Zephaniah is one of those small prophetic books that we often have to look in the table of contents to even find in the Bible. In the pew Bibles the entire book takes up only four pages. Our reading for today is the conclusion of the book and like many conclusions, you can only truly understand what it means if you read the rest of the book.

When I read a book, especially a novel, I always begin at the beginning and never look ahead. I even get frustrated if for some reason the book falls open to a place ahead of where I’ve read and I see some of the upcoming dialogue or events. But I have a friend who always reads the end of the books first. I must admit that I completely don’t understand this but she feels that if she knows where the book is headed then she is able to enjoy the journey it takes her on all the more.

But here we have the ending of Zephaniah. So we know where the book ends up, but how did Zephaniah get to this beautiful picture of God taking care of Jerusalem? Zephaniah probably wrote around the beginning of King Josiah’s reign in Judah. Josiah came to the throne at the age of eight after his father was assassinated. There was a great deal of turmoil in Judah at this time. The Assyrian empire had collapsed. The Assyrians had ruled Judah so now the question was whether Judah would be an independent nation or if another conquering power would come to rule the nation.

The people of Judah had fallen away from worshiping only the one God. They were worshipping many gods. So the political future of the nation hangs in the balance while the people go about worshipping many gods. This is the environment into which Zephaniah raises his voice.

The book of Zephaniah contains 9 oracles or prophecies. Eight of them would be classified as "judgment oracles." The one we read today is the only non-judgment oracle in the entire book.

A quick glance at the rest of the book shows God poised to wipe away all life from the earth as judgment of the people’s unfaithfulness. Zephaniah warns of the "Day of the Lord" of which he says: "That day will be a day of wrath,

a day of distress and anguish,

a day of ruin and devastation,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and thick darkness." (1:15)

What follows are judgments of various nations including the nation of Judah. Jerusalem is also singled out for judgment.

But toward the beginning of chapter 3 we hear a shift in tone. The words are no longer words of judgment but promises of conversion. In verse nine God promises, "At that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech." From this promise of conversion comes the passage we read today, labeled in some Bibles as a song of joy.

So at the end of all Zephaniah’s oracles of judgment we hear this oracle of reprieve and hope, even joy. Truly in hearing this oracle the people had reason to rejoice as Paul instructed the Philippian Christians to do.

Josiah in the end turned out to be a pretty good king for Judah. His reign turned out to be a time of reform. In renovating the Temple, workers came upon a scroll that told of the proper ways to worship God and that there is only one God. This set the spark for both political and religious reform for Judah. All the places where other gods were worshipped were torn down and following the law of God was raised up. Many scholars think that Zephaniah’s words came about during this time when the nation was ripe for reform.

So now we know what twists and turns brought Zephaniah to offer this oracle of joy. Now we know that the environment in which Zephaniah found himself was far from the idealized environment of people faithfully following what God had proclaimed. After listening to the promises of God’s judgment on the nations and judging that the whole world must be wiped clean, these words to "sing aloud," "shout," and "rejoice" must have felt like cool water on a hot day. Or more in our context, like soothing hot chocolate on a cold day.

Though our context is different from Zephaniah’s time we can make some connections between how Zephaniah’s words were heard originally and how we can hear them today. There has been a movement going on within the church for about 5-10 years. Many say that the time is ripe for reform once again. Scholars say that every 500 years, the church goes through a time of reform. It’s been about 500 years since the Enlightenment caused such reform in the church so we’re about due for another round of reform.

Though we are not facing the fall of a political empire like the people of Judah were in Zephaniah’s time. We are in a time where some could say that worshipping God has gotten side-tracked. Some people are worshipping other gods. Some have put their faith in that which is not God. They have trusted their salvation to that which cannot save. This is the same thing Zephaniah preached about. The people had turned away from God in order to worship what was not God.

One of the questions I find myself asking of most lectionary readings during the different seasons of the church is, "Why in the world did the lectionary committee select this text for this day?" So as I was reading and wrestling with Zephaniah’s promise of restoration for Judah, I began to wonder what promise of restoration we could hear to us this day.

On this day when we hear John the Baptist preach a sermon in which he calls his congregation a bunch of snakes, why hear Zephaniah’s words to "shout aloud" and "sing"? On this day when we hear John preach that the one coming after him brings the Holy Spirit and fire, why hear Zephaniah’s promise that God will take away the judgments against us? With John’s preaching that the ax is lying at the foot of the tree, why hear Zephaniah say, "Do not fear"?

The message of hope comes through judgment and trials. If I were to stand up here and look out at this congregation and simply say, "Rejoice, everything’s alright!" or "Don’t worry, be happy." I would at best be tuned out as a Pollyanna-style thinker and at worst be a liar and run out of town. No one in this room is free from all suffering or pain. To say only rejoice is to ignore reality.

If Zephaniah had preached only about how fine and dandy it will be when God come to gather us in, he probably wouldn’t have been included in the prophets. But since his promise of rejoicing came only through trials and trying times, the people can see him as a credible witness to the reality of God’s grace.

There are things wrong in our world today. Children die of hunger while obesity runs rampant in our country. Mothers and fathers give up their children because they are dying of AIDS. Families are evicted from their homes, people live under the bridges in Lynchburg, beloved family members die. The list goes on.

But we are not left without hope. We worship God, who promises to bring us home. Home… my Old Testament professor, Bill Brown wrote, "Home is not only a destination but a direction." When we turn our feet toward our home in God, though we walk through darkest valleys, grief, and other trials, we find comfort and even a voice to shout aloud and rejoice.

Paul instructs the Philippian Christians to "Rejoice in the Lord always." Through rejoicing and prayer we can gain that "peace of God, which passes all understanding." May we rejoice and find our home in God’s peace.