Zephaniah is about God bringing jealous judgement on Judah because their hearts are languishing toward Him, and they have become indifferent toward God. God’s discipline directed toward His people is always about His longing and jealous heart removing all hindrances to love, and hopefully awakening love in a remnant that will once again long for Him. In chapter 3 we have a remnant of people who are once again true worshipers seeking God, and thus finding grace and redemption before Him. In their time of restoration the Lord says to them in 3:11, “In that day you will feel no shame because of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against me…” Who is a God like our God who is able and willing to say to a sinful people “You are welcome back. I won’t question the sincerity of your heart, or the genuineness of your repentance. I don’t just tolerate your return with uncertainty in my heart about you, I welcome you, I believe in you.” You see Satan is the accuser of the Brethren, not God. He tries to tell us that there is no way God thinks we mean it this time, He knows that we are not genuine. Remember, when our hearts condemn us, God is bigger than our hearts. He not only welcomes us, He tells we are to feel no shame before Him from this day forward. We are convinced that that it’s our shame that is the proof that we are sincere, but God knows the shame will keep you weighed down, and not allow you to be the free, true lovers of God he longs for you to be. Like in the story of the Prodigal, it is the religious older son who lives around us and in each of us that protests against God’s outrageous kindness, and generosity. That thing in us that just can’t accept the fact that God delights in unchanging love toward us has been with us a long time. It’s the oldest thing in us. Grace is the younger, it’s still the new thing in us that our hearts are having to adjust to. What a glorious adjust. The adjustment is really about discovering the true nature of our Father. Amazing. There is no God like our God.
