On the other side of darkness, Zephaniah promises, there is light.
The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of the festival.
On the other side of darkness, Zephaniah promises, there is light. On the other side of judgment, there is mercy. On the other side of oppression, there is liberation.
There is an anthem based in part on Zephaniah 3:17. “And the Father will dance over you in song,” the anthem began; “He will take delight in whom he loves.”
Despite the humor of the lyrics, the anthem-like passage from Zephaniah which inspired it—moves me deeply. I first heard it at a time in my life when I was deeply troubled by many things, and when I wondered whether God could truly love me. This passage assured me that he did and that he loves us all. God does not simply tolerate us; he exults over us and rejoices over us.
If you started at the beginning of Zephaniah, you would not expect such a joyful passage. All we know about Zephaniah is found in 1:1, where he is called “Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah” and said to be writing “in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah.” From the very beginning of the book until Zephaniah 3:7, he pronounces prophecy after prophecy of the day of the Lord’s wrath which is coming, and he describes all the terrible things which are going to happen to different nations—culminating in a prophecy against Jerusalem in Zephaniah 3:1-7. Dark stuff—the sort of passages we often associate with Advent in the lectionary. Everything is very, very bad, and the only hope is in the Lord’s return.
And then, in 3:8-13, a great turn happens in the book. The Lord, it is prophesied, will come back and execute judgment (3:8) and remove the proud and haughty who are causing all the trouble (3:11). Then he will create a redeemed community that will humbly praise him (3:9-10, 12-13). The prospect is so beautiful that the prophet breaks into the jubilant song which closes the book. On the other side of darkness, Zephaniah promises, there is light. On the other side of judgment, there is mercy. On the other side of oppression, there is liberation. As people often remarked in my childhood when somebody made an excellent Gospel point, that’ll preach.
Is that a choir I hear? Well, yes, in fact. It is singing the praises of the God who loves us. And God is singing over us as well. In fact, everyone is singing and dancing. Evil has been destroyed, and sin and death will never have the last word.
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