Zephaniah 3:18-20 I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of you, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. I. LIBERTY FOR THE CAPTIVES. "I will deal with all them that afflict thee," etc. Those members of the Israelitish community who were soon to be carried off into exile and enslaved in a foreign land were to be eventually (in the day when God rose up to the prey) rescued from their oppressors and set free from the reproach of slavery which pressed upon them like a heavy burden. So were the members of the human race captives of sin and Satan, and bondmen in a far off land of alienation from Cod, when Christ came to preach deliverance to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that were bound (Isaiah 41:1; Luke 4:18). So are men by nature sin's captives still (John 8:34), and the burden of the gospel message still runs, "If the Son shall make you free, then are ye free indeed" (John 8:36). II. COMFORT FOR THE SORROWFUL. "I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly." Those about to be exiled in Babylon, especially such among them as should preserve their piety, would regard it as the saddest element in their lot that through banishment they were no longer permitted to take part in the festal assemblies of the nation, in particular in the Feast of Tabernacles, the most joyful of all their celebrations (Hosea 12:10). To them, therefore, it would come "like cold water to a thirsty soul," or "like good news from a far country," that they should afterwards, "at that time," be restored to their religious privileges, and the fellowship with Jehovah which these signified. So men "in sin," being far off from him whose favour and fellowship alone is life, when they first awake to this thought, are filled with sorrow, and mouth after God, after that reconciliation and communion with him in which alone true happiness can be found (Psalm 31:16; Psalm 51:8-12; Psalm 85:4, 6; Psalm 143:7, 8). To all such the gospel promises comfort and consolation (Matthew 5:4). III. GATHERING FOR THE DISPERSED. Many of Israel's sons and daughters should be scattered into far off lands when Jenovah rose to pour his indignation on the nations (ver. 8). But into whatsoever region they should have wandered, Jehovah would recollect them in the day when he turned again Israel's captivity. So bare men by sin been driven away into many different "far countries" - into conditions of existence where their material environments, dispositions of soul, and habits of life have become widely divergent. But up out of all situations and from all characters God by his grace can bring men who have departed from him and separated from each other, and can form them again into a united community, a holy brotherhood, a spiritual household, a redeemed family. To do this is the aim of the gospel (Ephesians 2:17-22). IV. GLORY FOR THE SHAMED. Whereas the approaching exile would lead to Israel becoming overwhelmed with dishonour, when the Lord turned again her captivity that dishonour would be wiped out, and she should once more acquire a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth. This certainly was true of the Jewish people, who, for all their humiliation, rose to a position of commanding influence because of her relation to Jehovah and the Christian Church, to which no nation on earth has ever attained; while Assyria, Babylon, Greece, and Rome, her great world-rivals, and frequently her oppressors, have passed away into comparative oblivion. So, if sin turns man's glory into shame, the gospel of Jesus Christ promises to reconvert man's shame into glory; and this it does by giving to the Christian Church a position and power possessed by no other human institution, and by conferring on the individual believer the glory (1) of a good name; (2) of an influential life; (3) of a peaceful end; and (4) of a blessed future. LESSONS. 1. "Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound" (Psalm 89:15). 2. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). - T.W. Parallel Verses KJV: I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. |
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