The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Zephaniah 3:17-20, “The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
18 “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts– They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them.
19 “Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth.
20 “At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the LORD.”

Were you ever whipped severely as a child? If you were, the chances are it was not because your parent hated you, but because he loved you and wanted you to grow up and become a good child and, later, a good parent. My mother told me how severely her father punished her, while crying more than she, while he whipped her.

Zephaniah commenced his ministry in the early days of Josiah about 641-610 BC. He foretold the doom of Nineveh that occurred in 625 BC. “The Day of the LORD” is mentioned seven times and functions as a major emphasis of this book.

The prophet notes the jealousy of the LORD, first upon Israel (1:18), and then over all of the Earth (3:8). Has the LORD not a right to be jealous of the nations He has formed? Indeed He has! Yet, like a God-fearing parent, He chastises us, His children, in the effort to produce in them more and more of His likeness. Zephaniah concludes his message to Israel by saying that the LORD’s jealousy has been quenched and He is at “rest in His love” (3:17).

When your endeavors seem to be going wrong, consider that you may be suffering under the LORD’s loving wrath. If your wrong-doing is not being chastized, you had better assess whether you truly belong to Him.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom