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
This is an amazing verse! It is the only verse in Scripture in which God is described as singing. What is even more amazing is that God is described in maternal terms. He is like a mother cooing and singing with love over the baby in her arms.
In Zephaniah God foretells the disaster that is about to overcome His people because of their arrogance and rebellion. Yet later in the same book, in 3:17 He manifests his love. Despite this rejection by His children, He paints this picture of, on the one hand, a warrior who will ride in the like the cavalry to save them, and in a contrasting image, one of pure maternal love.
The second image is one we often associate with Mary and Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem – motherly love and adoration with her new born baby, quietly singing songs of rapture and joy. (The irony, of course, is that in Bethlehem it is humanity holding God in her hands!)
Two final thoughts: Note God’s delight. Like a doting mother He doesn’t just tolerate us, but He delights in us. He enjoys calling us His children. We see the motivation for sending Jesus to the cross on our behalf. The other, He rejoices. In other words He celebrates the fact that we are His children. There are echoes here of the future parable of the father of the prodigal son.
So today as you live before and worship your Creator and re- Creator, know and delight in the truth that to Him you are like a baby in His arms – someone to celebrate.
Travels from Ur 