“Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!” Zephaniah 3:14.

The prophet Zephaniah called on Jerusalem, like all Israel, to rejoice in the presence of the Lord: “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save” (Zephaniah 3:17). Salvation is in Hebrew: Yeschuah / Jesus is Yeschua and means saviour.

This almighty God has forgiven his people the guilt: “The Lord has taken away the judgments against you … The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst” (Zephaniah 3:15). “Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19).

The joy of this is shared. Not only of the people of Israel, but God himself shares the joy of his people: “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). ” And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord… For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers” (Deuteronomy 30: 8-9).

The promises of the First Testament are fulfilled in the coming of Jesus into this world.

Paul writes that the reason for joy is the closeness of God revealed in Jesus. ” Rejoice in the Lord always … The Lord is at hand” (Philippians 4: 4-5). The closeness of God in Jesus is the cause of hope and joy. And we always need it.