Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy; the King of Israel, Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more.
Almost all of Zephaniah's book is about judgment: on Judah, on the nations around her, on the whole earth. Then, at the close, it breaks into song. This verse gives the reasons: sentences lifted, enemies gone, and a King standing among His own people.
One writer points out which name Zephaniah gives this King — and which name he does not.
William KellyThe close of the prophecy is a call to rejoice and exult. It calls the daughter of Zion to shout for joy... When we hear of the special position of Judah, brought back from captivity and tested again in a way Israel was not, then the rejected Messiah comes into view. That is not the case with Zephaniah. From Zephaniah alone we would know only that the Messiah would come and bring in His glory as Jehovah all at once. In fact we do not hear Him called Messiah as such, but the King Jehovah. Verses 15-17 explain why they should rejoice.
Israel's own kings had brought her suffering. This verse promises a King who is God Himself.
H. P. BarkerIsrael had suffered much at the hands of many kings. Her first king oppressed the families and took the possessions of his subjects (1 Sam. 8:11-18), and most of the kings after him followed his ways. But at last Jehovah Himself will take the throne, in the person of Christ. He will be in the midst of His people with unlimited blessing, and His hands will be full of good gifts. If, as the Righteous One in the midst, He has exposed Israel's sin — and borne it Himself — then as the King in the midst He will drive all evil away.
The identity of this King is the sharpest point. The One standing among them is the One their ancestors handed over to the Gentiles.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinWhat a glorious day that will be! It will be glory for Him and glory for His people... Judgments are gone forever; no enemy will threaten them again. He Himself is in their midst. He is the very One their fathers once delivered into the hands of the Gentiles. Over Him they cried, "His blood be on us and on our children." He is King. The throne of His father David is now filled.
The last clause has two sides. One writer names both: what God does not see, and who stands among the people.
The Bible TreasuryNotice the glory that follows at once from God not seeing wrongdoing. "The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them." Not to see sin is the negative side of their blessing; there is no judgment. Now we have the positive side; Jehovah is there, and the shout of a King. Prophets long afterwards testify to this.
One writer sums up what this presence does to the people themselves.
J. G. BellettIsrael will be purified, saved from ever fearing evil again, and glad with all the heart, because the Lord their God is in the midst of them.
Some read this as fulfilled when the Jewish exiles came home from Babylon. One writer answers that Israel's history since then does not match the words.
T. B. BainesIsrael has seen enough evil since her return from captivity in Babylon. The prophet is pointing to something far greater than that.
One writer sums up the whole of Zephaniah's picture of Christ among His people.
H. P. BarkerWe have seen Him, as Zephaniah presents Him, in the midst of His people in three different ways. As the just Jehovah, acting for righteousness' sake, maintaining truth. As Israel's King, acting for His people's sake, ensuring their unspeakable blessing. As Jehovah-God, acting for His own sake, carrying out His plans of grace so that He might satisfy His own love, and rejoice with singing over those He loves.
- Cleared — The LORD lifts the sentences against Zion and clears away her enemies. Judgment ends before joy begins; the song comes after the clearing, never instead of it.
- Crowned — After a long line of kings who took from the people, God Himself takes the throne in the person of Christ. David's throne is filled at last.
- Present — The blessing is not a set of gifts sent from a distance. It is a Person standing in the middle of His people, and their gladness flows from that.
- Secured — No sin seen is the negative side; the King present is the positive side. Both together are why Zion will never fear evil again.
- Future — Israel's history after Babylon never matched these words. The verse still looks ahead: the King they handed over will be the King in the midst.
In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not; Zion, let not thy hands be slack.
Zephaniah's book opens with a day of wrath, and it ends with a word of comfort for Jerusalem. Who speaks that word, when does it come, and what has changed so that fear no longer fits?
Zephaniah turns from wrath to singing, and one writer traces that order through all the prophets.
J. G. BellettJudgment, however, never closes the scene. As we said, glory touches judgment in the ways of God. Judgment cleans out the vessel, and then glory fills it. It takes away what hinders the presence of the Lord. Then God sets up the kingdom and displays it, as Zephaniah and all the prophets show us.
Someone speaks these words to Jerusalem. One writer names the speaker and shows that verses 14-17 form a song given to Zion.
J. N. DarbyVerses 14-17 contain a song of praise. The Spirit composes it and teaches it to Zion, and He calls on her to sing it with thanksgivings to Jehovah. Jehovah has put away her condemnation for ever. He is in the midst of her. He rejoices in His love towards her.
The people who hear this word are not a proud nation. One writer describes who is left in the city.
The Christian's FriendA "poor and afflicted people" will remain in the middle of Jerusalem. They are poor in spirit and humbled before God by the many sorrows they have passed through. And it is these who will trust in the name of Jehovah, as their Rock of Ages.
Israel's own kings had given the people reason to fear.
H. P. BarkerIsrael had suffered much at the hands of many kings. Her first monarch oppressed the families and took the possessions of his subjects, and most of his successors walked in his ways. But at last Jehovah Himself will, in the person of Christ, take possession of the throne, and will be in the midst of His people with unbounded blessing. His hands will be full of bounty.
The King now stands in the middle of His people. One writer explains what a king is for.
H. P. BarkerGod's thought of a king is that he should rule for the comfort, peace and blessing of his subjects. This Christ will indeed do. If He puts forth His might for the destruction of His enemies, He puts it forth also to ensure the welfare of His people.
God had mourned over His people and pleaded with them. Now His might turns a new way.
H. P. BarkerBut at length God takes His place "in the midst" and shows Himself mighty, not to judge, but to save. Instead of mourning over His wayward people, He will rejoice over them with joy. Instead of continually pleading with them, He will be silent (as the margin reads) in His love. It is the deep silence of a love that is perfectly satisfied, a silence broken only by the sound of joyful singing. Whose joyful singing? Ours? Israel's? No: God Himself "will exult over you with loud singing."
One writer looks ahead to the day when God Himself rests.
H. L. RossierThis is God's rest. He will bring everyone He loves into rest. He will have them around Himself in glory, with no more change to come and no possibility of any cloud passing over them. Then God's rest will begin.
The verse looks to a day still ahead. One writer notes that the return from exile did not bring it.
T. B. BainesIsrael has seen evil enough since her return from the Babylonian captivity. It is to something much more than this, then, that the prophet refers.
Another writer says plainly whose day this is.
W. T. P. WolstonThat has nothing in the world to do with the Church, it is Israel's blessing, and Israel's day of glory.
- Cleared — judgment is not the end of the story; it empties the vessel so glory can fill it and the kingdom can appear.
- Given — the words are not Zion's discovery but her lesson: a song the Spirit composes and teaches to a city whose condemnation God has put away for ever.
- Held — those told to fear nothing are a poor, afflicted, contrite people, whose refuge is the name of the Lord alone.
- Mighty — the King in the midst uses His power for the welfare of His subjects: mighty now not to judge, but to save.
- Sung — a satisfied love falls silent, then breaks into God's own singing over His people. That day is still ahead.
Jehovah thy God is in thy midst, a mighty one that will save he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will exult over thee with singing.
Zephaniah's book is mostly judgment on Jerusalem and the nations, yet it closes with God living among a people He has cleansed and restored. This verse sits in that closing song, and it raises a surprising question: why is God the one singing?
The chapter opens with a city called filthy and polluted, whose leaders had failed at every level. What changes is not the people's record. It is God's settled purpose toward them. The verses just before this one give the reasons for the shout of joy.
William KellyVerses 15-17 explain why they should rejoice. What is missing? Nowhere else does the Bible describe so well how satisfied God is once mercy has done everything for the people He loved.
The presence promised here is not a vague idea of God being close. Commentators say the Mighty One standing among them is a real person, and this nation already knew Him.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinHe Himself is among them. He is the very One their fathers handed over to the Gentiles, the One they shouted about: "His blood be on us and on our children!" He is King. The throne of His father David is now filled. The Mighty One saves, and rejoices over His redeemed people. He sees the full result of His suffering, and He is satisfied.
God had been in their midst before, and His presence then exposed their sin. The word "mighty" could have meant something terrible. It doesn't.
Other AuthorsBut at last God takes His place "in the midst" and shows Himself mighty, not to judge, but to save. Instead of mourning over His wayward people, He will rejoice over them with joy. Instead of pleading with them again and again, He will be silent in His love — as an older translation's footnote reads. It is the deep silence of a love that is perfectly satisfied, a silence broken only by the sound of joyful singing. Whose joyful singing? Ours? Israel's? No — God Himself "will rejoice over you with singing."
(Older translations render the middle line "He will rest in His love," with a footnote reading "He will be silent in His love." The ESV has "He will quiet you by His love." Much of the comment below follows the older reading.)
We usually think of salvation as what God does for us. This verse turns that around.
J. A. TrenchGod has not only been seeking rest for us in what He has shown us of Himself in the gospel. He has been satisfying Himself. He saves, and He does it to "rejoice over you with joy"… He rests in His love. It satisfies Himself. The original word puts it beautifully: "He will be silent in His love." He is silent because He has nothing left to do. He has nothing more to reveal of what He has done, or of the place He has brought us into before Him.
Zephaniah presents God among His people more than once, and the verses build toward this one. Each presentation carries a different motive.
Other AuthorsAs the just Jehovah, acting for righteousness' sake, maintaining truth. As Israel's King, acting for His people's sake, ensuring their unspeakable blessing. As Jehovah-God, acting for His own sake. He carries out His plans of grace so that He may satisfy His own love, and rejoice with singing over the people He loves.
The names in the passage — Zion, Jerusalem, Israel — are not decoration, and writers here insist the promise belongs to the people it names.
W. T. P. WolstonThat has nothing in the world to do with the Church; it is Israel's blessing, and Israel's day of glory.
Yet the same writers do not leave Christians outside the joy. They put the difference in timing. For Israel this rest comes at the end of a long road of discipline. For the Christian it is already true.
The Christian's FriendIn this chapter, God rests in His love and rejoices over the daughter of Zion with singing. That is the result of His purposes being carried out, as He restores and blesses His ancient people. They reach this goal through all their past sorrows, and through the times His mighty hand disciplined them. With the Christian it is different. Through the death and resurrection of Christ, grace now reigns. God has Christ at His right hand, which shows how fully He is satisfied with His finished work. So He can already rest in His love over His redeemed.
- Midst. The turning point is God taking His place among His people. The presence that once exposed their sin now stands there "mighty, not to judge, but to save."
- Mighty. The Saviour in the middle of Jerusalem is the One that nation once handed over to the Gentiles. He now sits on David's throne.
- Silent. The older reading, "silent in His love," means love with nothing left to say. God has no more to do and no more to reveal.
- Singing. The voice in the last line is God's, not ours — He saves so that He can rejoice, satisfying His own heart in the people He loves.
- Now. For Israel this rest comes at the end of long discipline. For the Christian, commentators say, God already rests in His love, because Christ's finished work satisfies Him.