Zephaniah 3.14-The Future Remnant of Israel Will Rejoice
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday September 6, 2016
Zephaniah: Zephaniah 3:14-The Future Remnant of Israel Will Rejoice
Lesson # 85
Zephaniah 3:14 Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! (NASB95)
“Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!” is composed of the following: (1) feminine singular qal active imperative form of the verb rānan (רָנַן), “shout for joy” (2) feminine singular construct form of the noun bat (בַּת), “O daughter of” (3) feminine singular form of the proper noun ṣiyyôn (צִיּוֹן), “Zion!”
The verb rānan (rah-nahn) means “to sing for joy” since the word pertains to making loud public melodic and rhythmic words and sounds with emphasis upon the joy in which these words and sounds express (Lev. 9:24; Job 38:7; Ps. 35:27; Prv. 29:6; Is. 12:6; 24:14; Zech. 2:14).
The word speaks of producing a song with the voice as a response of joy and refers to singing a song which expresses one’s joy.
The second person feminine singular form of this verb is referring to “the daughter of Zion,” which is a reference to the remnant of Israel in the future millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ.
The noun bat (baht) means “daughter” referring to the female offspring of a parent and here it is used in a nationalistic sense such as “daughter” of Jerusalem or Zion referring to the remnant of Israel.
It is using the hill of Zion which is the site of the temple, and relationship of a daughter as a personification of God’s people in relation to God.
Here in Zephaniah 3:14, this word bat is a way of referring to the citizens of Zion, aka Jerusalem as the children of this city.
The proper noun ṣiyyôn (see-own) means “Zion” which was originally the name applied to the hill where the ancient Jebusite city of Jerusalem was located.
After this city was conquered by David sometime around 1000 B.C. he had a tabernacle built and the Ark of the Covenant moved there.
As a result, Zion was associated with the “temple mount,” even after the ark was moved to the temple constructed by Solomon on Mount Moriah, a neighboring hill.
Ultimately, the use of “Zion” was extended to include the entire city of Jerusalem as well as its inhabitants.
“Shout in triumph, O Israel!” is composed of the following: (1) second person masculine plural hiphil active imperative form of the verb rûaʿ (רוּעַ), “shout” (2) masculine singular noun proper noun yiśrāʾēl (יִשְׂרָאֵל), “Israel.”
The verb rûaʿ (roo-ahh) means “to shout in triumph, to shout in victory, shout because of victory” and is used in relation to this future remnant of Israel which will live during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
The proper name yiśrāʾēl (yeese-rie-ale) is used with reference to the future remnant of Israel which will experience the millennial reign of Christ.
“Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!” is composed of the following: (1) second person feminine singular qal active imperative form of the verb śāmaḥ (שָׂמַח), “Rejoice” (2) conjunction w (וְ), “and” (3) second person feminine singular qal active imperative form of the verb ʿālaz (עָלַז), “exult” (4) preposition b (בְּ), “with” (5) collective singular construct form of the noun kōl (כֹּל), “all” (6) masculine singular noun lēb (לֵב), “heart” (7) feminine singular construct form of the noun bat (בַּת), “O daughter of” (8) feminine singular proper name yĕrûšālami (יְרוּשָׁלַםִ), “Jerusalem.”
The verb śāmaḥ (sah-mahh) means “to rejoice, to be glad, to delight in, to be elated over something or someone” since the word pertains to having a feeling or attitude of joy and happiness with emphasis on making an outward expression of that joy.
It is used here with regards to the future remnant of Israel which will live during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ and is speaking of the joy which they will express during the seven great feasts she will celebrate with her Savior, Jesus Christ present among them.
The verb ʿālaz (ah-lahz) means “to express exceeding joy” since the word pertains to being in a reveling state of great joy and happiness.
Here it is used in relation to the future remnant of Israel living during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ and speaks of the great joy they will express during this period in the future as a result of being delivered by Jesus Christ from every one of their enemies.
The noun kōl means “all” since it pertains to being entire or whole with emphasis on the totality of the object or idea.
The noun lēb (layv)refers to the “hearts” of the regenerated Jewish people who will compose this future remnant of Israel during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
This noun kōl is also the object of the preposition b (bay), which is functioning as a marker of means expressing the means by which this remnant was to express great joy.
Zephaniah 3:14 Sing a song expressing joy, daughter of Zion! Each and every one of you shout because of your victory! Rejoice, yes express great joy with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! (My translation)
Zephaniah 3:14-17 contains a series of imperatives related to the joy of the future remnant of Israel and which commands are based upon the prophecies contained in Zephaniah 3:9-13.
Each of these commands are addressed to the faithful remnant of Israel which will be living during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
All of the commands speak of great joy expressed by this remnant during this period which corresponds to the rest of Scripture which asserts that joy will be a distinctive mark of the millennial age (Is. 9:3-4; 12:3-6; Jer. 30:18-19; 31:13-14; Zeph. 3:14-17; Zech. 8:18-19; 10:6-7).
The first command which appears in Zephaniah 3:14 requires this faithful remnant of Israel in the future to sing a song expressing joy.
The idea is that they were to make loud public melodic and rhythmic words and sounds with emphasis upon the joy in which these words and sounds express (Lev. 9:24; Job 38:7; Ps. 35:27; Prv. 29:6; Is. 12:6; 24:14; Zech. 2:14).
The idea is that God is commanding this remnant of Israel in the future to sing a song expressing their joy.
Zephaniah 3:15 reveals four reasons why this remnant was to rejoice.
Zephaniah 3:15 The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. (NASB95)
The first reason presented by this verse is that the nation of Israel was no longer being disciplined by God since the seventieth week of Daniel (490 prophetic years) have been fulfilled with the Second Advent of Christ.
Secondly, the Lord has defeated all of Israel’s enemies including the final great enemy, Antichrist.
Thirdly, the king of Israel, Jesus Christ will bodily present in her midst during His millennial reign.
Lastly, this remnant was to rejoice because she would no longer have any need to fear disaster as a result of Jesus Christ living in her midst.
The nation of Israel will not fear anyone because her time of discipline will have ended.
She will no longer fear anyone or anything because Jesus Christ has destroyed all her enemies.
The Scriptures also reveal that this remnant of Israel like all those saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone during the church age and the seventieth week were to express joy by singing songs because of their great deliverance from eternal condemnation.
They were also delivered from condemnation from the Law, spiritual and physical death, personal sins, the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
For those who lived during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel, they will rejoice because of having been delivered from the Antichrist and the tribulational armies.
These songs of joy will be sung therefore, in honor of Jesus Christ.
The second command which appears in Zephaniah 3:14 presents the reason for the first command to rejoice with songs since it requires that each and every member of this faithful remnant of Israel must shout because of their victory.
They were to shout in triumph because Jesus Christ, Her Savior, will have delivered them from eternal condemnation, condemnation from the Law, spiritual and physical death, personal sins, the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system.
For those who lived during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel, they will have been delivered from the Antichrist and the tribulational armies.
The final two commands form actually one which required that this faithful remnant living during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ express great joy with all their heart or in the words, with the entire being.
This joy is again over their great deliverance from all their enemies we mentioned in the second command and is speaking of the joy which this remnant will express during the seven great feasts she will celebrate with her Savior, Jesus Christ present among them.
All the commands in Zephaniah 3:14 for the faithful remnant of Israel to rejoice during the millennial reign of Christ are a reminder to the church age believer to rejoice since she too will rejoice over her husband Jesus Christ during this period (cf. 1 Thess. 5:16; Gal. 5:22-23; Rom. 14:17; Phil. 3:1; 4:4).
These commands to rejoice in Zephaniah 3:14 are to express not only joy to the Lord but also thanksgiving.
One of the characteristics of a productive prayer life is that of thankfulness (Matt 15:36; 26:27; Mark 8:6; 14:23; Luke 22:17-19; John 6:11; 23; 11:41; Acts 27:35; 28:15; Rom. 1:8; 7:25; 1 Cor. 1:4; 11:24; Eph. 5:20; Col. 1:12; 3:17; Phlp. 1:3-4; 4:6; 1 Thess. 1:2; 2:13).