February 4, 2021
…God will take great delight in you; in love God will no longer rebuke you, but rejoice over you with singing. - Zephaniah 3:17
There is no doubt in my mind that music isn’t an important aspect of life. There is evidence all throughout history of musicians, lyricist, and others who use sound waves to convey a message to their audience. The sounds of melodies and harmonies come together and find a way to meet our soul where it is, and perhaps even take us on a journey.
A good song, even if we have never heard it before, has a way of telling a story that our soul can understand, it will often have highs and lows, and can even take us to new places we have never been, all without physically moving. The late professor Ellsworth Kalas said of the old hymns of Charles Wesley and his contemporaries “could even, for a moment, take us to the heavenly realm that awaits when this life is over.”
Music plays a vital role in every aspect of our lives; as we are nurtured and soothed as children, as we rebel in adolescence, as we seek peace and acceptance in young adulthood, as we cherish our faith and life in older adulthood, and as we seek the peace only God can give at the end of life. In all things, music is there.
The prophet Zephaniah who lived and prophesied in the days of King Josiah in Judah tells of how the Lord will wipe everything off the face of the earth, how the people are called to repentance, and how every nation on the coastlands near Israel will be judged and wiped out by the remnant of people who remain. Even Jerusalem will be judged for its unfaithfulness. However, at the end of all of this judgement comes restoration.
This is how many of the prophets saw God working; warning of destruction, repentance of God’s people, judgement of the unfaithful, and restoration. Yet in the restoration, Zephaniah calls The Lord our God a “warrior who saves.” Zephaniah understands God on multiple levels, as the one who creates all things, who can destroy all things, who is righteous, yet merciful, who is mighty yet brings salvation. And in the restoration, this God delights in singing over the restored with great joy.
Every day we hear songs on the radio, in the places of commerce, at the workplace, perhaps even in our homes as we work. Different music can take us to different places, however, perhaps the best songs are the ones that remind us of the restoration of God, that take us to the place where we long for nearer to the heart of God.
Grace & Peace,
Sam