Jerusalem is Corrupt, 1-5
3:1 The filthy, stained city is as good as dead;
the city filled with oppressors is finished!
3:2 She is disobedient;
she refuses correction.
She does not trust the LORD;
she does not seek the advice of her God.
3:3 Her princes are as fierce as roaring lions;
her rulers are as hungry as wolves in the desert,
who completely devour their prey by morning.
3:4 Her prophets are proud;
they are deceitful men.
Her priests defile what is holy;
they break God’s laws.
3:5 The just LORD resides within her;
he commits no unjust acts.
Every morning he reveals his justice.
At dawn he appears without fail.
Yet the unjust know no shame.
The Lord’s Judgment will Purify, 6-20
3:6 “I destroyed nations;
their walled cities are in ruins.
I turned their streets into ruins;
no one passes through them.
Their cities are desolate;
no one lives there.
3:7 I thought, ‘Certainly you will respect me!
Now you will accept correction!’
If she had done so, her home would not be destroyed
by all the punishments I have threatened.
But they eagerly sinned
in everything they did.
3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently for me,” says the LORD,
“for the day when I attack and take plunder.
I have decided to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them—
all my raging anger.
For the whole earth will be consumed
by my fiery anger.
3:9 Know for sure that I will then enable
the nations to give me acceptable praise.
All of them will invoke the LORD’s name when they pray,
and will worship him in unison.
3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,
those who pray to me will bring me tribute.
3:11 In that day you will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me,
for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast,
and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.
3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people,
and they will find safety in the LORD’s presence.
3:13 The Israelites who remain will not act deceitfully.
They will not lie,
and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth.
Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep and lie down;
no one will terrify them.”
3:14 Shout for joy, Daughter Zion!
Shout out, Israel!
Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!
3:15 The LORD has removed the judgment against you;
he has turned back your enemy.
Israel’s king, the LORD, is in your midst!
You no longer need to fear disaster.
3:16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
“Don’t be afraid, Zion!
Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic!
3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst;
he is a warrior who can deliver.
He takes great delight in you;
he renews you by his love;
he shouts for joy over you.”
“He shouts for joy over you” –
AV – He will joy over thee with singing.
NIV (1984) – “He will rejoice over you with singing.”
ESV, RSV, NRSV – “He will exult over you with loud singing.”
GNB – “He will sing and be joyful over you.”
This verse has been called the ‘John 3:16’ of the Old Testament. Sam Storms paraphrases:
‘The Lord your God is with you all the time. He is a powerful and mighty warrior who saves you and fights on your behalf. When he thinks of you, he exults in festive pleasure and with great delight. At other times, when protests arise in your heart, he quiets you and reassures you of his deep and abiding affection. He celebrates who you are with joyful singing.’
Here, suggests Storms, is expressed not only the gift of God, but the passion of God in his love for his people.
What can singing do? –
‘Singing enables the soul to express deeply felt emotions that mere speaking cannot. Singing channels our spiritual energy in a way that nothing else can. Singing evokes an intensity of mind and spirit. It opens the door to ideas, feelings, and affections that otherwise might have remained forever imprisoned in the depths of one’s heart. Singing gives focus and clarity to what words alone might only make fuzzy. It lifts our hearts to new heights of contemplation. It stirs our hope to unprecedented levels of expectancy and delight. Singing sensitizes. It softens the soul to hear God’s voice and quickens the will to obey.’
We believe that God speaks. But God sings too! Do I, as a child of God, really believe that he is overjoyed with me, that I make him glad? I worry about my sin, past and present; but ‘The LORD has removed the judgment against you’ (v15). Do I fear that the enemies of my soul will gain the upper hand? – the Lord ‘has turned back your enemy’. Does he feel distant? – truly, ‘he is in your midst’ (v17).