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Zephaniah
Zephaniah 3:17

It is often the case that preachers begin a sermon with an illustration; something to prepare the people better to receive and understand the point of the passage to be preached. It usually functions like a person introducing two people. 'Steve, I'd like you to meet Susan.' In our case, I, as a preacher, say in effect to you: 'Congregation, I'd like you to meet Zephaniah chapter 3.' And then as most personal introductions go, I would say something initially about the passage I am introducing. As I might offer a uniting comment that 'Susan, like you Steve, also is interested in gardening,' I would do the same with the passage of Scripture.

But this morning, I have no real illustration to introduce you to what the passage is all about. I can only offer you, as I have, an illustration to illustrate that I cannot first illustrate.

All I can really say at this point is this: 'Congregation, I'd like you to meet a phrase in Zephaniah 3:17, the particular phrase of the verse that reads (in the NASB), 'He will be quiet in His love.' I cannot offer a uniting comment like one would do for Steve and Susan. To do so, in the case of this passage, is to get the cart before the horse. Or to continue an illustration I'm not supposed to be giving, 'Steve, I'd like you to meet this woman. I don't know her name, but I'd like you to meet her anyway. So, here she is, and maybe her name is Susan. For all I know, she might like gardening, too.' This morning we have to find out the name of this person, as it were. We must find out how we should translate the verb. Even though our Bibles have done it, there is great variety among Bible versions. And even if I was to pick one of them, I, and therefore you, would miss other faith-building, soul-comforting nuances.

The King James Version reads, 'He will rest in His love.'

Both the New International and New King James version read, 'He will quiet you with His love.'

The New American Standard says, 'He will be quiet in His love.' (The old ASV, 'be silent')

The marginal reading of the NASB also offers, 'He will renew you in His love' (which agrees with the Revised Standard version and is based on the Greek translation of the OT)

Now a simple survey like this of these common versions reveals some of the difficulty. I.e., how do you best translate the verb? Rest? Quiet? Be quiet or silent? Or renew? Does God 'rest in His love,' 'make quietness or silence in His love,' 'be quiet or silent in His love,' or 'renew in His love?' All these are exegetically sound, and each fits with the context.

Translation differences noted, and as we uncover the soul-comforting nuances of them, we can (and should) embrace this major comfort from the passage: The Lord relates to us in His love. That much is very clear, whatever the translation of the verb. The Lord relates to us in His love. The 'us' are all who have taken refuge at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ from the storm of God's wrath against their sin. Such have heard the thunder and seen the lightning of God's law. Such have heard the verdict, 'Guilty!' Such have known that they are now but a worm and not a man' (Psalm 22:6). Such know the flames of hell as their reward for sin. And such have not only felt the jabs of the Holy Spirit as He prodded them with the sharp points of God's Word to flee this wrath to come, but moreover have heard the call of Christ in the gospel to turn to a place of safety. And so they've come to Calvary for refuge, to Jesus Himself, in whom is plenteous redemption, by whom God has demonstrated His own love, in that while they were yet helpless sinners, Christ died for them.

So I ask you at the outset, are you there, where they crucified the Lord? You must not deceive yourself with false hopes that 'God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life' apart from submission to Jesus beginning at the foot of the cross. Are you there, where they crucified the Lord?

If you are, broken but healed, poor but made rich, then you know it is true that the Lord relates to you in His love. It is a major comfort that the Lord relates to us, not in His anger, not in His wrath, not in the fury of His justice, but in His love. Sometimes, for various reasons, we lose sight of that. And yet from this text, God reminds us of His great love for us in Jesus Christ.

The love in which God relates to His people, the 'love' of which Zephaniah spoke, is here a love that is an affectionate love. It is intensely affectionate and consists of much delight and joy.

In this very way, Abraham loved Isaac, his only son (Genesis 22:2). It is the kind of love Jacob had for Rachel, a love that despite seven years of labor to shifty Laban, 'seemed like a few days because of his love for her' (Genesis 29:20). It is the love Jacob had for Joseph above the other sons that he would present him with a special tunic (Genesis 37:3). It is the love Jonathan had for David, 'loving him as himself,' in fulfillment of the law (1 Samuel 18:3 with Leviticus 19:18). For those of you discouraged with your gardens this year, it is the love Uzziah had for the Judean soil that he appointed vinedressers and plowmen throughout the fields and hill country (2 Chronicles 26:10). It even reaches to Isaac's love for a savory dish of meat taken from the field (Genesis 27:4).

Don't you also love a thick, juicy steak cooked medium-rare with portabello mushrooms freely spilled over the top? (I don't mean to offend any of you vegetarians). Don't you also love rich, dark soil bringing forth fragrant roses, black-eyed susans, coneflowers, and bee balm? Don't you just love blessing your little ones with special gifts as they go about life with such simplicity and joy? Do you still have, those of you that are married, that affectionate love to your spouse? There is in all these things great, brimming delight. And if you could multiply that intensity of affection by infinity you begin to see something of God's intense, affectionate love for you, His people.

And so knowing the intense, affectionate love of God as the manner in which He relates to us His people in Jesus Christ, consider four features of the Lord relating to us in His love according to Zephaniah 3:17.

1. He rests in His love

2. He is quiet in His love

3. He quiets in His love

4. He renews in His love

But after the Lord would spend His wrath, beginning at 3:9 the Lord offered promise after promise of how He would deal in His kindness and love, purifying and gathering His people (vv.9-10), removing their shame and pride (vv.11-13), and testifying of His presence among and joy over them (vv.14-20). After He had dealt with them in His wrath, He then would rest from that in His love. Note the parallel to the beginning of v.17, the Lord as 'a victorious warrior' now at 'rest' from His work of war and at rest in His love.

It should be seen in terms of a soldier. His love of country, love of family, love of home and way of life, compel him to rise to the occasion to defend his vulnerable, threatened loves. And so off he goes, armed for battle. He enters in, fighting, sweating, bleeding, longing, weakening. He becomes wounded. But at last he with all his fellow soldiers, having fought the battle, then gains the victory. His courage and bravery, sometimes bordering on sheer heroism, have brought about a sweet and treasured reward. And so back he goes to country, family, home, and usual way of life to rest in that which he loves. As Charles Spurgeon said in this vein, 'the very same thing that drove him to labor now makes a couch for his head; that which made him strong in the day of battle makes him joyous in the hour of victory.' Having subdued the forces that threaten his loves, he can but only rest in his loves.

And that is but a picture of the love of God in Jesus Christ. As a warrior, He went forth from eternity to conquer the forces of hell. There was the Lord, come for His people: fitted as a soldier, though in mere human covering; born of a woman; lain in a feeding trough; and as He grew, His life brought fully in subjection to God's Law. There He was: anointed by the Spirit, tempted and buffeted by the devil, scorned by His countrymen, betrayed by a disciple, and forsaken by others. There He was: the lone sheep to be slaughtered, on whose white coat was lain the black iniquity of sinners. And in the fierceness of the battle, He was wounded with thorns on His scalp, nails in His hands and feet, wounds, in the case of Christ, that brought His death. But though the battle seemed to turn in Satan's favor, and that the Contender was defeated, there was then a stirring in the camp of the dead: One who had the keys of Death and Hades came forth declaring victory!

It was love that moved the Lord to undergo all these things. [Love moved God to predestine the elect to adoption as sons (Ephesians 1:4). Love moved God to give His only begotten Son (John 3:16). Love moved Christ to lay down His life for His friends (John 15:13). An everlasting love moves God to draw those to Himself whom He will save (Jeremiah 31:3). In love God grants repentance and faith. God's love sustains the humbled sinner throughout his life and then ushers him into the fullness of glory in the next.] We can surely agree with what the Apostle John wrote of Jesus, that 'having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the uttermost,' to the fullest extent: eternity (John 13:1).

And so 'the One who has entered His rest has Himself also rested from His works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest' (Hebrews 4:9-11a). Although it was the case that many an OT priest sat down on the job, it was never the case that an OT priest sat down after the job, for they could not accomplish their work in full. But the greatest High Priest, 'when He had made purification of sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,' having said, 'It is finished' (Hebrews 1:3 with John 19:30). And so the Lord Jesus, like the victorious soldier of the illustration, now rests in His love, having accomplished the work He was sent to do.

And so there is in Zephaniah's words an invitation to enter this rest. Is your soul weary of sin? Is it weak and tired because of sin? Where will you bring it? To the One who said, 'Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls' (Matthew 11:28-29). You must flee to Christ if you are to be released from the tiring burdens of sin. There you will find rest.

And you can rest in His love when you believe that He now not only rests in His love for you, but moreover in His love - and only in His love - relates to you who believe. He relates to you in His love because He rests in His love. There will never be a time when His love will turn away from you, however many people theologically believe to the contrary! Let God be true and every man a liar: nothing is able 'to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus' (Romans 8:39). He is the 'friend who sticks closer than a brother' (Proverbs 18:24). Many waters cannot quench His love, nor rivers overflow it' (Canticles 8:7).

To paraphrase the great Augustine, 'the love of God for His people is greater than their love for their sin.' Child of God - what is the choicest, meatiest, juiciest, gooiest, most savory sin your heart yet cherishes? Is it the praise of men? Christ loves you more than you love that. Is it lustful thoughts or desires? Christ loves you more than you love that. Is it power, control, or wealth? Christ loves you more than you love those. Your sin cannot defeat the love of Christ, because He has conquered sin by His love and now rests in that love!

And since it is the case that Jesus 'rests in His love,' and we by faith can rest in His resting in His love, how right it is for us to do the same in terms of our deeds. 'Remain in My love,' He says. He continues, 'If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love' (John 15:9-10).

Is your soul weary and tired, in need of rest? You must go to Him who Himself rests in His love, lay hold of that rest, and therein draw strength to run the race, to fight the good fight, to finish the course; to persevere in obedience to the end.

And so since the Lord rests in His love toward us, we must rest in Him and remain in His love with obedience.

But if we were to follow another translation (NASB), we would say, He is quiet in His love.

At first glance, this is difficult to see from the context of v.17. Note the line immediately after. It speaks of the Lord 'rejoicing' over His people with 'shouts of joy.' Quiet in His love? Sounds pretty loud. Is God really 'quiet in His love?'

God is quiet in His love, as much as the context appears otherwise. If you think quietness of love does not fit with loudness of joy, I ask you: Is it not the case that thunder follows lightning? Can it not be that the lightning of God's quietness in love is followed by the thunderclap of His exultant joy? Is it not the case that a wave of the sea must first gather momentum - quietly and almost imperceptibly - before it crashes against the sands of the shore? Can it not be that the crashing wave of God's exultant joy is first preceded by the momentum gathered in a sea of silent love?

That is much like the order of v.17 - loudness following silence; quietness preceding shouts of joy. Yes, the Lord is quiet in His love. In fact, this is the usual translation of the Hebrew word (kharash). It refers to being silent; not making a sound. It carries the sense, rather often, of 'keeping quiet' or 'holding one's peace,' like the Christmas Eve creatures there deep in the house, not one of them stirring, not even a mouse. Silence - like the Psalmist about his sin (Psalm 32:3), or when he called on God to 'not be silent' about his enemies (Psalms 83:1 or 109:1).

One reputable commentator (Keil) put this idea of 'quietness' in this way, 'Silence in [God's] love is an expression used to denote love deeply felt, which is absorbed in its object with thoughtfulness and admiration.' Yes, there it is! A love 'deeply felt, absorbed in its object with thoughtfulness and admiration.' That is a quiet love.

A parent knows just this toward his or her little child. Your child is going about his or her business playing with whatever toys are attracting his attention. He has on that outfit you love most. He talks to himself about his toys. He then sings a refrain of a song to which only he knows the words. And then he moves on to another toy, moves it this way, then that way. Tries to combine toy K with toy W. And then he crawls across the room to see what item X does, and then back again to see if toy W missed him. And all the while you're there in the doorway quietly looking on. You don't dare say a word, lest you distract him from the beauty of the moment he is creating, and you both are enjoying. Your brimming smile reveals a quietness in your love.

And that is the quiet love of God toward you, His children - 'deeply felt, absorbed in its object with thoughtfulness and admiration' - as it were, God standing in the doorway of your life looking on with an intensely affectionate, quiet love as you go about your life.

And if you have ears to hear it, it even continues through your sinning. What was that that Augustine said? 'God loves His children more than they love their sins.' I remind you that if God demonstrated His own love toward us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8), how much more since we are His children?

Did not our Lord Jesus reveal something of this quiet love to the woman caught in adultery? There she was surrounded by corrupt, adulterating religious leaders; accusations on their lips, stones almost in their hands, yet guilt in their lives. 'What do You say?' they ask Him. And there was the Lord, silently writing on the ground. And ending their persistence, He rose to say, 'He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her,' stooping again to write silently in the ground until they, under obvious conviction, went away one by one from the eldest to the youngest. And straightening say to the woman, 'Where are they? Did no one condemn you? Neither do I condemn you. Go. From now on, sin no more' (John 8:5-11).

It is a quietness of love that looks on a guilty sinner and yet withdraws condemnation! But then again, 'God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him' (John 3:17). And it was in the quietness of that moment, that the woman was touched by the quiet love of grace.

And did not our Lord Jesus again reveal a quietness in His love toward His denying disciple, Peter? There was Peter, following the arrested Christ 'at a distance' (Luke 22:54). And after making his way to the courtyard where Christ was being questioned, there was Peter, questioned once, then twice, then a third time of his relation to the Lord, and each time answering with a resounding 'No!,' the last time sealing it with curses. And there he was, continuing to speak, interrupted only by the crow of a rooster. But just before that very moment the text says, 'The Lord turned and looked at Peter' (Luke 22:61). Immediately before the prophecy was to ring true, as the final denial was coming through his lips, there was the Lord with precision timing ready to look quietly on Peter, who though now locally close, was in reality still distant. No word is recorded coming from Jesus' lips. Only a look, a quiet look.

Indeed, the Lord is quiet in His love! And even though the Lord is quite disgusted by our sins, in love He quietly resists condemning us in our sins. Instead He sanctifies us amidst our sins. You and I and all who know the Lord Jesus in truth know very well that there have been plenty of times when we have been overwhelmed with guilt. There may be times when you sin presumptuously and intentionally. And the flame of devotion dwindles and there is only an occasional flicker. You give off more smoke than heat. Your coals turn from bright red-orange to a dull gray. And it is at that point, when because of your disobedience and grieving of the Spirit, your assurance wanes. You may question your salvation. You lose confidence in Christ. And the chastening of the Lord seems to us anger, when, in fact, it is still love. It is the love of a Father chastening the son He loves so intensely and affectionately. He is not condemning the son he loves, for He has already rested from His work of love in 'condemning sin in the flesh.'

The Lord is quiet in His love! While being reviled, did He not refrain from reviling in return, uttering no threats, and entrusting Himself to God (1 Peter 2:23)? Was He not 'silent before His shearers' (Isaiah 53:7)? Even amidst the antagonistic questioning of the high priest, 'Jesus kept silent' (Matthew 26:62-63). The Lord is quiet in His love. He has spent His wrath on Christ. He has no more to bring upon you. In the quietness of His love, Jesus was silent before men that you would be safe before God. So, resisting to condemn you in your sins, He prefers to chasten you in His love. Desiring not to crush you in your sins, He intends to cleanse you from your sins.

And if there is still any doubt that the Lord is quiet in His love, then let us ask Elijah. His response is this, 'The Lord was not in the strong wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire. But after the fire, there He was in the gentle blowing of a whispering wind wherein He encouraged me in a low valley of my ministry' (1 Kings 19). There was Elijah, scared silly of Jezebel, running for his life, thinking he was left all alone as the only faithful prophet in Israel. But there was God, 'in the wilderness speaking comfortably' to Elijah in the quiet of a blowing breeze [see Hosea 2:14].

It is written of the Lord: 'A bruised reed He will not break, nor a dimly burning wick extinguish' (Isaiah 42:3). The Lord Jesus is 'quiet in His love.'

What is a fitting response but that there be 'silence before Him and praise in Zion' (Psalm 65:1)? 'My soul, wait in silence for God only' (Psalm 62:5). To think that God is quiet toward us in our sins, that He not only can, but does, 'deal gently with the ignorant and misguided since He Himself was beset with weakness;' that He is not only able but does, in fact, come to the aid of those who are tempted' (Hebrews 5:2; 2:18)! That should lead every recipient of that love to an affectionately intense, but quiet, reverence and awe! 'The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him' (Habakkuk 2:20). A Savior quiet in His love makes for a saint quiet in His manner.

But furthermore, and toward even greater consolation and comfort:

The Lord quiets in His love. He rests in His love, and is quiet Himself in His love. But another feature is that He quiets us in His love. The Hebrew verb is in a causative form, i.e., it could be seen that quiet or silence is caused or brought about in the verb's object; the Lord quiets His people in His love. And for this reason, it is legitimate to translate it as the NIV or NKJV has, 'He will quiet you with His love.' He will cause quiet to become a reality in the people of God.

And what is the assumption here, but that there is in fact noise, chaos, unrest, and commotion even in us who believe? Is that not often the case in your own soul, or experience? You get worked up, worked out, and worked over; not just in terms of your body, but your soul; not merely physically, but spiritually. We are too often like the duck: calmly smiling our way across the beautiful waters of life, but underneath paddling with great fervor and motion. Our souls are often on edge, defensive, sensitive, anxious, and clamorous - like the banging of pots and pans.

When will God hear my prayers? Why am I going through such difficult straits? Why do I frequently fall during temptation? Am I really a Christian? I committed that sin for the umpteenth time this week! Why can't my spouse just see what I mean, or do as I see it? It irritates me when I'm not taken seriously!

But in all these things - for those of you wrestling with restlessness, and anxious in your anxiety - in all these things, and more, there is a Lord who has quietness for your qualms and silence for your stormy seas. He is the One who says, 'Hush, be still!' and the sea becomes calm.

Our situations, and the way in which God ministers to us in them, is often like that which a father or mother encounters at approximately 2:48 a.m. Sound sleep is suddenly shattered by the voice of an infant crying at the top of its lungs. And arising from the bed, faster than the speed of light, (because no one can find the silly thing), she jolts awake as though Alaskan waters were just dumped on her (in the interest of honesty, you'll notice the pronoun 'she'). And opening into a dark scary room with grotesque but unseen monsters suddenly rushing back into their corners, the mother takes the baby in her arms with ever a gentle bounce, ever a soothing combination of pats and caresses on the back, and a quiet blowing of a whispering 'shhhhhhh,' the child is quieted. Elijah's 'wind' softly blows once again.

That is what Judah experienced. They were anxious about God's chastening (v.15), anxious about their enemies (v.15), anxious of calamity (v.15), and in their anxiety utterly debilitated spiritually (v.16). And not only this, but they grieved about no longer having joy and festivity (v.18) due to their oppression (v.19). I don't know about you, but that sounds a lot like the experience of a Christian in the school of sanctification. Are you internally 'noisy' about the manner in which your Christian life is going? The way God seems to relate to you? The course your children may be taking? How things will pan out for them? Whether there will be relief from the pains, hurts, and struggles you know so well?

What is the Lord's quieting love in noisy scenarios like these? How does it play out? By what He said to the people as they were faithlessly gawking at the enormity of the Red Sea, 'The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent' (Exodus 14:14)! What a strategy! He fights and we keep quiet. Ah, finally, there is an easy way to deal with our troubles! Or is it? Whenever faced with trials of faith - with whatever variety or intensity they may come - you will always be tempted not to keep silent, not to be calmed or quieted by the Lord's loving 'shhhh.' It seems better just to gossip, to slander, to backbite, to complain, or to criticize. It seems more strategic to manipulate people rather than patiently stand back, wait, and see God work in them. It seems easier to do something to 'help the Lord along' rather than quietly and prayerfully entrust others, our trials, and even ourselves to God.

But the Lord calls us to 'keep silent.' And how are we brought to that point but by having a clear vision of the all-surpassing glory and greatness of Him who calls us to that; that by seeing Him for who He is - the God who quiets in His love - we can do none other than keep our silence, hold our peace, and watch our God! The Lord who would have us 'keep silent' is the same who makes us quiet, for He quiets in His love. And since the Lord quiets in His love, we can silence ourselves as He does valiantly on our behalf. And so it is comforting to the anxious soul that the Lord rests, that the Lord is quiet, and that the Lord quiets in His love. Finally, the Lord renews in His love. So says the RSV and the margin of the NASB, with witness of the Greek translation of the OT. What else would be the effect of what Zephaniah spoke but to renew and revive the Jews to embrace the promises of God for their future - the return to the land, the rebuilding of the temple, the coming of Messiah?! They would be chastened under a Babylonian rod, but strengthened under a renewing God because the Lord renews in His love.

Occasionally, when I visit my in-laws place, Dorian and I usually watch HGTV (House and Garden Television). We love to watch shows on interior design and the like. We always enjoy seeing 'before and after' shots. (Some of you may be familiar with furniture restoration and the like). I find it fascinating when they show, say, a piece of furniture, or a room that was refurbished or renovated. What formerly was layered with coats of ugly, thick, chipped lead paint goes through a long and arduous process of stripping and sanding to get back to the original wood. And then maybe a fine stain is applied. It is clean, sleek, beautiful. Or if you've been watching This Old House Wednesday evenings on PBS, they've been featuring the renovation of a 1920's Cape Cod mansion back to its original design and layout. After years of neglect, and former owners turning the mansion into an apartment complex, the current owners are returning it to its original luster and blueprint. A huge undertaking, with great expense, time, and labor commitments to bring the house to its full, beautiful character and design.

That's the idea behind the Greek word (kainizw). It refers to a freshening of the quality of something, renewal if you will. And that is an idea Zephaniah communicates. The Lord, in His love, is step by step renewing every child of His to the image of Christ. He is stripping back layers of sin and unbelief, sanding away patterns of ungodly behavior, applying the stain of grace and the sealant of the Holy Spirit, renovating the misfigured rooms of your life to their right pattern in Christ.

And oh, 'the inconvenience it is to us!' we say in our weakness. 'When will it be done, and things settle down, these workmen leave…?' But is that the mindset of faith? Many a homeowner says that in their frustration, but it is never the case when the homeowner is utterly enamored with the picture he has of what it will look like upon completion. Our picture is Christ! Is your gaze upon Him, or upon the 'workmen?' Is your concentration on the hope of glory to come, or upon the mess and clutter of the tools and means of sanctification? What Paul said to the Colossians is true for each of you who believe in Christ for salvation, you have 'put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him' (Colossians 3:10). And though trouble will find us, though temptation may dog us, though sin may trip us, and though the devil seek to destroy us, 'we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day' (2 Corinthians 4:16). This is a reality about us and in us, because the Lord renews in His love. And one day, one day this love of God will bring about the renewal of not only your body that will have decayed under the curse of death, but also the creation that too has mourned along with you. And then what joy inexpressible, what love immeasurable, what blessedness eternal will be yours and mine!

And so let it ring in your ears this very moment, this very day, this entire week, and day by day, that toward you who trust in Christ for your eternal salvation, the Lord rests in His love for you. The Lord is quiet in His love toward you. The Lord quiets you in His love. The Lord renews you in His love. I urge you to find that love and receive it, for it is in abundant measure in Jesus Christ. Come to Him, if you have not. And if you have, remain in His love. It's a rather simple jingle, but it's really profound in terms of the major comfort offered by this Minor Prophet - 'Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.' And so it has today.

Let us love the Lord our God, for He has first (and so) loved us.