Rejoice because God rejoices over you. Trust Him fully in all things. Amen.