3:17 - "The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exalt over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy."
Zephaniah was a member of the royal family (1:1) and was well connected with the ins and outs of the Judah establishment. That didn't prevent him from speaking out when God told him to speak and when he saw the sin of his nation. Priviledge does not exempt from responsibility - it brodens it. Zephaniah had jus told the nation that judgment was coming because of their sin against God, their pride and their failure to trust and seek refuge in God (1:6; 1:17; 2:3; 3:1). In this verse (17) we read that God, having become the "victorious warrior" now wants to rejoice over them. How is God the "victorious warrior?" We have here an Old Testement picture of the risen Savior. Christ becomes the victorious warrior over sin and even over God's wrath, as He pleases God's wrath and meets its demands. He is the victorious warrior. As a result God wants to and does "rejoice over us with that." He is "quiet" with His love (as opposed to loud with His wrath). HE is the victory but he WANTS to share the fruits of victory with us. Let's praise HIM for HIS victory; but let us also rejoice in His willingness and love to share those fruits of victory with us.
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