Picture a father holding a baby. The baby, unable to verbalize its need or to care for itself, does the only thing it knows to do—it cries. The father, swaddling the baby with love, just begins to laugh joyfully over it. With every ooh and ahh, the father’s delight grows a little louder—his eyes mirror the merriment. Unable to stand still, he begins to sway and sing over the baby, “I’m right here, you’re gonna be okay. I love you.” The father’s excitement increases, his feet begin to move. Without a glitch of worry, he is spinning across the room and his laughter is bubbling up. At first a chuckle, then little bursts. Before he can stop it, a full-on belly laugh releases over the baby. Oh the joy! The father shouts, quite confidently, “I’m right here, I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere.”
I’ve taken a little creative license here, but this is the picture I often see when I read Zephaniah 3:17. (Just to be clear, I’m the whiny baby.) Here is the verse written out in a few different translations.
- NIV: 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.”
- God’s Word Translation: The LORD your God is with you. He is a hero who saves you. He happily rejoices over you, renews you with his love, and celebrates over you with shouts of joy.
- New Life Version: The Lord your God is with you, a Powerful One Who wins the battle. He will have much joy over you. With His love He will give you new life. He will have joy over you with loud singing.
I love this verse! Zephaniah 3:17 tell us at least four things. God is with us, he is mighty, he calms us, AND it tells us that he opens up his mouth and voices his joy over us. He doesn’t mumble his joy—he shouts it! He doesn’t make us read between the lines—he proclaims it. That’s the simple joy thought for today, God shouts his joy over us.
But wait, there’s a BONUS!! Let’s tie yesterday’s thought into today’s. If you look at this verse in the Hebrew language, there’s a neat little surprise. *The phrase “rejoice over you” in Hebrew (giyl) literally means “dance, skip, leap, and spin around in joy.” So, God doesn’t just shout over us, he is also dancing. What if the way the planets spin around are a reflection of the way God spins and dances over us? That’s wild! It’s, like, calculated and unfathomable at the same time. I’m dizzy just thinking about it.
God dances with shouts of joy over us!
So, go back and read Zephaniah 3:17 again. Can you hear him shouting over you? Can you hear his delight? Can you see his delight? Can you feel him spinning around you?
Shout out to Pastor Bart for the resources and for being awesome.
*“Rejoice” is translated from the Hebrew word giyl. Strongs defines is as: A primitive root; properly to spin around (under the influence of any violent emotion), that is, usually rejoice… : – be glad, joy, be joyful, rejoice.
Brave Sparrow 