Zephaniah 3:11 Commentary and Bible Study

The Lord, speaking through his prophet, says that glorious times are coming. There will be a much greater sincerity and genuineness among those who return from the exile in Babylon to rebuilding Jerusalem. However the much great fulfilment of these words looks forward to the New Testament age. ‘In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me.’ From what follows it is clear that this does not describe those with a hard heart, who have suppressed conscience, and are incapable of feeling shame even though they still do wickedness. Rather, this is those who know that their past sins have been washed away by the blood of Christ. Paul speaks to the Romans, and thinking of their past lives he asks, ‘What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed?’ (Romans 6:21). There is still shame in the believer about what he did in the past and that shame makes him strive to ‘yield [his] members servant to righteousness unto holiness’, and not to return to that past way of life. But that is not what the prophet is referring to here. He is speaking of the shame of unforgiven sin, a shame that comes from a conscience that still knows that his debt to God is unpaid. For the Christian that shame is gone, because Christ has paid his debt to God, and he has experienced the complete forgiveness of all sin and reconciliation with God through Christ’s atonement. Yes, the believer is aware that he once lived in a shameful condition, but God has taken him out of it, and removed all its consequences. Instead of being wracked by concern and frightened of judgment when they consider their sins, they will believe them to be washed away by the death of Jesus Christ.‘For then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.’ It will be a new order when Christ comes, and an age in which God deals not so much with the nation as a whole, but with individuals one by one. They will enter his kingdom by a spiritual birth and not by a natural birth, and they will be called from many different nations as the great commission advances throughout the whole world. The Christian church, the Jewish Gentile church of Jesus Christ will have a different kind of membership: not people who have national pride, but people who love the Lord and who are humble before him. Pride will not be compatible with citizenship within the kingdom of heaven, and God will be careful to exclude all such. All those insincere members of the Jewish nation who simply revelled in being Jews – ‘we are God's special people’ – and did as they liked, are taken out, because it's the New Testament Church. Yes, there will be a false church, but that is not what is spoken of here. The true church, composed of regenerate believers, will be a humble body of people in which each honours others above themselves. This is in God’s holy mountain, ‘mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem’ (Hebrews 12:22), which stands for the spiritual Israel, composed of converted Jews and Gentiles.‘I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD’, that is us, humbled so that we trust him and we love him. We are believers in Christ because the Holy Spirit has made us afflicted and poor and needy in need of the shed blood of Christ, in need of his atoning merits, in need of grace. ‘And they shall trust in the name of the Lord.’ What a description of the New Testament age!‘The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth.’ The remnant of Israel – and this include converted Gentiles – will be people of integrity. They will have on the breastplate of righteousness, and they will hold their tongues and guard their mouths to prevent lies coming from them. If they fall into sin, they will repent and confess to the Lord and seek to be restored to communion with him again. The real change will be in the heart, out of which the mouth speaks. Truth will be given the key of every door in the house of the soul, and it will go through purging out all that is false. ‘For they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.’ Those who come to Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles, will come sincerely for they shall feed and lie down and none shall make them afraid. This will be the reward of a good conscience, a holy boldness in the Lord (1 Timothy 3:13), which looks forward with confidence to seeing him face to face. When the Christian church comes, says Zephaniah, there will be assurance of salvation, people will come to Christ and love him and serve him and they will know that they are saved.