testimony of rejoicing

I was inspired to write this episode after working on a piece of music in our church choir called, “And the Father Shall Dance,” by Mark Hayes. It is an absolutely beautiful picture of how our Heavenly Father delights and finds great joy in redeeming His children. The text is taken from Zephaniah chapter 3 and says, “Sing for joy, Daughter of Zion; shout loudly, Israel!  Be glad and celebrate with all your heart, Daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has removed your punishment; he has turned back your enemy… The Lord your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will be quiet in His love. He will delight in you with singing.” This song spoke to me on so many levels.

First, there is the dancing and rejoicing of the Father over His children who have been restored. This is a beautiful picture of how He rejoices when one lost soul is saved, or when a wayward child has come home. It is echoed in the parable of the prodigal son, with which most of us are pretty familiar. The beauty of the story of the prodigal son is partly that the son has repented and come home, but also that the Father has been patiently waiting for his return and when he sees him, he runs to him and celebrates. Luke 15:10 says, “There is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” We’re told that God is love, but here we see it illustrated. He rejoices! That’s like saying His heart is so full it is bursting with joy and gladness and He can’t help but celebrate. Also, He doesn’t condemn. For Christians who have wandered away, while there are consequences to our actions, there is no longer condemnation, because Jesus already bore that condemnation for us. That’s why it says in Romans, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” So the Father isn’t waiting to tell the son how disappointed He is in the son’s actions. He isn’t waiting to punish the son because Jesus already took that punishment. He is just overjoyed to have His wayward son back home.

Second, the restoration itself is multi-faceted. Zephaniah was prophesying the restoration of Israel after their coming exile to Babylon. At the time he wrote his prophecy, Zephaniah was living during the time of the kings, and in particular, King Josiah. King Josiah began reforms for Judah, broke down the altars to the pagan idols, and turned the nation back to worshipping God. This came after the reign of several wicked kings who not only worshipped idols, but who also did horrific acts like sacrificing their own children for these pagan deities.  Judah and Israel had split from each other by this time, but both went through periods of deep rebellion against God, followed by warnings from the prophets and then harassment from other nations, before they repented only to start the whole cycle again. Ultimately the entire nation was captured and sent into captivity in Babylon.  An exile reading the words of Zephaniah while in captivity would have this message of hope. The restoration also applies to those who have and will become Christians. Notice that the passage says, "The Lord has removed your punishment; he has turned back your enemy." We were once slaves to sin and death, but now that we are redeemed through the blood of Jesus, we are free and restored because Jesus took our punishment for us. When we choose to rebel, God lovingly brings us back to Himself. In fact, it is the goodness of God that leads people to repentance.  I may have said it before, but it bears saying again. Repentance is literally “changing your mind.” This means that you have changed your mind about your actions/thoughts/feelings and instead have focused it back on Jesus.

Third, this song calls to mind the image of Mount Zion. Mount Zion is referred to in the bible over and over as God’s holy mountain. Zion is another name for grace, which we know means God’s abundant, free, lovingkindness, mercy, forgiveness, and favor. So if you think about a whole mountain full of goodness… And here the writer is speaking to the “daughter of Zion.” That means Daughter of Grace or highly favored one.  It is another name for Israel, but the name extends to Christians as well. There are actually two mountains that are referred to often in the bible: Mount Sinai, where the 10 commandments were given, and Mount Zion.  Mount Sinai represents the self-effort, labor, condemnation, and guilt. Mount Zion represents grace, the gift of forgiveness, provision, aid, freedom from guilt, and redemption.
While I was singing this song, I was reminded of the testimony of a sweet lady named Kasey. She made bad choices as a young adult, which resulted in her running from God. But one day, the Lord called her back to Himself. Here is her testimony:

I was saved when I was nine years old and went through a lot of spiritual growth as a youth and teen. However, when I turned twenty-one, I decided to do my own thing. I didn’t want to worry about consequences or what would happen, I just wanted to live my life. So I did. I was very promiscuous and this continued until I joined the military and met Monte, who is now my husband. I knew I was doing wrong, but my actions had become a habit that felt good.

Believe it or not, I was always sorry about what I was doing and I repented every time. Because I am a Christian, I didn’t want to be a hypocrite either. I kept my Christianity a secret, in the sense that I didn’t tell anyone that I was one. I didn’t deny it, but I didn’t go out of my way to tell anyone either. I didn’t even try to witness. My life was very stagnant. I did finally stop my destructive behavior, not because I had a change of heart, but because I was married and loved my husband.
It is the absolute mercy and grace of God that I didn’t suffer some of the more serious consequences of promiscuity. I could have gotten pregnant, gotten an STD, or fallen into drugs and prostitution.

When I moved to New York the Lord put a dear lady named Anna in my path. She was a strong Christian woman who lived in the same duplex as me and my family. One of my first encounters with her was when she left cookies and her phone number at my door. After that act of kindness, I felt I had to talk to her and get to know her. She immersed me in Christ centered living by inviting me to church and bible study. She never once pressured me, just always offered up the opportunity as “hey, let’s go do this together.” Her kindness and non-judgmental compassion caused me to yearn to have Christ be the center of my life again. I had so much shame that I had no need of someone to bring an “intervention.” It was a gentle tug from Jesus in the end that really got me back on track. I heard Him say to me, “I am still with you and I love you in spite of what you have done. I can look past this sin and still love you.”

The culmination of my return to Christ was a bible study of Hosea. Hosea is told by God to go and love a prostitute named Gomer and to have children with her, because this was a symbol of God’s love, mercy, and grace to Israel and the world. It is a picture of how He feels about us, no matter what we do or how we sin. His grace and passion for me gave me back the love for Him. I was changed because He first loved me.
I love the beauty of Kasey’s repentance and the loving and beautiful way the Lord restored her. Just as the Father rejoiced over her return to Him, He will rejoice again for every sinner who repents. 

Thank you Lord for Your heart of love and compassion and Your unfailing patience with all of us who have gone astray at some point in our lives. Help us to hear Your call to return and help us to see and feel Your loving embrace when we do. We pray this in Jesus’ name.