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Emmanuel...

            The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV)

          The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet[1] in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. (Zephaniah 3:17 NASB)

 

            I’m sure I’ve talked about this verse before. To put it into context, this would take place after God had judged Israel, and had found a remnant of faithful people. After that, He would take away His judgments and this verse would be fulfilled. In other words, this isn’t a promise given to people who don’t choose to live under His authority. It’s not universal.

            The promise begins with Emmanuel – God with us. Next is El Gibbor – God the Mighty Warrior. Then we have Yeshua/Jesus – the God who saves/Savior. They may not be there in that form, but that is the relationship being described. He’s the Knight in Shining Armor, who comes to rescue the fair princess from the clutches of the dragon to whom she has delivered herself.

            And once He has rescued her – the remnant – He will rejoice over her. It doesn’t say He will rejoice over having defeated the dragon. There’s no bicep or sword kissing going on here. His focus is on the rescued one. He’s kissing her dirty fingers, wiping the tears from her grungy face, making sure nothing’s broken, and even though she can stand, He’s sweeping her off her feet to carry her home in His arms, singing all the way.

            That may be sickeningly romantic in its description, but the verse says He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. And maybe – just maybe – we should chance a more romantic (not sexual, but emotional) perspective of God. This isn’t the idea that God is enthralled by us to the point of allowing us to dictate to Him. That view is wrong, but what if we’re just as wrong to assume God wants nothing to do with us or spends all His time scowling at us?


[1]  Or with some ancient versions, renew you in

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